ACC trains its eyes on BC again
With its courtship of Notre Dame apparently over, the Atlantic Coast Conference is turning its attention toward Boston College. Again.
With his Opie Taylor appearance, average build and aw-shucks demeanor,
Connor Hughes doesn’t come across as a tough guy.
Tough-minded? That’s a different story. Virginia’s sophomore kicker isn’t the
type to shy away from pressure. Quite the opposite.
“Sometimes you hear about kickers who don’t want to take a big kick. They’re
on the sideline hoping the offense scores a touchdown or something so they
won’t have to go out there,” Hughes said. “That’s not me. That’s the situation
I play for. I really do enjoy having a chance to do what I practice every
day.”
That is, take — and make — crucial kicks. In his first eight games as UVa’s
starter, Hughes made 8 of 9 field-goal attempts, but none with the game on the
line. When that opportunity arose last Saturday against Wake Forest, he rose
to the occasion.
His 53-yard field goal tied the game with 1:51 left and his 38-yarder won it
with 10 ticks remaining. Hughes made all four of his kicks in the 27-24
victory and was named ACC specialist of the week.
“That’s Connor,” said punter Tom Hagan, Hughes’ friend, classmate and
teammate. “Nothing affects him. Some guys, you can tell they’re nervous. With
Connor, nothing changes. He wasn’t fazed at all, even on that 53-yarder. I
knew he was going to make it.”
The fans at Scott Stadium may not have been so sure, especially since Hughes
had not tried a kick longer than 48 yards as a Cavalier. But they probably
weren’t watching before the game, when he drilled one from 54 yards in
warm-ups. UVa coach Al Groh saw that and recognized that Hughes had a “live
leg” that day.
Groh also did not hesitate to send out Hughes because, as he put it later,
“this is a kicker who’s got real guts.”
Indeed, Hughes showed that trait at Lafayette High School in Williamburg. He
kicked 30 field goals and 241 extra points, making him one of the most
prolific prep kickers ever. He set a VHSL record with a pair of 49-yard field
goals in the 2001 playoffs, leading Lafayette to the state championship.
Which is why last Saturday’s performance came as no shock to those who knew
him. “He had a history of doing the same thing in Williamsburg — of making
kicks under pressure,” Groh said.
To Virginia’s coach, that was evidence of good competitive toughness, along
with the fact Hughes also played quarterback, was a two-time all-state soccer
player and carried a 4.0-plus GPA in high school.
Hughes turned down scholarship offers from other football and soccer programs
to join the Cavaliers as a recruited walk-on. He did not play in the first
nine games as first Bryan Smith, then Kurt Smith, struggled to make kicks.
Groh said he did not turn to Hughes earlier because the freshman was
inconsistent with his accuracy during practice. He also did not want Hughes to
fail early and lose confidence. It’s tough enough, he said, when the entire
team is watching you kick during practice.
“That’s a lot of pressure for a young player to be under,” Groh said. “In his
particular case, we wanted to make sure he was in a good rhythm and had a
reasonable shot of being successful.”
To be sure, Hughes’ collegiate career has been a success ever since he nailed
his first field-goal attempt, a 47-yarder against Maryland, and scored 12
points in that 48-13 victory. He has a current streak of 10 straight field
goals, including all seven this season. Throw in 12 extra points, and he has
been perfect on all 19 of his kicks in 2003.
“I just try to think positive thoughts and not change my mechanics or my
thought process,” said Hughes, who turns 20 on Saturday, when the Cavaliers
(3-1, 2-0 ACC) play at North Carolina (0-4, 0-2). “I just want to be
consistent and do my job.”
Now on scholarship, Hughes says he may not have been ready to succeed at the
start of last season. He had to get used to kicking without a tee, getting the
ball up quickly and improving his range and accuracy.
But, early in his career, he certainly appears on his way toward becoming one
of the program’s elite kickers. Thanks to last week’s performance, he already
is among the most recognizable.
“After the game, I went with my brother to Applebee’s and some guys clapped
for me when I came in,” Hughes said, smiling. “It was definitely fun. Kickers
usually don’t get noticed.”
The ACC is expected to announce the model for its 11-team football
conference today but the issue of expansion was not discussed during the first
day of the league’s fall meetings at the University of Virginia on Tuesday.
Football schedules for the 2004 season should be finished in today’s final
round of meetings and basketball could possibly be completed depending on how
the discussions progress. Three separate meetings were conducted Tuesday by
the ACC’s 11 athletic directors, faculty representatives and senior women’s
administrators. Those groups met for approximately six hours.
ACC commissioner John Swofford declined to comment on the meetings, choosing
rather to speak today.
“Discussions are ongoing,” said UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage, the
chairman of the league’s ADs for this academic year. “I think it will be
interesting Wednesday when we get a chance to meet with our faculty reps and
senior women administrators and try to get things narrowed down and
finalized.”
The ACC is expected to adopt a model for football and basketball similar to
the Big 10 Conference, which also has 11 members. Such a model would not
feature divisional play in either sport.
Football teams would play eight games against conference opponents, including
possibly two “perpetual partners.” For instance, Virginia’s partners are
expected to be Virginia Tech and Maryland, but schools might not share the
same partners in basketball that they have in football.
While both Littlepage and Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver both
confirmed that expansion was not discussed in the meetings, sources told the
Boston Globe that the ACC is attempting to court Boston College as the
league’s 12th member.
“I would not be able to speculate on that,” Littlepage said. “I think our
President’s Council has a lot to say about expansion and the presidents aren’t
here.”
The Virginia AD noted that the presidents could meet unannounced publicly at
any time they choose.
“We [the league’s athletic directors] haven’t always been in the loop … we may
not know until the very last minute when they will either meet or plan to
talk,” Littlepage said.
The Globe cited both Big East and ACC sources saying that BC, shunned at the
last minute in the previous expansion, could happen either in 2005 or as early
as next season. Indications from sources are that the Eagles would still
accept an invitation.
After the NCAA’s championship committee overwhelmingly frowned upon the ACC’s
proposal that would allow leagues with 10 teams to stage a championship
football game, many of the conference’s athletic directors spoke in favor of
adding a 12th member. While the championship game will not be voted upon until
next spring, the league was disappointed with the early reaction.
But the primary objective of the current meetings is to produce a plan for
next football season.
“I think we have to have a football schedule [Wednesday] when we leave here,”
Littlepage said.
When asked if the ADs either haven’t decided or were not prepared to say if
there will be divisional football play in the ACC for 2004, Littlepage
responded, “I’d say both.”
He indicated that all 11 members will know their football opponents for 2004
today but they will not know the dates of games at this time.
“There’s not enough time to match it in terms of contracts with nonconference
opponents, what the TV windows are, and the like,” Littlepage said. “I think
that would be a little too ambitious.”
The ACC is also expected to choose against divisional play in basketball, but
rather play 16 games against conference opponents. Olympic sports schedules
also should be decided.
From walk-on to star of game
Connor Hughes has converted on 10 straight field-goal attempts, including two big ones against Wake.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES
CHARLOTTESVILLE - The way that Virginia assigns its football lockers, sophomore place-kicker Connor Hughes should have a spot between No.5 Marquis Weeks and No.7 Matt Schaub.
"When you come in here as a walk-on, you get a locker in the triple digits," said Hughes, conducting an interview in front of locker No.111 as some reporters kept a lookout in front of locker No.6, which is his uniform number.
"It's where I started. It's probably where I'll stay. I like being off to myself, here in a corner."
Maybe, it helps him stay humble, which has been something of a task this week for Hughes after he kicked the game-tying and game-winning field goals in a span of 1 minute, 41 seconds Saturday in UVa's 27-24 triumph over Wake Forest.
"I've had a lot of people stop and congratulate me," Hughes said Monday. "I didn't know that anybody knew who I was."
Hughes was awarded a scholarship before the start of classes this year, but there were no scholarship offers after he led Lafayette High School of Williamsburg to the 2001 Group AAA Division 4 championship.
Hughes, who was not a position player until his senior year at Lafayette, rushed for 169 yards and threw a touchdown pass in Lafayette's 41-28 victory over Pulaski County. He also kicked two field goals.
Hughes kicked 30 field goals in his career at Lafayette, where he also set a state record by converting 241 point-after kicks, but he was a free agent before committing to Virginia on May 6, 2002.
Hughes' choice came down to Virginia for football or Virginia Tech for soccer. Hughes, a two-time all-state soccer selection, had played travel soccer for Oliver Weiss. Weiss had been introduced Jan.10, 2002 as Tech's head coach.
"That was a huge part of it," said Hughes of his interest in the Hokies. "Oliver's a great guy. It was a big decision. I always loved soccer."
Although the Virginia football staff had serious interest in Hughes, the Cavaliers already had a place-kicker on scholarship (Bryan Smith) and had signed a punter who also had a background as a place-kicker (Tom Hagan).
Moreover, Kurt Smith had showed enough promise in UVa's 2002 spring practice to go into the season as the Cavaliers' place-kicker.
Indeed, Virginia used both Smiths before turning to Hughes prior to a trip to Penn State in the 10th week of the season.
Hughes did not attempt a field goal until UVa's 12th game of the season. He made his first two attempts against Maryland, then missed a 36-yarder.
Since then, Hughes has succeeded on 10 straight field-goal attempts, but it was the miss against Maryland that entered his mind as he lined up for a career-long 53-yard field goal attempt with Virginia trailing Wake 24-21.
The Deacons called a timeout, ostensibly to rattle Hughes, but he quickly ran off the field and started kicking balls into a net.
"The same thing happened last year against Maryland," he said. "Maryland called a timeout and I thought about running off the field and kicking a few, but I was stubborn. I thought it might look bad. After I missed, I decided that if anybody tried to ice me again, I'd make sure and go kick into the net."
Hughes kicked three balls, but there was a problem. The sole of his right (kicking) shoe had come apart at the seam. Hughes was still picking at it Monday, with no plan to make a change.
"It actually feels more comfortable this way," he said.
Just like that locker amidst all the walk-ons.
ACC ADs stick to schedule
Virginia Tech and Miami attend their first ACC meetings as the league's athletic
directors try to hammer out a 2004 football schedule.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES
CHARLOTTESVILLE - By the time ACC athletic directors head home today, they hope
to know their eight conference opponents for the 2004 football season.
"I'd be awfully disappointed if we couldn't," Virginia athletic director Craig
Littlepage said after the first day of meetings at Bryant Hall, the office
complex inside Scott Stadium. "I think we have to have a conference schedule
when we leave there."
What they are less likely to determine is the future of the ACC as an 11-team
conference. Littlepage speculated last week that expansion would "move to the
front burner" after an NCAA committee rejected an ACC proposal to allow leagues
with at least 10 teams to hold a football championship game.
"I think our Presidents' Council will have a lot to say about expansion and our
presidents aren't here," Littlepage said. "You're talking about a group [with]
which we haven't always been in the loop.
"I have to be diplomatic about how I say this, but we may not know until the
very last minute as to when they meet or plan to talk. It would probably make
the most sense [for the athletic directors] to defer."
ACC commissioner John Swofford is expected to hold a news conference when the
meetings conclude today but declined to speak with the media Tuesday. There were
three separate meetings at Bryant Hall involving the athletic directors, senior
women's administrators and faculty representatives.
There are levels at which the ACC can re-introduce its appeal for a football
championship, which current rules limit to leagues with 12 teams. If it did win
the appeal, the ACC has said it would have two divisions, one with six and the
other with five teams.
Otherwise, the ACC would follow the model of the Big Ten, an 11-team conference
in which all the football teams do not play each other every year.
Littlepage said the two-division concept had not been ruled out, "but I'd have
to be able to hear the arguments to [support] that," he added.
The meetings began at 10 a.m. Tuesday and lasted until 12:15 p.m. After a break
for lunch, the groups resumed at 1:30 p.m. and continued until 5:15. At today's
meeting, all of the groups will be together.
The ACC meetings were the first for representatives of Miami and Virginia Tech,
who were invited to join the ACC last summer but will not join the ACC
officially until the summer of 2004.
After Miami and Virginia Tech were approved, Boston College failed by one vote
to get the seven votes needed for admission. A story in Tuesday's editions of
The Boston Globe cited unidentified sources in reporting that Boston College has
emerged as the ACC's primary target for a 12th team.
"We did not discuss expansion," Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said
after leaving Tuesday's meeting. "It wasn't on the agenda, or at least it wasn't
on my agenda. To be honest with you, I don't know what the protocol is."
Weaver was all ears at the ADs' meeting with Swofford.
"Exactly," Weaver said. "I'm a rookie."
No action taken as ACC meeting opens
Scheduling is focus for conference athletic directors
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 1, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE - The first day of the Atlantic Coast Conference's fall meeting
included much discussion but no final decisions about scheduling - and no talk
about expanding to 12 schools.
That was the word, at least, from the ACC athletic directors who talked briefly
with reporters at the University of Virginia's Bryant Hall last night. The ADs
broke around 5:15 p.m. after meeting for about six hours in two sessions.
"We just went over our agenda items and haven't arrived at any conclusions,"
Virginia Tech's Jim Weaver said.
U.Va.'s Craig Littlepage said, "Discussions are ongoing. I think it'll be
interesting tomorrow when we meet with our faculty reps and senior woman
administrators and try to get things narrowed down and finalized."
Virginia Tech and Miami will join the ACC next summer, giving it 11 members.
Officials from each of the 11 met in three groups yesterday: athletic directors
in one, faculty representatives in another and senior woman administrators in
the third.
The meeting is scheduled to conclude this afternoon. The participants' plans for
last night included a dinner at the Rotunda, with U.Va. President John Casteen
serving as host. ACC Commissioner John Swofford is in town, but he declined to
meet with reporters last night, saying he would do so today.
The Boston Globe, citing unidentified sources in the ACC and the Big East,
reported yesterday that the ACC has targeted Boston College to become the
league's 12th member, perhaps as early as 2004-05. Littlepage said the article
was mentioned in the ADs' meeting but not discussed.
Wake Forest's Ron Wellman said: "This was not the meeting about expansion. We've
got enough on our agenda. We don't need to be talking about that right now. This
is a scheduling meeting."
N.C. State's Lee Fowler said the athletic directors discussed "no individual
teams, no 12th team. We're just trying to work out the 11-team scenarios."
The ACC's Council of Presidents has the final word on expansion, and "the
presidents aren't here," Littlepage said.
Asked when the council would meet again to discussion expansion, Littlepage
said, "You're talking about a group that we haven't always been in the loop on
when they've met. I'm trying to be very diplomatic about how I say this. We may
not know until the very last minute when they will meet or plan to talk."
When the ACC began seriously pursuing expansion this year, Boston College was
expected to receive an invitation, along with Syracuse and Miami, and a
delegation from the conference visited each school in late spring. But the ACC
ultimately rejected BC and Syracuse, instead inviting Miami and, to the surprise
of virtually everyone involved, Virginia Tech.
The ADs plan to decide today which scheduling model the ACC will adopt for the
2004 football season, when each team will play eight conference games. The ACC
schedule isn't likely to be announced before December, but each school should
know today which eight of its 10 conference counterparts it will play in 2004.
"I think we have to have a football schedule tomorrow when we leave here,"
Littlepage said last night.
He added that believes that "there's a good chance" the ADs will have time to
pick a scheduling model for men's basketball, too. The league's coaches
overwhelmingly favor a 16-team conference schedule in which each school would
have "primary partners" that it would play home-and-home series with each
season.
U.Va.'s partners, for example, almost certainly would include Virginia Tech and
Maryland.
With its courtship of Notre Dame apparently over, the Atlantic Coast Conference is turning its attention toward Boston College. Again.
An invitation is contingent on the pending litigation filed against the ACC and the University of Miami by several Big East schools, which contend that the ACC and Miami were involved in a conspiracy to weaken if not destroy the Big East.
Connecticut Superior Court Judge Samuel J. Sferrazza listened to arguments yesterday in Hartford on whether to dismiss the case or allow it to go to trial. He is expected to make a decision in 7-10 days.
If Sferrazza dismisses the case, the consensus in the ACC and Big East is that the ACC would focus on BC sooner rather than later. And while no one at BC was saying anything officially yesterday, the feeling among many in the Big East is that the Eagles -- who seemed on the verge of receiving an invitation to join the ACC over the summer but were blindsided when the conference instead invited Miami and Virginia Tech -- would accept.
The ACC expansion was not expected to be complete until next spring, but the Big East is on the verge of reconfiguring itself. The league is expected to invite DePaul, Marquette, Louisville, and Cincinnati by early November and restructure itself into an eight-or nine-team league in football and a 16-team, two-division super conference in basketball.
With that new structure, sources in the Big East say, the exit fee for any school wishing to leave would increase from $1 million to as much as $10 million.
"It's all a very fluid situation," said Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese. "I'm not sure what's going to happen."
BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo was at an athletic directors meeting in Dallas yesterday, and efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.
The ACC's sense of urgency is based in part on financial realities. In negotiations with ESPN on a new football contract, the ACC learned that the package being offered for an 11-team league is several million dollars short of the $24 million for the last deal, with nine teams.
In addition, the television money for a new basketball contract will be down significantly, because the consensus is that adding Miami and Virginia Tech dilutes the package rather than enhancing it. So the $8 million-$10 million the league can generate with a conference championship game in football becomes more of a necessity than a luxury. To hold such a game, the league needs a minimum of 12 teams.
While there are non-Big East schools willing to join the ACC -- East Carolina, Memphis, Marshall -- none has the combination of academics, athletics, and television market that BC brings. Plus, some in ACC circles feel guilty about the way the league handled the original courtship of the Eagles.
From an athletic standpoint, especially regarding football, it is hard to make a case for the Eagles switching leagues.
Why would BC want to leave a league losing its best teams -- Virginia Tech, Miami -- and join one with not only those BCS powers but also Florida State and Maryland?
The reason is that this is more than an athletic issue. BC has maintained that it wants to expand its potential student population (and alumni base) beyond the Northeast, into the Mid-Atlantic states.
And it wants to develop an academic consortium with schools such as Duke, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia.
Whatever happens, the Eagles' future is likely to be determined in a matter of weeks, not months.
ACC officials orchestrating schedule shuffle
NEIL AMATO : The Herald-Sun
namato@heraldsun.com
Sep 30, 2003 : 11:46 pm ET
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Basketball practice for this season is still several
weeks away. But the 11 athletics directors of the new ACC met Tuesday to discuss
the future of conference scheduling in that sport and all the others.
For once, or so it seems, conference leaders got together and didn't discuss
expansion, a highly publicized topic with the league more than likely on the
prowl for a 12th member.
Courting of new schools? No. This was about basketball courts.
"No individual teams, no 12th team," N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler
said. "We're just trying to work out the 11-team [schedules]."
One day of meetings -- in three separate groups -- produced little news, at
least according to the principal participants who stopped to talk at Bryant
Hall, the athletics-office wing behind the east end zone at Scott Stadium.
Commissioner John Swofford declined comment, a common occurrence when the ACC's
expansion effort bogged down last summer in an attempt to add Miami, Boston
College and Syracuse. As it turned out, Miami and Virginia Tech came in to the
league -- they begin play next season. Figuring out how to work the Hokies and
Hurricanes into the ACC schedule could be a tough task, given the popularity of
the 50-year-old league's double round-robin in basketball.
"This is not a meeting about expansion," Wake Forest athletics director Ron
Wellman said. "We got enough on our agenda that we don't need to be talking
about that right now."
What the ADs, faculty representatives and senior women's administrators talked
about was making a schedule and tournament format for a bigger league. In
football, schools will continue to play eight ACC games, meaning each team will
not play two other members.
In basketball, the job is to figure out which rivalries continue and which ones
don't. Given the desire to avoid a 20-game league schedule, not all parties will
love the new-look schedules, set to take effect for the 2004-05 season.
"Everybody, every fan, every Internet guy is not going to be happy with
everything, but we've got to try to work out what's best," Fowler said.
"Each school has a different opinion on what they need and what they would like
to have, and that's where all the discussion comes in."
It is possible that each school could have two or three perpetual rivals in
basketball.
ACC officials have said that any scheduling changes likely would be re-examined
after a season or two. It is also possible that the perpetual rivals could be
different in men's and women's basketball. Beth Miller, the senior women's
administrator at UNC, said the league still had to hammer out how it would
handle travel schedules for nonrevenue sports.
For example, the league is examining the pros and cons of sending a volleyball
team to Florida State and Miami on the same road trip.
Conference officials are scheduled to finish these talks today.
But it was clear, at least from Fowler's comments, that they still had work to
do, especially in the area of basketball rivals.
"Some of the schools have the same schools they want to play," Fowler said.
"Everybody's not completely happy in the discussions, but hopefully [today]
we'll be able to work it all out to come out with something we all agree on, or
at least the majority agrees on."
ACC Ponders Options
Athletic Directors Weigh Schedule Alternatives
By Barry Svrluga and Jim Reedy
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 1, 2003; Page D02
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Sept. 30 -- The athletic directors of the nine Atlantic Coast
Conference schools -- as well as those from Miami and Virginia Tech, which will
join in 2004 -- met today and should reach a decision on a schedule for
football, and possibly men's basketball, Wednesday, when their fall meetings on
the campus of the University of Virginia come to an end.
Though it appears nearly certain the league will have an awkward 11-team format
for at least the 2004-05 academic year, the meetings come after the league's
presidents and chancellors spoke Saturday, discussing the qualities they would
seek in a 12th member if they decide to invite one.
However, the athletic directors meeting here have no say about that pursuit.
Any movement on a new member must be approved by seven of the nine chief
executives -- Miami and Virginia Tech don't become voting members until July 1,
2004 -- and the actions of that group have proved difficult to predict in the
past. The CEOs surprised nearly everyone in June when they voted to add just
Miami and Virginia Tech, spurning Boston College and Syracuse, which they had
originally pursued. So the athletic directors focused on how to work with 11
members.
"You're talking about a group that we always haven't been in the loop on
things," Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said. "We may not know
until the very last minute when they will either meet or plan to talk."
ACC sources said the CEOs haven't scheduled another conference call to discuss
adding a 12th member, though it's possible one could come this week. The league
has approached Notre Dame, but the presidents and chancellors voted Saturday to
admit a member only if it joins in all sports.
Notre Dame is an independent in football, and school officials have said they
aren't ready to give up that status. Boston College remains a possibility,
conference sources said.
"We need a 12th," Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen said.
The NCAA requires a conference to have 12 members if it is to stage a
championship game in football. Yet the ADs said they spent no time today
discussing that possibility.
"This was not a meeting about expansion," Wake Forest's Ron Wellman said. "We've
got enough on our agenda that we don't need to be talking about that right now."
The group worked through several possibilities in scheduling for football.
One possibility would be to follow the model of the Big Ten, which has 11
members. Big Ten schools play eight conference games and rotate each year which
schools don't play each other. Some rivalries -- such as Michigan and Ohio State
-- are "protected" and play annually.
Another strong possibility, sources said, would be to divide the football
schools into two divisions, one of five teams, one of six. Each team would play
four games against the teams in its division, and four games against the teams
in the opposite division. Each year, the schools in the six-team division
wouldn't play one opponent from their own division; that opponent would likely
rotate every two years.
The ADs are also working on which rivalries should be protected and played every
year in football and twice annually in basketball. Those could differ, depending
on the sport. For instance, Maryland and Duke likely will play twice in
basketball every year, but won't necessarily meet annually in football.
Virginia and Duke likely will meet twice in basketball as well as annually in
football, sources said.
"It really gets difficult when you're talking about 11 different schools,
because a lot of times some of the same schools have the same teams that they
want to play," North Carolina State Athletic Director Lee Fowler said.
"Everybody's not totally happy, but in the discussions tomorrow, hopefully we'll
be able to work all that out and come up with something that we all agree on."
The ADs spent more time talking about football than basketball today, and
several said they would be disappointed if the 2004 football schedule wasn't
resolved Wednesday. The faculty academic representatives from each school, who
met separately today, must approve any schedule, and they will join the athletic
directors in Wednesday's meeting.
"I'd be awfully disappointed if we couldn't get through it," Littlepage said. "I
think we have to have a football schedule [Wednesday] when we leave here."
Too Much: Heels will simplify defense
By Bill Cole
JOURNAL REPORTER
CHAPEL HILL
Coach John Bunting said he thinks that he and his assistants might be guilty of
coaching too much last week, preparing North Carolina to play against N.C.
State.
Concerned about the Wolfpack's speed on offense, Bunting and the defensive staff
made detailed preparation for the Tar Heels' defense. The Wolfpack scored 47
points, gained 615 yards and passed for 423 yards, and Bunting said that the
defense had too many plans in place to work all properly.
Bunting said yesterday that he wouldn't make the mistake again and that North
Carolina would simplify its defensive strategy for Saturday's game against
Virginia. North Carolina will try for its first win of the season and has an
eight-game home losing streak.
'We may have overloaded a little bit on defense last week trying to get
ourselves in the perfect defense for that formation or that formation, and it's
my fault,' Bunting said. 'That sometimes overloads the (players') mentality.
'We wanted to be in the right defense. We had some audibles on defenses. Maybe
we audibled a little bit too much. There's not crowd noise on defense over there
(at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh) so we thought we'd get those vocal
audibles. We weren't as sharp as we needed to be.'
Bunting said he had no complaints about his offense, which scored 34 points, or
the special teams - with the exception of a blocked punt deep in North Carolina
territory that N.C. State recovered for a touchdown. But Bunting said that his
defense regressed.
Down only 24-21 at halftime, after trailing 21-3 in the first quarter, the Tar
Heels surrendered an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first offensive play of the
third quarter. The Wolfpack scored touchdowns on its next two possessions and
the win was sealed with a 44-21 lead.
'I don't think we had a lack of effort,' Bunting said. 'I think we had a lack of
urgency. There's a difference. And the urgency, perhaps, was a mental thing.
'We as a coaching staff have addressed that.
'Maybe we perhaps overworked the learning curve.'
Virginia will offer almost as imposing an offensive threat to North Carolina as
did N.C. State.
Quarterback Matt Schaub returned last Saturday after recovering from a separated
shoulder to complete 30 of 45 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-24
win over Wake Forest. Wali Lundy, a sophomore running back, had 137 yards
rushing, his career high, and is the leading rusher in the ACC.
The Tar Heels' defense hasn't given up less than 37 points in a game. It is
surrendering averages of 42.7 points, 522 total yards and 305.2 yards passing.
Bunting said he has asked himself the same question that alumni, students and
fans have asked: Why doesn't the defense improve? He said he can't find a simple
answer but has some suspicions, starting with a schedule that one analyst ranks
as the nation's toughest.
The Tar Heels' defense isn't forcing many turnovers. The Wolfpack had none. The
Tar Heels played 24 defensive players last Saturday. Ideally, Bunting said he
would like to play 15 to 16 defensive players in any given game to ensure that
the best players are always on the field.
'I don't get to watch much NFL football but I still know in the NFL you're going
to miss tackles,' Bunting said. 'Guys miss tackles. Corners miss tackles,
linebackers miss tackles.
'Sometimes I think we're the only ones that miss tackles. I had to sit down
today and figure out, 'You know what? We're not the only ones.' But we're
missing far too many.'
The secondary will have a different look against Virginia because of the absence
of cornerback Cedrick Holt, who broke his left ankle against N.C. State. Holt,
whom Bunting said is the best cornerback on the team, will have about 20 weeks
of recovery.
Lionell Green, a junior-college transfer, will start at one cornerback. Redshirt
freshmen Jacoby Watkins and D.J. Walker will play when the Tar Heels use five
cornerbacks. Cornerback Michael Waddell should play this week after missing the
N.C. State game because of a sprained right ankle suffered at Wisconsin.
'I wouldn't say we're a lot deeper -- we're playing more players,' Bunting said.
'That's not always good. We're sometimes playing too many players.
'I'm trying to give kids opportunities to see if they can help us win. The
continuity factor in both practice and games is not as present as you'd like to
have. Right now we're tying to figure out the right mix and I'll continue to do
so. There is risk versus that reward. I'm getting a lot of players good
experience that I hope can help us win some ballgames down the road.'