Coming off a national championship and a roster overhaul, coaches picked North Carolina No. 4 in the nation in the preseason coaches’ poll released Thursday. Duke, who reached the Sweet 16 before losing by 23 points to eventual Final Four-bound Villanova, is ranked No. 8 in the poll. Both teams tied for first in the […]
Jacob Swiger
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UNC-Virginia Tech preview: Heels face defining road test
North Carolina (4-3) at No. 14 Virginia Tech (5-2) [7:30 p.m., Oct. 29, Lane Stadium] Televised by ESPN Another Thursday night game, but this time North Carolina travels to Blacksburg to face an angry and bitter Virginia Tech team looking to stay in the Coastal Division race. The past few games between these two schools […]
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UNC Tuesday Tour: Where’s that panic button?
It’s been a weird several days since Christian Ponder went all Drew Brees on the Tar Heels. Grumblings from fans and media have begun permeating through the blogosphere. Most of which point to coach Butch Davis’ 16-16 record at Carolina as not worthy of a multimillion-dollar contract. The frustrations UNC fans feel aren’t unrealistic. The […]
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FSU 30, UNC 27: Ponder shreds UNC secondary in second half
KENAN MEMORIAL STADIUM/CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina pulled out all the stops for the visiting Florida State Seminoles. New uniform combination. First Thursday night contest in Kenan Stadium. The best fan atmosphere since the Notre Dame victory in 2008. Oh, and a bounty of gadget plays that healed the pathetic offensive performances against UConn, Georgia […]
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Halftime UNC 17, FSU 6: Heels offense rejuvenates with gadget plays
KENAN MEMORIAL STADIUM/CHAPEL HILL — Both UNC and FSU took advantage of the bye week to implement new offensive formations, but through the first 30 minutes, the Tar Heels had more big plays through the air, leading to a 17-6 halftime advantage. The Tar Heels and Seminoles motioned out of sets and ran gadget plays, […]
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UNC-FSU preview: Win one for Ramses … er, Chapel Hill
North Carolina (4-2) vs. Florida State (2-4) [8 p.m., Oct. 22, Kenan Memorial Stadium] Televised by ESPN The Thursday night atmosphere was supposed to be window dressing for a pivotal ACC contest midway through the season. Unfortunately for these two teams, neither has beaten an ACC foe and the loser will face an even tougher […]
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UNC Tuesday Tour: Here comes Bobby!
Florida State travels to Chapel Hill for the first Thursday night football game in Chapel Hill history — part of coach Butch Davis’ plan to raise a giant of a program. The drama surrounding the game ranges from where the heck people are going to park to whether enough students will show up. Oh yeah, […]
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UNC midseason report card: ‘But Coach, the teacher grades too tough’
At 4-2 overall and still needing to finish .500 in its last six games to attend some random tire bowl, the North Carolina football team trots home to have coach Butch Davis sign the dotted line. Is it refrigerator worthy or will there be no more Twinkies in their lunch boxes? The report card for […]
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UNC 42, Georgia Southern 12: Questions linger after second half blunders
Kenan Memorial Stadium/Chapel Hill — So much for not forcing turnovers. UNC’s famous (or infamous depending on your perspective) linebacker trio combined for three out of the six turnovers — six being the most turnovers forced since the Duke game in 1999. Those three turnovers churned out 21 points and put the Golden Eagles out […]
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Halftime UNC 42, Georgia Southern 7: Linebackers take turns feasting on Eagles
Kenan Memorial Stadium/Chapel Hill — UNC’s linebackers stole the show in the first half as each starter forced a turnover. The fifth longest fumble return in school history pushed the Heels ahead by 14, and linebacker Zach Brown intercepted Lee Chapple on the ensuing possession to put this game out of reach early for the […]
