Football: Heels bully Georgia Southern

Ryan Houston knew he could score.

With only 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter and North Carolina already up 35-7 against Georgia Southern, the junior running back entered the huddle on the sideline and shared his sentiments.

“I just looked at coach (Butch) Davis and was like, ‘Coach, I can get us in there. We’re on the inch-yard line. Just put me in there, please. Just let me just run it. I promise you I’ll get in there.”

It didn’t take long for Davis to consider Houston’s guarantee. After initially wanting a field goal, he turned to Houston and told the junior to get in there and run it.

Houston did just that — easing in to the end zone with his third touchdown of the game, as the Tar Heels blasted the Eagles, 42-12.

“This game just really put a smile on everybody’s faces,” linebacker Bruce Carter said. “We know we can do better than we’ve been playing lately. We just got to go out there and do what we know we can do.”

But for the greater part of two weeks, many onlookers were unsure of what exactly that was. After throwing up offensive clunkers against Georgia Tech and Virginia, scoring seven and three points respectively, UNC found its perfect confidence booster in GSU (3-3).

The offense led an 89-yard scoring drive on its first possession, marking the first time the Tar Heels (4-2) have scored on their initial try all season.

Quarterback T.J. Yates completed two 14-yard passes to tight end Ed Barham. Shaun Draughn gained 27 yards on the ground. And then came Houston, finishing off the drive from 1 yard out.

“We wanted to come out from the gate and throw the ball,” Yates said. “Kind of switch it up a little bit and score on the first drive.”

The initial score was a sharp contrast from the team’s past four games, where the team went three-and-out on its first possession in each game. As expected, Yates wanted to change such statistics.

And although he completed just 14 of 20 passes for 118 yards and no touchdowns, Yates spent most of the second half basking on the bench, courteous of a UNC blowout. When he was playing, Yates clearly looked more comfortable than in recent weeks, using rollouts and quick dumpoffs to pick up easy yards.

The only noticeable negative from his day was Yates’ inability to complete the deep ball. Twice, he threw out-of-bounds when trying to reach wideouts Erik Highsmith and Greg Little. And with sophomore Dwight Jones open down the middle in the third quarter, Yates missed him as well.

“I’ve just got to hit some more,” Yates said. “We hadn’t been practicing much this week in practice. Definitely got to work on it a little bit more. Sometimes I was forcing it a little bit, trying to get the ball downfield.

“I missed Greg on a deep one. I kind of led him a little too much. On the one with Dwight, I was kind of blinded by the sun and couldn’t see him too much.”

Still, Yates wasn’t the only one forcing passes at times. Georgia Southern’s quarterback Lee Chapple tossed three interceptions, including one that Carter returned 41 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

The turnover was one of six the Tar Heels forced on the day —their highest total since 1999. Previously, UNC had created just seven in its first five games all season.

Sophomore Robert Quinn sacked Chapple in the first quarter to get the turnovers started. The pressure caused a fumble in the process, and on the ensuing play after a UNC recovery, Draughn scampered into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

In the second quarter, it was junior Quan Sturdivant returning a fumble 49 yards for a touchdown. And not to be outdone, fellow linebacker Zach Brown intercepted a pass on the next Georgia Southern possession.

“That’s what we try to do every week really, but it hasn’t been happening,” Sturdivant said. “This week it happened, so we’re going to try and continue to do that every week.”

If anything, though, North Carolina will likely try to continue its offensive output most. In recent weeks, Davis had begun to reference the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and their struggles with scoring offensive touchdowns. He told the team that sometimes a team has to find a way to win ugly.

For one day, that wasn’t the case.

“It’s a positive step — I have to believe,” Davis said.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.