December 2009
2010 already here for football Heels →
The calendar year turns over to 2010 on Friday, and while the actual football season won’t start until the epic season opener in the Georgia Dome Labor Day weekend against LSU, the team gets back to…
Lucas: Focus Moves To 2010 →
Saturday, Peppers Make Pro Bowl
NFL Update: Week 16
Butch Davis didn’t wait for the ball to drop in Times Square before he focused on 2010. By the time he met the media after Carolina’s 19-17…
Another bowl season, more ACC struggles →
So far, it’s one step forward and three steps back, as usual, for the ACC this bowl season. In the conference’s perpetual pursuit of national respect in college football, Clemson’s Music City Bowl…
Heels reload for 2010 →
The makeup of the Carolina football team is going to be different next season, but how much so remains unanswered until some juniors decide whether they will return or make themselves eligible for…
2010 already here for Tar Heels →
Butch Davis sent a message to the players with remaining eligibility that the bar is being raised on the gridiron in Chapel Hill in 2010, and that they better be ready for an exciting ride. “(Coach…
Butch Davis needs to take reins for UNC to hit big... →
No, Butch Davis didn’t jump offside on a critical field goal attempt or commit any of the other physical or mental errors that cost UNC the game against the Panthers – or previous games against N.C….
Names were Changed, But Loss Looked Familiar →
UNC offensive coordinator John Shoop just had to show us how crafty he is when he refused to keep running Ryan Houston and instead had T.J. Yates try to throw, taking back-to-back sacks late in the…
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Instant Analysis - Meineke Car Care Bowl →
After this error-filled evening at Bank of America Stadium, is it any wonder that these two programs have yet to find the championship trophies that will allow them to reclaim the heights they both…
The weight of Expectations →
The UNC football team started the 2009 season with high expectations. The Tar Heels’ eight wins in 2008 were their most since 2001, they were coming off their first bowl game since 2004, and they…
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UNC puts bowl loss behind it, looks to 2010 →
Butch Davis said he was proud of his third UNC team for coming back from mid-season problems to win eight games but bemoaned crucial mistakes that helped Pitt. He said that the mistakes were not the…
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Extra Points: Holiday Heartache →
Butch Davis and the Tar Heels still have some work to do. They lost to West Virginia by one point in 2008 on Pat White’s throwing wizardry and now to Pitt by two points as tailback Dion Lewis darted…
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Smarter Heels would have finished 11-2 →
For the second straight game, both losses, Butch Davis said his team did not play smart. For Davis’ part, he took the blame for the Tar Heels’ mental errors in Saturday’s 19-17 loss to Pittsburgh but…
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Extra Points: Holiday Heartache →
UNC Falls To Pittsburgh In Meineke Bowl, 19-17
Walston: Well …
Postgame Quotes
Postgame Notes
Photo Gallery
AP Photo Gallery
Butch Davis was extolling the virtues of receiver…
Pitt edges UNC in Meineke Bowl →
Up by a point and with Pittsburgh pinned on its own 5-yard line, North Carolina couldn’t have asked for a better end-game scenario in Saturday’s Meineke Bowl. With the ACC’s best defense, and one of…
Mental errors bite Tar Heels →
About the moment that Urban Meyer jolted the American football mind last night, North Carolina jumped offside and helped Pitt kick a shorter field goal for a 19-17 victory. That’s the Abbreviated…
Postgame Quotes - North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh →
“We had a lot of respect for Pitt and for their football team. We knew their running game was a very good running game. They had a talented running back that could make guys miss in the hole. It was…
North Carolina Postgame Notes vs. Pittsburgh →
Making consecutive bowl trips for the first time since 1997-98, North Carolina made its third appearance in the Meineke Car Care Bowl and second straight, but the Tar Heels have dropped all three…
Deunta Williams to return for senior season,... →
UNC defensive back Deunta Williams plans to return for his senior season. After the Tar Heels’ Meineke Bowl loss to Pittsburgh, Williams told Tim Hall of 99.9FM The Fan he is “all the way back” and…
More Heartbreak in Charlotte →
As nice as it may be playing close to home, North Carolina probably wouldn’t mind a change of venue after losing its third-straight bowl appearance in the Queen City in a 19-17 loss to No. 17…
UNC-Pitt: Postgame Quotes + Audio →
“For the first time Greg Little got to play the position for a full year for the position we recruited him to play. When we recruited him to play, we said this is a prototypical, big time wide…
Walston: Well... →
‘Well, that’s Carolina football.’ You’ve probably thrown your hands up and said some variation on that phrase a time or two over the past few years. You might have done it Saturday afternoon. It’s…
UNC-Pitt: Between the Lines →
If you were going to take a snapshot of the 2009 season, it would be the moment where Cam Thomas is being flagged for being offsides on a 47-yard field goal attempt with the outcome of the game…
Observations: 2nd-quarter play caliing... →
Can’t help but question the play calling by UNC’s staff near the Pittsburgh goal line in the second quarter. The Tar Heels rode the tough running of Ryan Houston on 10 of 12 plays to get into…
Tar Heels' performance par for the course →
Somewhere between bitter and sweet, North Carolina’s 2009 football season ended Saturday evening with a 19-17 loss to No.17 Pittsburgh in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Tar Heels finished the season…
Pitt drops Tar Heels with late FG in Meineke Car... →
It should’ve been the perfect situation for North Carolina and its talented defense. Even though the Tar Heels held a precarious one-point lead, only 9 1-2 minutes remained in Saturday’s Meineke Car…
Pitt clips UNC in Meineke Car Care Bowl →
Pitt tailback Dion Lewis became the most prolific freshman ground-gainer in school history Saturday night, bumping legendary Tony Dorsett to second place. At the end of the Meineke Car Care Bowl,…
Mental errors plague Heels in Meineke Bowl loss →
After making a spectacular touchdown catch over two Pittsburgh defenders Saturday early in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, North Carolina receiver Greg Little kicked the football into the stands at Bank…
Tar Heels let another one slip away →
The game had been over for less than 30 minutes, but already UNC football coach Butch Davis was anxious to put both it and the season it helped bring to close into the past. “We’re already over it,”…
Next year, no excuses for UNC →
The pundits will be kind to Butch Davis and the Tar Heels today. And the fans probably won’t make a big deal out of Saturday’s 19-17 loss to Pittsburgh in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Panthers…
Little, Lewis shine in sloppy Meineke Bowl →
The ball was halfway to him by the time UNC wide receiver Greg Little looked over his left shoulder to find it. He couldn’t have liked what he saw. The pass had disaster written all over it. Three…
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Pittsburgh's late kick beats UNC →
Pittsburgh put together a time-consuming, draining final drive, aided by one critical North Carolina mistake, to get the points that it needed last night to win the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Dan…
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Pitt beats North Carolina 19-17 in Meineke Bowl →
Pittsburgh hasn’t won this many games since Dan Marino was the quarterback. The only player in school history to rush for more yards in a season than freshman sensation Dion Lewis is somebody named…
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Panthers cash in Tar Heels' mistakes →
According to UNC coach Butch Davis, the Tar Heels already had moved on from their 19-17 loss to No. 17 Pittsburgh less than 30 minutes after the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Saturday. “We’re already over…
Pitt Beats North Carolina 19-17 In Meineke Bowl →
It wasn’t the bowl Pittsburgh wanted to be in, but the Panthers made a case that they’ve returned to prominence. Dion Lewis rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown to pass Tony Dorsett as Pittsburgh’s…
UNC Falls to Pittsburgh in Meineke Car Care Bowl,... →
Dion Lewis rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown to pass Tony Dorsett as Pittsburgh’s top freshman rusher, and Dan Hutchins kicked a 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to give the 17th-ranked…
Bowl win would be progress for UNC →
In many ways, today’s Meineke Car Care Bowl illustrates the improvement North Carolina has made under Butch Davis and the progress the Tar Heels still have to make. For the first time since 1998, UNC…
Tudor's take: Heels are due for bowl win →
For a team that ended the regular season on a two-game losing streak, the Panthers came very close to reaching a BCS bowl. Losses to West Virginia and Cincinnati snapped a six-game winning streak…
Businesses savor bowl fan dollars →
Today’s Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, featuring North Carolina and Pittsburgh, will attract thousands of football fans, traffic tie-ups and tailgaters. Some of the biggest fans may be Charlotte…
Davis, Wannstedt - old friends, new foes →
It has been 30 years since Butch Davis and Dave Wannstedt first worked together as assistant football coaches on Jimmy Johnson’s staff at Oklahoma State. For 11 seasons, in different places with…
Familiar faces, familiar places →
North Carolina coach Butch Davis and Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt spent 11 seasons together coaching defense under Jimmy Johnson — best known for winning a national championship at Miami and two…
A survivor supports a fighter →
Thousands of North Carolina football fans will be cheering Robert Quinn on Saturday in Charlotte, eager for more glimpses of his speed, savvy, and ability to rush and crush quarterbacks in the Tar…
Pitt vs. North Carolina over the years →
This will be the seventh meeting in a series North Carolina leads 4-2. The teams last met Nov.4, 2000, at Pittsburgh during the waning days of Carl Torbush’s tenure as coach. The Tar Heels entered…
UNC will try it again →
North Carolina will make a repeat appearance in the Meineke Car Care Bowl today but will play with a different attitude. This time, the game’s not for fun. “The last time we were here, we played a…
Final game holds plenty of meaning →
Cynics and critics of the college football bowl system would say that Pitt (9-3) and North Carolina (8-4) will play a meaningless game this afternoon when they meet in the Meineke Car Care Bowl at…
Two teams who had big hopes tangle in Charlotte... →
When the current college football season started, most University of North Carolina fans were aiming higher than a return trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Up until the final week of the 2009…
Pitt-UNC features coaching friends, tough matchups →
Butch Davis’ Tar Heels didn’t envision a second straight trip to Charlotte until an upset loss to NC State in the regular-season finale saw them tumble in the ACC’s bowl pecking order. But knocking…
Tar Heels still short of elite status →
In many ways, Saturday’s Meineke Car Care Bowl illustrates the improvement North Carolina has made under Butch Davis and the progress the Tar Heels still have to make. For the first time since 1998,…
Zack Pianalto produces →
Both times that North Carolina tight end Zack Pianalto has found the end zone in his college career, he’s required medical assistance to get out of the end zone. But when Pianalto is healthy enough…
A Nice Move for Deunta Williams →
Five years ago, North Carolina’s Deunta Williams was recruited to become the next standout wide receiver for the Tar Heels. And Saturday, against No. 17 Pittsburgh in the Meineke Car Care Bowl (4:30…
David Glenn Chats With Butch Davis →
David Glenn recently caught up with UNC football coach Butch Davis on Glenn’s afternoon radio show. Among the topics they discussed: the prospect of turnover on Davis’ staff; his tenure as the head…