UNC football prepares to face ECU team after Rutgers win

North Carolina’s 17-13 win against Rutgers was big for a number of reasons.

The Tar Heels toughed out a win despite a smattering of offensive lapses. But more importantly, North Carolina was 0-2 heading into the game, and a loss would have significantly hurt its bowl-game chances.

When teams come back from worse, they make a movie out of it.

“Going 0-3 would have been a little devastating for us, especially because we were making the same little mistakes as we were the past couple games with the fumbles and the turnovers,” senior quarterback T.J. Yates said after Saturday’s game.

Although the win was not in conference and doesn’t do as much for UNC’s postseason aspirations, the victory against Rutgers was no less meaningful for the Tar Heels.

“Well, it’s probably the first time I’ve seen guys smile in about six weeks,” UNC coach Butch Davis said. “I think from an emotional standpoint that obviously was very good.”

In Davis’ press conference Monday, the Rutgers game became an afterthought that is now a stepping stone for UNC to learn and grow in preparation for East Carolina this weekend.

Perhaps the biggest need for improvement is in ball control.

Through three games this season, North Carolina has fumbled the ball 10 times and lost seven. Only four teams have lost more fumbles so far this season, and they aren’t even Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

“It’s just killing our drives,” Yates said. “We’ve been doing, I think, a really good job moving the ball up and down the field, but just whenever we… fumble or do the things we’re doing, it’s just absolutely killing our momentum.”

One area of concern for North Carolina are the injuries sustained by linebacker Quan Sturdivant, who injured his hamstring, and running back Johnny White, who limped off the field Saturday favoring his right ankle.

Their availability for this weekend’s game is unknown.

“Sunday and Monday are big days for our kids to try to get an awful lot of treatment and everything and we’ll get a much better, clearer picture as to their availability by Thursday,” Davis said.

UNC’s defense, despite playing its best game this season against Rutgers, still has plenty of work to do to prepare for ECU.

Each opponent on UNC’s schedule has played a different offense. LSU has a balanced attack, Georgia Tech runs the triple option, Rutgers uses a power-running game and East Carolina utilizes the spread offense.

“It’s a highly explosive offense,” Davis said.

“You can see, I mean they’re generating 42 points a game, and they’re hanging points on a lot of people. They move the ball with a lot of efficiency.”

Yates will likely play a big factor in the game, as he has in past contests with ECU. North Carolina has met the Pirates twice in the past four years, and in those games, Yates completed 39 of 56 passes for 571 yards, and had a five-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Whether Yates performs well or not, the defense knows it’s in for a challenge — redshirt junior safety Matt Merletti says they’ll be ready to meet.

“It should be a great game, and our coaches are going to get us ready, and we’re going to practice hard on their offense all week, watching film and everything,” Merletti said. “So I think we should be ready to go.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.