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McLendon fumble seals UNC's upset victory against Wolfpack

An ocean of blue, elated and incredulous, oscillated on the Kenan Stadium turf.

A sea of red stood stagnant in the stadium's southeastern corner, stunned and bewildered.

But those waves of blue would have ebbed dejectedly out of the stadium if a controversial goal-line series hadn't preserved a 30-24 North Carolina victory Saturday, a game that might have turned the tide on the Tar Heels' season.

"(The players) are a very resilient group," said UNC coach John Bunting. "Are we the best football team? Are we even an average football team right now? Probably not. But we certainly try hard, and we might get better. We might surprise some people."

UNC's defense certainly surprised N.C. State at the goal line with time dwindling in the fourth quarter. After NCSU rushed for 299 yards in the game's first 59 minutes and 30 seconds, Coach Chuck Amato put his team's fate in the hands of power back T.A. McLendon.

On first-and-goal at the 6-yard line, a gang of Tar Heel tacklers parried McLendon's first blow, setting up second down from the 4.

But the next McLendon gut shot proved harder to repel, as he charged the middle of the UNC defensive line and reached the ball toward the plane of the goal line. The right line judge raised both hands and signaled an N.C. State touchdown that seemed to tie the game at 30 with an extra point forthcoming.

"It was like, 'Man, we have to go out here and block this extra point,'" said UNC defensive end Khalif Mitchell. "I just knew we came in this game like we're going to keep believing - we're going to do this."

The left line judge had a different view, though, as he saw McLendon's knees touch the ground just short of the end zone.

After a discussion lasting almost a minute, the lead official announced that McLendon, in fact, had not scored, and the ball was placed at the half-yard line with 14 seconds remaining in the contest.

"No, I don't think he got in," said linebacker Larry Edwards after a laugh. "I think it was a good call."

Amato chose not to opine about the call at his press conference, but McLendon said he believed that he had tied the game.

"They called it a touchdown, didn't they?" he said.

With a chance to end the controversy and knot the game on the next play, NCSU (3-2, 2-1 in the ACC) chose to run McLendon again for the third consecutive play.

But unlike the previous try, the Tar Heels (3-3, 2-2) left no doubt to the play's outcome, as Mitchell immediately met a leaping McLendon and forced a fumble that safety Kareen Taylor recovered to assure UNC's first victory against the Wolfpack in three seasons.

"I wanted (McLendon) all night, and I didn't get a chance to hit him all night," Mitchell said. "And I was like, 'If I get my hands on him, I'm going to go get him.'"

The stop by Mitchell exemplified the Tar Heels' defensive improvement. While they allowed 577 yards in the game, they made plays when it counted, including a momentous interception early in the fourth quarter.

Trailing by four at the UNC 41-yard line, NCSU quarterback Jay Davis released a short swing pass to the right side intended for McLendon.

But defensive end Melik Brown tipped the pass with his left hand just enough for Edwards to cut it off, and he streaked 54 yards down the sideline before finally being brought down at the N.C. State 4.

"It was exhilarating," Edwards said. "I knew we needed a big play, and I knew that I had an opportunity in front of me. And I just took advantage of it."

The defense's fourth-quarter heroics overshadowed the offense's 356-yard performance against the nation's No. 2 defense, the first time that NCSU has surrendered more than 300 yards this season.

A precise Darian Durant led the effort, completing three touchdown passes including a pinpoint strike to Adarius Bowman for a 46-yard TD pass to give UNC a fourth-quarter lead it would never relinquish.

But the defense's bend-but-not-break play is what has propelled UNC to exceed last season's win total with five games left to play - a far cry from the defense that surrendered 47 points to N.C. State last season.

"When (the defense) comes off the sidelines after a bad play happens, we continue to tell them, 'Keep your head up, keep your head up,'" said UNC wide receiver Jesse Holley. "I'm proud of that defense, and we're going to continue to get better.

"We're going to continue to get better, and we're going to still cut down on the mistakes we made today. We gave up some big plays today. The sky's the limit for us and our defense."

And that defense just might have turned the tide of coaching rumors away for a long time.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

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