There are three things to talk about when looking back at yesterday's game: embarrassingly awful mistakes; a failure to close out games; and finally questions about when is Carolina football going to finally turn the corner?
Embarrassingly awful mistakes: quarterback TJ Yates' interception at the goal line in the second quarter; Greg Little's stupid punt after a great and super-athletic touchdown catch; Barth's out-of-bounds squib kick at the end of the first half; 12 penalties; worst of all, the offsides that allowed Pitt to kick a 33-yard field goal instead of a 47 yarder.
That is a long list of mistakes to overcome.
Closing out games: it seems that time after time, the Heels have a lead but can't finish. Perhaps the Heels assume their excellent defense will always rise to the occasion, and maybe we need more depth on that side of the ball to keep guys fresh for four quarters. Or the offense needs to stay on the field longer. For whatever reason, the defense hasn't been able to close out games against Georgia Tech, at home vs. Florida State, at NC State, and the last 2 Meineke Car Care Bowls.
Finally, when will Carolina football turn the corner? Butch Davis has tantalizingly teed up expectations by regularly beating Miami, beating Notre Dame last year, defeating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg this season. However, the Heels can't beat NC State or Virginia. Those wins, and Davis' recruiting prowess, have made casual football fans like me - I can't believe I've spent so much time blogging about Carolina football - really care again.
To finally turn the corner the Heels will need to cut down on the mistakes, especially the mental ones like Yates bad interceptions and penalties, and get over the hump by defeating teams like Virginia and particularly NC State. Heels fans will have high expectations for next year's team, a team that will feature a more experienced offensive line, a four-year starter at quarterback, and an experienced defense that hopefully will learn to close out games.
On the other hand, maybe Carolina football has turned the corner. The Heels have gone to back-to-back bowl games, and the fact that Carolina football matters and that fans have realistic and ambitious expectations is a testament to where Butch Davis has taken the program. Let's hope for continued progress and at least 9 wins - including a win over NC State - next year.
A Few Random Notes
- If the game had been on Dec. 26th, Evan and I would have seriously considered going. Having to travel so close to Christmas was a deal-breaker for us, and I guess for many North Carolinians as only 50,000 showed up yesterday.
- Terrible basketball games to watch on Christmas. I like the NBA-Christmas hoops tradition, but this year's games were terrible. I've never liked the Celtics - even though Sheed plays for them now - and liked them even less after watching Boston spend 48 minutes swarming and hacking Dwight Howard. Ditto for the Lakers-Cavaliers game, another inelegant wrestling match of a game. Let the players play; I wish referees would call more fouls against physical defenses. There are too many low-scoring scrums in the post-Pat Riley NBA.
- The Wizards, in particular Gilbert Arenas, looked terrible yesterday. I thought he was fully recovered from his knee problems and having not played basketball for two seasons, but he's not. The Wiz committed 18 turnovers in losing to Wayne Ellington's Minnesota Timberwolves.
- Tyler Hansbrough had a double-double last night, 19 and 11, in the Pacers' loss to Marvin Williams' Atlanta Hawks. Hansbrough played a season-high 31+ minutes and was 7 for 20 from the field. He's having a good season now that he appears to be fully back in basketball shape but his shooting percentage continues to be in the 30s (37 percent for the season). One reason is Psycho T continues to have a lot of his shots blocked; against the Hawks last night 6 of his shots were blocked (4 by Al Horford). Once he figures that out . . .
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