Tar Heels Football

The GOOD News: For the second week in a row, the UNC Tar Heels will play a nationally televised Thursday night 8pm game on ESPN. This is great exposure for the Tar Heels for national recruiting and a chance to show the football program’s rebuilding progress under Butch Davis is still heading in the right direction. The Tar Heels defense also continues to be one of the best defensive units in the ACC and the country when it is not on the field most of the game.

The BAD News: The Tar Heels will face the 14th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg, Va. in an ACC divisional matchup that should prove to be very difficult for a struggling North Carolina Football team that has fallen to 0-3 in conference play.

After an impressive first half performance in Chapel Hill against the Florida State Seminoles, numerous mental mistakes and poor quarterback play once again led the Heels to an ACC home loss to a team that was previously winless in ACC play. The Seminoles outscored the Tar Heels 24-3 in the second half in a come back victory that placed the Tar Heels in sole possession of last place in the ACC Coastal Division. The Tar Heel offense looked completely lost in its final two possessions of the game, as they still had a good chance to either tie the game with a field goal or score a go-ahead touchdown in the 30-27 loss.

Last season’s quarterback play was one of the bright spots on a Tar Heel team that resulted in 8 wins, a bowl game invitation, and was just a play away from a great bowl game victory against a solid West Virginia team. This year, the quarterback position has been a growing concern, as throwing accuracy, turnovers and an inability to hit open receivers has kept its defensive unit in difficult situations. Last season, backup QB Cam Sexton stepped in for an injured TJ Yates to lead the Heels to a majority of their 2008 victories. Sexton transferred after the 2008 season ended due to his end of season benching when TJ Yates returned from injury, despite the strong performances from Sexton in Yates’ absence. Sexton is now the starting QB at Catawba  College and many say he still has a chance to play on Sunday’s in the NFL.