UNC
Football 2005 Wrap-Up:
33 30
Two roads diverged in a wood, and the Terps take the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost (Die Hard Terp Fan)
My take on the game:
By: Bob W.
Overall:
Not to get all literate on everyone but that quotes says it all. This game was a gut check, not just for us, but for UNC. It is one thing to win a game this important for the program when the other team is outmatched and uninspired, but to go out on the road and bring back win #5 against a desperate and talented Carolina team says it all. How many times in the pre-Friedgen era did we have a chance to do something like this and we came up short? No one will talk about this game like the other great Maryland games of ole, but if we can win one more and become bowl eligible, it will be because of this. Having the bowl bid not only give something to show recruits, it gives all our Juniors and Sophomores one more month of practice. If we had lost this game we would have had to beat a big BC team at home, and then beat a desperate NC State team in Carter Finley to get to 6-5. Had UNC won, all they would have had to do is beat Duke for win #6, now they have to beat Duke and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. There was a lot at stake on Saturday for two Universities and Ralph and the boys took the high road, and come December, that will make all the difference.
Tailgate Recap:
Before I get into the game I just want to touch on the tailgating a little. I thought it would be stupid to do a whole D-7 tailgate recap with only two members in attendance. I mean who would I give the MVP award to? We made the trip with my friends Jared and Melinda who happened to have friends who were UNC alums and season ticket holders. They were more than kind enough to take us under their wings for the day.
I was a little apprehensive when I found out we would be tailgating in a UNC fraternity parking lot. I pictured drunk brothers throwing the football around and puking all over the place, when they weren’t insulting Maryland fans of course, but I could not have been more wrong. We arrived at 9:30 in the lot and our group was the only group there. We hung out for a few hours and only a couple more groups showed up. When the time came to finally break the seal I was told to just go into the house and use the bathroom. Of course I was mortified. They’d string me alive in there. So after an armed escort of Carolina fans I finally relented and went inside. The house was empty. I did not see a soul. I wasn’t even sure the building was still in use. But it was. I don’t know where everyone was but it wasn’t at all like College Park. The people were friendly and a lot of tailgating was done up on campus, but never in my wildest dreams would I take an opposing fan into a Maryland frat house on game day. (For the life of me I can’t decide if that last sentence is a dig or a compliment to Maryland). Anyway, laid back atmosphere, nice crowd, late arriving though and I was shocked the place wasn’t more packed for such a vital game. NC State felt like a million miles away, not just down the road.
It was also at this tailgate that it finally dawned on me. Some probably thought of this earlier, but why did the ACC break into the two divisions it has now? Why didn’t they use fan behavior to determine who plays who every year. You can name the two divisions Budweiser and Merlot. Here would be the breakdown:
Merlot gets: UNC, Duke, UVA, Miami, Wake, Ga Tech*
Budweiser gets: Maryland, Va Tech, Clemson, NC State, Florida State, Boston College*
(* I don’t know enough about these teams fans to place them correctly, but this seems reasonable).
On second thought maybe we should keep things the way they are for now.
Game Highlights:
Back to the game. Wow picking a highlight, this is tough. There would be a play that I would say to myself “there you go, that’s your highlight. Try to remember it when it is time to write the recap”. Then by the next quarter the play was totally irrelevant. I think Vernon Davis’s TD was absolutely incredible. I also thought Hollenbach’s 67 yard TD to Jo Jo Walker was the big moment. Then the 80 harder to Danny Melendez Brothers I thought was the highlight. Then there was the forced fumble by Milton Harris on the big pass by Carolina which literally sucked the wind out of the stadium. Though all those moments were important, I am going to go with the missed Connor Barth field goal in overtime. Not until I saw BOTH referee’s signal “No Good” did I finally let myself fathom the thought of us winning this game. The ball must have been in the air for 5 minutes and only when 50,000 UNC fans fell silent, followed by a roar of 5,000 in red did it finally sink in. The Terps ran out onto the field and celebrated like they knew how important this game was. Then they all came over to sing the fight song and I swear the chain link fence behind the hedges was the only thing that kept them from coming into the stands to hug the fans. UNC on the other hand left the field. One Tar Heel we were with said she had never seen the Heels leave the field without listening to the band play the Alma Mater, but on November 12, 2005, the Carolina band played to only grass.
Game Lowlights:
Again, there were plenty of lowlights to choose from. When Ryan McDonald got called for back to back holding penalties followed by a personal foul, I was pretty upset. Ennis missing the two field goals also hurt, but hey it is College Football a 40+ yard kick is not automatic. But when Ennis stepped up to kick the extra point on the go ahead touchdown and missed, you could feel the change of momentum in the stadium. In that brief moment we all went from “Holy Crap we might just win this game” to, and I think Kristin said it best “It doesn’t seem like God wants us to win this game”. Missing FG’s is human, but missing PAT’s is inexcusable.
Random Thoughts:
What you didn’t see on TV. Those at home may have missed this, but those in the stadium saw a near fist fight between two Terps. After UNC got that long pass to set up the FG attempt as time ran out Vernon Davis had to pull D’Qwell Jackson off of I believe McPherson (not 100%, but about 85%). I swear if it was any player other than Davis breaking it up (or maybe Gaither) it would have gotten ugly.
The Carolina folks that I encountered were very cool and knowledgeable. One girl we were with could name every Tar Heel in the NFL, I don’t know if I can do that for Maryland. The Carolina folks also really hate Duke and want nothing more than to see Maryland come back to Raleigh and knock off the Wolfpack. So you could say we had a lot in common.
Game MVP:
Again there were 4 guys who really stood out. Hollenbach had a great game, yes he had 2 COSTLY interceptions but he shook it off. After the second one he went to every member of the defense and told them not to give up, he would get the points if the defense just held. He was right. Another Candidate is Vernon Davis, I mean really, I am at the point now where he can do just about anything and I wouldn’t be shocked. That TD he had was unbelievable. I don’t know how many NCAA kids could make that catch. He also had 139 yards receiving. Then there was Milton Harris who played the game of his life. He led the Terps with 16 tackles including 9 solos. He also forced what should have been the game saving fumble in the 4th quarter. But for MVP again I am going with Lance Ball. To the causal observer, one might think I have a man crush on Lance Ball but I really don’t. But I do seem to give him the MVP an awful lot. Well on Saturday he put up 161 yards on a very proud UNC Defense. You could really feel the dread in the stadium everytime he touched the ball and Carolina had no answer for him. So there you have it. It is highly debatable and I wanted to give it to someone else for a change, but Lance Ball wins another D-7 MVP and is looking like a strong favorite to take the season title (Though I am sure we haven’t heard the last of Vernon Davis).
Overall:
UNC is a really good road trip and I definitely recommend it. It is one of the few places you can go as an opposing fan and feel relatively safe. The people are nice and knowledgeable and have a really beautiful campus. Why I even got to see Kate (a regular from the Original D-7 days) and her husband Scott (from the ‘Acres’).
Around the ACC:
Clemson 35 Florida State 14- Tommy beats his old man for the 2nd time in the last 3 meetings. I don’t know exactly what “it” is, but whatever “it” is, Florida State no longer has “it”. What made this one different from previous Clemson wins over FSU was the pure domination the Tigers had over the Noles. Charlie Whitehurst had 3 TD’s and 269 yards to give the Tigers their precious 6th win. FSU has now lost 3 games for the first time since joining the league. Oh if only Maryland could have that game back.
Virginia 27 Georgia Tech 17- This was a huge game in the tightly contested Merlot division, ok there is no Merlot division but there will be someday when I’m commissioner. Anyway, the Wahoo’s looked tough in this one. Ga Tech was down 17 and rallied but UVA was able to compose themselves and hold on for their ever so crucial 6th win. Which brings us to our next question. Exactly how many ACC teams can go to bowl games? It seems like everyone is getting their 6th win. Georgia Tech travels to Miami next week while UVA goes on to host Va Tech. Looks like UVA got #6 while the getting was good!
Miami 47 Wake Forest 17- The Hurricanes take another step in their quest for Jacksonville. Kyle Wright tied a school record with 5 TD passes. The Deacons were able to keep this one close for a little while, but Miami proved to be a bit too much for the Deac’s who drop to 4-7 overall. At this point it looks like Miami is a lock for the ACC’s BCS spot. Let’s just hope VT can get in there too (we need as many bowl spots as possible in the conference with all the 6 win teams we have).
Boston College 30 NC State 10- NC State ran out to a 10 point lead in their first ACC game north of the Mason Dixon Line, then they remembered how to play NC State style football. BC then rattled off 30 straight points and never really worried about the Pack. NC State now has to beat both Middle Tennessee State and Maryland to become bowl eligible. Though I would hardly call a 3-5 ACC record a success. The question now begs what is more atrocious, the Wolfpack’s discipline, or their out of conference schedule (Middle Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, and Southern Miss.).
ACC Standings:
Atlantic
FSU 5-3 7-3
BC 3-3 6-3
Clemson 3-4 6-4
Maryland 3-3 5-4
Wake 3-5 4-7
NC St 2-5 4-5
Coastal
Miami 5-1 8-1
VT 5-1 8-1
GT 4-3 6-3
Virginia 3-3 6-3
UNC 3-3 4-5
Duke 0-7 1-9
= No Longer Bowl Eligible