Carrying On About College Football (Sept. 29)

1. DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH: NORTH CAROLINA 28, MIAMI 24

In this week’s Diamond in the Rough spotlight game, an ACC battle that was in doubt until the very final play, the North Carolina Tar Heels escaped with a 28-24 win in Miami on Saturday afternoon.

Making the most of his much-anticipated homecoming, UNC Coach Butch Davis pulled out his second straight victory over the Hurricanes, a squad he coached from 1995-2000.

The loss was Miami’s fourth straight ACC defeat at home, a staggering statistic for a program with so much past history, pride, and (the word I heard 17 million times on ESPN2 Saturday) swagger.

As if the home conference losing streak wasn’t hard enough to swallow, Miami was actually in control throughout much of Saturday’s game, and didn’t trail until the final 46 seconds.

Playing without injured starting quarterback T.J. Yates, the Tar Heels were in catchup mode all afternoon.

Freshman Mike Paulus (you may have heard of his brother: the Duke point guard that everyone loves to hate) started the game under center, but was ineffective (1-4 on the day), and Cameron Sexton relieved him late in the first quarter.

Sexton threw the game-winning touchdown pass to senior Brooks Foster in the final minute.

Down by four, Miami mounted one final desperation rally, and the last throw of the game tantalizingly hit receiver Kayne Farquharson in the end zone...but it was snatched away by North Carolina safety Trimane Goddard, crushing the hopes of the orange and green faithful.

(Note: this “faithful” I speak of is either invisible or must have been watching on television, because the stadium was amazingly deserted. Maybe the fans just miss the Orange Bowl? Whatever the reason, there has to be some “faithful” somewhere. Right? Right?)

North Carolina got a big game from both of its starting receivers, including the best player you might not have heard of, KR/WR Brandon Tate.

Tate and fellow wideout Hakeem Nicks combined for almost 200 yards worth of catches, and Tate added three kick returns for 22 yards a pop.

To prove he can really do it all, Tate even threw a pass on Saturday. Going 1-1 for 12 yards might make him the Heels’ leader in passing efficiency...who knows?

On the defensive side of the ball, Goddard had two interceptions for UNC in the final seven minutes of the contest.

In another stat line worth mentioning: Miami got 110 yards on the ground from Graig Cooper. The sophomore looks to be another in the long line of Hurricane star running backs (Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James, etc.)

Both of these squads look to be a year (or two) away from making some real noise on the national scene. The rosters and two-deeps are littered with underclassmen, and credit both Davis and Miami coach Randy Shannon with making an impact on the recruiting trail.

According to the ESPN crew, Miami actually has 23 freshmen from Florida alone this year; eight of those players are from the same Miami high school, state champion and national powerhouse Northwestern HS.

Nevertheless, it’s the Heels that survived Saturday’s thriller to improve their season record to 3-1, while strengthening their hopes of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2004.

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