CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina cancelled its home-and-home series with Colorado more than a year ago, but it is still looking for quality opponents.
UNC coach Butch Davis said Wednesday that UNC had sent letters to Penn State, Texas A&M — and he wasn’t sure about Oklahoma — last spring asking if any had interest in home-and-home series in the future.
“We tried to find some high profile games to fill the schedule,’’ Davis said.
The Tar Heels still have one nonconference opening next year (a game they were supposed to play against the Buffaloes), and then have full schedules until 2012, according to UNC's web site. McNeese State replaced the Colorado game this season.
Davis said the decision to cancel the series with the Buffaloes “kind of comes from my background at Miami.”
At one time, he said, Miami had a long-term contract in which it agreed to play a Pac-10 team every season.
“And when I came back as a head coach, we had to play Washington. And us losing to Washington had nothing to do with it, it just seemed like a five, six, seven hour plane trip from Miami to the West Coast [didn’t make sense], when you don’t really recruit out there, and it’s hard on your kids.”
The Tar Heels play UConn this weekend and Notre Dame on Oct. 11 in games, like Colorado, that were scheduled before he was hired. In the future, he said, he’d like to see most nonconference games played in September.
“I don’t know if that will ever happen,’’ he said. “I know the conference dictates a lot of that, I know television dictates a lot of that.”
BRIEFLY: Davis said the coaches had not yet decided when redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Paulus will enter the game on Saturday. Cameron Sexton will start, but Davis has said Paulus will play.
Last weekend at Miami, it was predetermined that Paulus would play the first two series, with Sexton coming in for the third.
Robbi Pickeral has covered ACC sports for The News & Observer since 2003. She can be reached at
Comments
Appalachian State
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 16:12 — rbl (not verified)Given that Carolina is playing Tennessee, and attempting to schedule high profile opponents such as Penn State, Texas A & M, and Oklahoma, it hardly follows we are hiding from the Mountaineers.
On the other hand, since ECU expects Carolina and State to give them a shot, it would be a great gesture for the Pirates to travel to Boone and play ASU. I won't hold my breath for Terry Holland to make the appropriate phone call.
UNC future schedule
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 14:39 — gvillegatr2009 - The Shitadel, @ UCant, ECU and TBD
2010 - Bill and Mary, @ South Carolina, @ Rutgers, ECU
2011 - James Madison, Rutgers, Tennessee, @ ECU
2012 - @ Tennessee
scheduling
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 06:07 — george32how about a texas school for recruiting exposure?
I could be wrong but I think
Wed, 10/01/2008 - 23:37 — gvillegatrI could be wrong but I think Tennessee is on the schedule for a home and home in the next 5 years or so.
With the one open date next season and it likely having to be a Div 1-AA team ... let the whining and bit$%ing begin from up on the mountain!!
Why not schedule App State?
Wed, 10/01/2008 - 22:59 — Anonymous (not verified)Why not schedule App State? They're certainly as good as McNeese State. Doesn't look too good for the state's "flagship" school to run and hide.
The question is NOT "Why not?"
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 07:52 — melvinfurdThe question is NOT "Why not?", the question is "Why?"
I can't see any reason for NCU to play App St.
It seems Coach Davis is looking for a team with a national reputation to play home and away.
If the Tar Heels were to go to Boone (or wherever App St. is) there would not be 70,000+ fans in the stands and the game would be very unlikely to be on national TV.
If there is an "upside" for NCU to play App St. I fail to see it.
Of course, if Coach Davis were to want to play App St., I'm sure he'll contact the App St. AD or head coach.
"Run and hide" indeed! That's about as lame as it gets.
Scheduling football schedules is complicated, right?
Wed, 10/01/2008 - 19:52 — UNCAlumnusI've read that football coaches and teams create their schedules years in advance. With the Heels having an opening next year, I'd expecte another FCS opponent. That said, I think Davis will work to make future schedules exciting for both the players and fans. There are lots of schools in the east /midwest that could play each other out of conference. It would be neat to see the Heels in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, etc., and then see those same teams come and play in Chapel Hill
Many people (coaches
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 09:34 — Anonymous (not verified)Many people (coaches included) believe that scheduling is critical in building a program and it can be critical in the image of a program. And because it's done so far ahead of time, it's very difficult to know which version of a South Florida or Utah team will be rolling in four years out.
'Don't know about you, but I absolutely hate playing opponents from the non-BCS divisions. If we lose, it's a field day for the ABC'ers (and in most cases, rightfully so). If we win, the widely held view is that we were supposed to win, so it doesn't impress anyone -- including recruits.
There are plenty of schools that might fill the spots without resorting to playing the McNeese States, James Madisons or App. States of the football world: ECU, Vanderbilt, Navy, Kentucky, South Carolina, Utah, Syracyse, UTEP, Texas Tech, Louisville, Miami of Ohio, to name a few that have appeared on the UNC schedule in the past. Again, I have no disrespect for playing teams from the FCS. I just don't see how it helps us by playing them. In other words, we have a heck of a lot more to lose than they do.
One other point: So what if the team is highly regarded when they appear on the schedule? If the team happens to be having a great year and is ranked, so be it. And by all means, toss in a Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Penn State or Auburn each season. Maybe the day will come when they expect us to be their Homecoming day whipping boy and we'll walk away holding our helmets high with a W we'll remember for ages. That's the image we should strive for -- competitive against everyone!
I'm not suggesting that we should "overschedule" any more than I'm suggesting that we should try to avoid quality competition. Obviously, I like the idea of playing competetive non-conference teams. It gives us a more valid reading on where we are as a football program.
I'd love for every Sat. to be a "big" game.
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 12:35 — UNCAlumnusThat not only means UNC is shooting to knock teams off, but that some of those teams are shooting to knock UNC off. That said, the reality is that some of these games are home only. That means we don't have to go back, and we can get another home game in it's place the next year. That's revenue. Those home only games are against FCS teams (and Fresno St., as Pat Hill will play anybody anywhere). I hope the future schedules will bring some well known teams to Chapel Hill. Even if that means less home games in other seasons.