LSU vs. UNC: Tar Heels Fall Short On Heroic Comeback, Lose To LSU, 30-24

The critics, this write included, thought the halftime score was expected.  That is, LSU drubbing the Tar Heels 10-30 a the half.  The Tar Heels had just gone up 10-7 with 8:24 to go in the 2nd quarter with a Casey Barth field goal when the wheels, and doors for that matter, seemed to come off.  LSU blitzed the Tar Heels with a series of special team plays, a 50-yard TD run by Russell Shepard, a Rueben Randle 51 yard catch, and a safety. By the time the clock read 2:28 in the 2nd quarter, the Heels were down 20.

Credit must be given to Butch Davis and the Tar Heel players who instead of letting the 20 point deficit, on top of all the controversy surrounding the group, affect their play, came out motivated to crawl back into the game.  Sure, it helped that LSU came out in the 2nd half as if they expected the Tar Heels to roll over.  LSU played conservative on offense, almost challenging the Tar Heels to try to make a game out of this mess.  And the Tar Heels did.

Pinned-down at their 3-yard line in the 4th quarter, TJ Yates launched a beautiful pass to a streaking Jheranie Boyd to make the score 30-17 LSU.  The Tar Heels then got within one score with a gorgeous arching pass that found Erik Highsmith in the back of the endzone with 2:32 to play.  Hell broke lose when in the ensuing on-sides kick, the Tar Heels recovered the ball after a UNC player illegally made contact with the LSU player that was trying to recover the on-sides kick.  In the ensuing drive, on 4th and 5 at the LSU 43, LSU blitzed and caught TJ Yates rolling to his right, causing a fumble that was recovered by the Tigers.  With only two timeouts left, all seemed lost for the Heels. With no timeouts remaining, Stevan Ridley rushed down the middle and just as he crossed the 1st down marker, he was stripped of the ball, which was recovered by Quan Strudivant.

With no timeouts left, TJ Yates drove the Tar Heels to the LSU 6 yard-line.  Yates tried to find Zack Pianalto in the end zone on 2nd down, but his throw went behind Pianalto, who tried to catch the ball but was unable to thanks to good coverage by LSU.  With one more play left in the game, Yates tried Pianalto again down the middle.  Pianalto appeared to get clipped by an LSU linebacker just as he stepped towards the end zone, but with no penalty called, Yates' pass ended up being just too far for Pianalto to grab.  With that, the comeback attempt from the Tar Heels was dead.

While a win would have been an immense boost of confidence to a team embroiled in the biggest scandal in recent school history, the fact that the Tar Heels came back on a game where they could have folded after being down 20 at the half is commendable.  Butch Davis and the players should pat themselves in the back for clawing back into the game and playing with the intensity that Tar Heel faithful have come to expect from their squads.  The 2 weeks leading to the Georgia Tech game are sure to bring more drama related to the NCAA and UNC administration investigation, but at least the coaching staff and Tar Heel fans can rest in knowing that no matter what is thrown at them, their boys will play their hearts out and make anyone who wears Carolina blue proud.