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T.J. Yates led No. 18 North Carolina to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and nearly a third on the final play of the game, but it wasn't enough for the short-handed Tar Heels, as No. 21 LSU barely held on for a 30-24 win at the Georgia Dome. Read more at Carolina March and And The Valley Shook.
It wasn't pretty, but the fourth quarter of the 2010 Chick-fil-A Classic certainly was captivating. When last we left our heroes, T.J. Yates had fumbled trailing by six with a minute and a half to play. Less than twenty seconds later, LSU's Stevan Ridley was hit hard on the run, and fumbled, recovered by Quan Sturdivant. Yates went into hurry-up pass mode again, leading a 67-yard, rapid-fire drive to the LSU 6-yard line ... where he threw two incomplete passes into the endzone. Final score: LSU 30, UNC 24.
With time winding down in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Classic, T.J. Yates led a 13-play, 67-yard touchdown drive that ate the better part of five minutes off the clock, and capped it by lofting a 14-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Erik Highsmith in the corner of the endzone. UNC has recovered the onside kick. Two and half minutes to play. We got a game here, people.
[UPDATE: Correction -- we do not have a game here. Yates is sacked running the hurry-up with a minute and a half on the clock. He fumbles. The ball squirts backwards. LSU recovers.]
After a scoreless third quarter between LSU and UNC, at about the three-hour mark of this game, an LSU touchdown gets called back, and Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit drop all pretense of even appearing to care what's happening on the field. Eyelids across America begin to droop. UNC fans (whom, it should be noted, have stayed to watch the slow death of their squad in admirable droves), trickle up the stairs and out of the Georgia Dome.
And that's about when T.J. Yates rears back in the shadow of his own goalpost and launches a pass at Jheranie Boyd, who catches it around the 50 and rockets to a 97-yard touchdwon. It is the longest play from scrimmage in Carolina history. LSU leads, 30-17, but eight minutes remain, and we're wondering: Where has that play been all night?
LSU-UNC, by the numbers with two quarters down and two remaining:
• 150 LSU punt return yards
• 18 UNC rushing attempts
• 12 UNC rushing yards
• 5 Total fumbles
• 2 of 9 UNC third-down conversions
• 3 of 3 Red-zone scores
LSU leads, 30-10.
We've all had ample opportunity tonight to witness what this LSU team does with breaks that go its way. We're now fairly certain the game is breaking open right about now because of UNC's inability to do the same (although in a day that saw Ole Miss blow a 31-10 lead to Jacksonville State and lose in double overtime, nothing is ever as out of reach as it seems).
UNC recovered an LSU fumble. Their capitalization: A two-yard rush, a sack, a three-yard loss rush, and a punt ... that Patrick Peterson returned for an 86-yard touchdown. LSU 23, UNC 10; four minutes remain in the half.
[UPDATE: In the time it took me to type the two short paragraphs above, the Tar Heels went three-and-out and LSU's Rueben Randle caught a 51-yard touchdown pass on the very next play. Talent differential can't be forgotten, either.)
Well, well, we got ourselves the makin's! Things Are Happening! But they're ACC things, which means a pass for a 75-yard gain from Yates to Jheranie Boyd is followed by a two-yard rush and two incomplete passes and a field goal for a 10-7 UNC lead.
Les Miles is quick with the 20-sided Die Of Occasional Offensive Prowess, however, and the ensuing kickoff is returned by the Tigers for 45 yards. Six seconds later, Russell Shephard scores a 50-yard rushing touchdown. Tigers lead 14-10 with just over eight minutes remaining in the half, and have stopped UNC's kickoff return inside the Tar Heel's five-yard line.
And this is about where things fall apart for North Carolina, again -- the ball goes out of the end zone for a safety. LSU leads, 16-10.
After an action-free remainder of a first quarter, the highlight of which was a ceremonious sacking of T.J. Yates for a nine-yard UNC loss on third down, the start of the second quarter sees all our lowballed offensive estimates completely outstripped. (To be fair, this is because we expected neither team to score a touchdown.) Yates threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Devon Ramsay, and the Tigers and Tar Heels are tied at 7-all with 13:49 remaining in the second quarter.
Hot topic in the press box: UNC has a kid returning kicks named Hunter Furr. Why is this young man not playing for LSU?
The second UNC fumble of the game seemed to take for the Tigers, and Jordan Jefferson connected with Russell Shepard for a six-yard touchdown pass down the middle. Tigers lead Tar Heels 7-0 with 8:57 remaining in the first quarter.
I have a sinking feeling I know what the rest of this game is going to look like based on what we've seen so far in just over two minutes of play in the Chick-fil-A Classic: A UNC fumble on the second play of the game by Johnny White (remember him?), a missed LSU field goal, and UNC fumbling right back on the ensuing possession. Already rowdy, Tiger fans are jumping up below us to peek into the press box. "HEY! MEDIA! HEY MEDIA YOU SEE THAT?"
UNC, you'll recall, is currently in the throes of two different football program investigations -- one academic and one concerning improper agent contact. Between those two scandals, the Tar Heels will be down thirteen players for tonight's season opener against LSU, many of them starters. Linebackers Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter have been cleared; safety Deunta Williams has been added to the roster of those riding pine.
Two absent will be tailbacks Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston; SB Nation's Carolina March introduces offensive heir apparent Johnny White:
White was the starting tailback back in 2007 for eight games and finished the season as the team's leading rusher. Unfortunately, it only took 399 yards to lead the team that season, and he lost the starting job before the season's end to Greg Little. White found himself playing cornerback for much of 2008, before returning to the tailback position; he spent last season as the third option behind Draughns and Houston. His best game came after Draughns' injury when he managed 83 yards on 7 carries, to go along with 17 carriers from Houston and 4 from Jheranie Boyd.
Follow along with the premier match of kickoff weekend here and at SB Nation's LSU and UNC communities.
(Sports Network) An intriguing 2010 season-opener takes place in Atlanta this weekend, as 21st-ranked LSU takes on 18th-ranked North Carolina in the Chick- fil-A Kickoff Game.
Les Miles may be on the hot seat in Death Valley this year, despite posting a rather productive 51-15 mark in his five previous seasons at the helm. The team finished last year with nine victories, but narrow losses to the likes of Florida and national champion Alabama during the regular season and a heart- breaking 19-17 setback to Penn State in the Capital One Bowl, stung and left the team feeling like it had not accomplished much by LSU standards.
The Tar Heels on the other hand, continue to improve under the leadership of head coach Butch Davis, who enters his fourth season in Chapel Hill. Behind a stellar defense, UNC posted a second consecutive eight-win campaign and played in the Meineke Car Care Bowl and although it resulted in a 19-17 loss to Pittsburgh, it did mark back-to-back postseason berths for the Tar Heels for the first time in 10 years.
Unfortunately for North Carolina, the school has declared six players ineligible for this game for violations of school or NCAA rules, and will keep six others out of opener while the investigation continues.
Defensive tackle Marvin Austin, who had already been suspended by Davis for violating team rules, was one of the players ruled ineligible. The others are cornerbacks Charles Brown and Kendric Burney, wide receiver Greg Little and defensive ends Michael McAdoo and Robert Quinn.
The six others who will be withheld from Saturday's game are tailbacks Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston, defensive end Linwan Euwell and safeties Brian Gupton, Da'Norris Searcy and Jonathan Smith.
This is the seventh all-time meeting between these two teams. The Tar Heels captured the first-ever meeting in 1948. LSU has won five in a row since then, including a 30-3 rout in Baton Rouge in the last meeting in 1986.
The main problem for LSU a year ago was a stagnant offense that ranked as the worst in the SEC.
There is no doubt that more production is needed and the hope is that quarterback Jordan Jefferson will lead the way. Jefferson completed 182 passes for 2,166 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2009, with only seven interceptions, but it was a turnstyle along the offensive line and 34 sacks limited Jefferson's effectiveness.
Senior Terrance Toliver returns as the team's top receiver after posting 53 receptions for 735 yards and three touchdowns a year ago. The ground attack will be handled by a committee of backs. Russel Shepard is the leading returning runner with 277 yards in '09, but will move to receiver this fall. Expect a combination of senior Richard Murphy, junior Stevan Ridley and redshirt freshman Michael Ford to share the workload on the ground.
The LSU defense was among the top units in the country in 2009 and that made things all that much more disappointing, considering the offense could not capitalize on the defense's stingy play. The squad returns just four starters from a year ago, but still has a chance to be productive.
The strength is in the secondary, where CBs Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne are as good as it gets. That is certainly the sentiment of Miles.
"In my opinion, arguably it will be the finest corner tandem in the conference.
Just a junior, Peterson could very well leave the Tigers after this season and become a NFL first-round pick. He is a true shutdown corner and can take away half of the field. Claiborne is a sophomore who showed tremendous promise as a rookie.
Pep Levingston, a senior defensive tackle, is the lone returner up front and will be counted on for leadership. The only starting LB that returns is senior Kelvin Sheppard, who recorded 110 tackles in 2009.
The Tar Heels weren't the most productive offensive team around last year, averaging a modest 307.8 ypg. The hope is however, with 10 starters returning to the mix, those numbers can increase significantly.
It starts up front, with four starting offensive linemen returning. That stability should provide quarterback T.J. Yates with a sense of comfort. Yates completed 60 percent of his passes last season, but threw more INTs (15) than TD passes (14), something he must improve on in 2010. A seasoned receiving corps will help whomever is under center, highlighted by senior Greg Little (62 receptions, 724 yards, five TDs) and sophomore Erik Highsmith (37 receptions, for 425 yards and two TDs), who showed flashes of brilliant play as a freshman in 2009. Highsmith may have to become even more of a factor if Little misses significant time due to the current rash of suspensions. The team will also benefit from a stable of veteran rushers, led by the duo of Ryan Houston (713 yards, nine TDs) and Shaun Draughn (567 yards, one TD) -- although both will miss this contest.
Even with the loss of some key players, there is no doubt that the North Carolina defense is the driving force in Chapel Hill and may very well be the best stop unit in the country heading into 2010. The squad, which effectively stopped the run (95.6 ypg) and the pass (174.0 ypg) last season, could be even better this year. Nine of the 11 starters are back in the fold and as many as six of those guys could hear their name called early in next year's NFL Draft.
The defensive line boasts two of the nation's very best in rush end Robert Quinn and stalwart defensive tackle Marvin Austin. The 6-5, 270-pound Quinn earned First-Team All-ACC honors in 2009, racking up 52 tackles, 19 TFLs and 11 sacks, despite being just a sophomore. Austin (6-3, 305) is a monster in the middle (42 tackles, four sacks), but his indefinite suspension will have a major impact. There is plenty of talent to assuage the loss though, as LBs Quan Sturdivant (79 tackles, 11 TFLs, one sack) and Bruce Carter (65 tackles, two sacks) are as good as it gets at their respective positions. The secondary is stacked as well, with All-American candidates in Kendric Burney (52 tackles, five INTs), Charles Brown (66 tackles, three INTs) and Deunta Williams (47 tackles, six INTs) all possessing big play ability. As mentioned, Quinn, Brown and Burney will miss this game as well.
"As I've have said, there is no single game more important than the character and integrity of this university," a dejected but determined Davis said. "We are disappointed the players' choices have denied them the opportunity to compete alongside their teammates and represent the University of North Carolina. Our coaches and players have a tremendous challenge this weekend, and despite these circumstances, our team will be excited to face LSU."
In a game that figured to be dominated by top-notch defensive play, the climate now turns to one of uncertainty as the suspensions for UNC could easily prove to be its undoing. Can the Tar Heels rally? Not likely.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: LSU 23, North Carolina 17
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LSU 30, North Carolina 24: Tar Heels Late Rally Slips Away, Tigers Hang On For Win
Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - T.J. Yates led 18th-ranked North Carolina to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and nearly a third on the final play of the game, but it wasn't enough for the short-handed Tar Heels, as No. 21 LSU barely held on for a 30-24 win at the Georgia Dome.
The Heels were without 13 players for the season-opener. Seven of those were for violations of school or NCAA rules and six others were kept out while the investigation continues into possible violations of North Carolina law involving sports agents.
Yates had over 400 yards passing, with over half of that being reeled in by Jheranie Boyd, but the Tigers (1-0) were able to thwart final pass to the end zone.
It all seemed lost for the Tar Heels (0-1) after Yates was sacked from the blind side by Tyrann Mathieu, and the Tigers recovered at the UNC 39 with 1 1/2 minutes left. But Stevan Ridley fumbled the ball away on third down, giving UNC life again.
Boyd made a key 21-yard catch, and Yates followed that with a 20-yarder to the sideline for Joshua Adams. A nine-yard connection to senior tight end Zack Pianalto put the ball at the six with six seconds left. The two tried hooking up again in the back of the end zone, but Pianalto couldn't hold on.
That gave Yates a last try with two seconds left. He looked for Pianalto over the middle, just over the goal line, but the pass fell incomplete as linebacker Stefoin Francois impeded the tight end's progress with his left hand. Yates motioned for a penalty flag, but none came and LSU coach Les Miles breathed a sigh of relief.
Sep 05 12:20a by Ryan Hudson - 0 comments