Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
UNC's Nebraska transfer has turned into a big bust
By Lenox Rawlings
JOURNAL COLUMNIST
CHAPEL HILL - In college football, some things happen for a reason.
There's a reason why quarterbacks transfer from Nebraska to Big Four schools.
There's a reason why Virginia Tech emphasizes blocked kicks and defense.
There's a reason why many North Carolina fans booed the last two plays before halftime yesterday and left before the fourth quarter petered out. There's a reason why many Carolina students showed up late for the noon kickoff or never crawled out of the linen library at all.
You can read these reasons on the field house walls. The stucco walls might come tumbling down if the Tar Heels ever gather enough competitive steam to awaken dormant donors and tear down the last architectural reminder of glory years from Choo Choo Justice to Mack Brown. Right now, the odds favor stucco over expansion.
You can read these reasons on the scoreboard (Tech 35, Carolina 10) or in the standings (Carolina 0-2, with Clemson and Miami trips coming after Furman's visit next Saturday).
Quarterbacks sometimes leave Nebraska because they don't fit the system or don't see themselves climbing up the depth chart. They also leave Nebraska because maybe, just maybe, they aren't quite the second coming of Turner Gill.
Joe Dailey, the Tar Heels' junior quarterback from Husker Town, hardly resembles Turner Gill. Nor, for that matter, does he resemble Matt Baker, the tackling dummy who survived inept blocking and malicious pass rushers last year to produce five Carolina wins and now works for the Dallas Cowboys.
Maybe Dailey will get there someday, but yesterday wasn't someday. Yesterday was a bust. His steady diet of swing passes delivered six completions in 12 attempts for 29 yards. His presumed running ability remained a faint rumor, with 18 yards on just three carries.
He didn't move the Tar Heels, but he moved Tech from surprising first-half jeopardy to virtual certainty. On two occasions, Dailey looked for Carolina receivers and saw them while failing to recognize the Tech defender in between. Twice, Dailey threw short passes to a short Tech defender almost within spitting distance. Twice, the Tech defender accepted the donation with stunned exhilaration.
UNC had a 3-0 lead
Xavier Adibi returned the first interception to the 1-yard line and set up the first Tech touchdown, which erased an early 3-0 Carolina lead and changed the game's tone forever. The second interception led to Dailey's exit.
"I don't remember the first one, to be honest with you," Dailey said. "The second one, I remember. There was an option route there, obviously, and it was to where my receiver initially began his descent. The safety came across the middle and took it from him. There was nothing I could do about it, really."
Obviously, all those spectators and TV viewers who thought Dailey dumped the ball to the wrong guy were delusional, thinking this was a football game rather than a shuttle reentry.
Dailey's flaws finally forced Coach John Bunting to try backup Cam Sexton. Sexton handed off twice and bounced a pass off a Tech lineman, then removed his helmet, flustered. The worst came seconds later.
The Hokies swarmed David Wooldridge and blocked his punt, which set up another 1-yard touchdown drive.
"To give any team 14 points on 2 yards of total offense is disappointing and will usually cost you the game," Bunting said.
Tech took advantage, but no one can say Tech lacked compassion. The Hokies lost three fumbles. They gained only 224 yards and made only nine first downs. They looked ordinary, not 16th in the AP poll.
The Hokies trotted out their own version of the unpolished quarterback, sophomore Sean Glennon, who threw lots of sideways passes that went nowhere, including one he caught on the ricochet for a 1-yard loss. Glennon (10 of 17 for 66 yards) fumbled a snap that presented Carolina a 35-yard path to the end zone. The Tar Heels didn't score, nor did they convert another Tech fumble from 29 yards out.
Hot and bothered, the Kenan Stadium crowd became irritable. Carolina chose to sit on the ball for the final two plays of the half rather than risk a turnover trying to travel 75 yards, a perfectly rational decision. The fans, driven to irrational frustration, booed passionately.
Sexton struggled, too
The damage mounted, with Tech intercepting two Sexton passes and pushing the Carolina turnover total to five. Sexton's explanation of one mistimed timing route: "It looks bad on TV, but it's real close to being perfect."
The Tar Heels chose optimism over pessimism, their expressions demonstrating considerable creativity. Receiver Jesse Holley promoted coordinator Frank Cignetti's offense, which generated only 268 yards. "This is only our second live game in this new offense," Holley said, "and we're still trying to find that one thing that can get this thing clicking."
Linebacker Durell Mapp brushed off the notion that the season could get away quickly. "I'm never going to be scared of that," he said. "We've always got a chance regardless. I'm still going 10-2. I don't know how everybody looks at it, but that's still the way I look at it."
Pro football shaped the way Bunting wants his team to look at it. "All we need to do," he said, "is put the package together....Who knows what might happen? I've been around a lot of 0-2 starts, and a lot of great things have happened with those teams, including a playoff team in Philadelphia."
If vast experience with 0-2 starts doesn't soothe the Carolina boo birds, they can always ignore their reality and wallow in their Triangle neighbors' misery. Duke blew its chance for an elusive victory when Wake Forest blocked a chip-shot field goal on the last play. N.C. State lost at home to Akron.
One other thing: The Wolfpack eventually may put its offense in the hands of a recent recruit. What's so special about Harrison Beck? He's another quarterback transfer from Nebraska.
By Lenox Rawlings
JOURNAL COLUMNIST
CHAPEL HILL - In college football, some things happen for a reason.
There's a reason why quarterbacks transfer from Nebraska to Big Four schools.
There's a reason why Virginia Tech emphasizes blocked kicks and defense.
There's a reason why many North Carolina fans booed the last two plays before halftime yesterday and left before the fourth quarter petered out. There's a reason why many Carolina students showed up late for the noon kickoff or never crawled out of the linen library at all.
You can read these reasons on the field house walls. The stucco walls might come tumbling down if the Tar Heels ever gather enough competitive steam to awaken dormant donors and tear down the last architectural reminder of glory years from Choo Choo Justice to Mack Brown. Right now, the odds favor stucco over expansion.
You can read these reasons on the scoreboard (Tech 35, Carolina 10) or in the standings (Carolina 0-2, with Clemson and Miami trips coming after Furman's visit next Saturday).
Quarterbacks sometimes leave Nebraska because they don't fit the system or don't see themselves climbing up the depth chart. They also leave Nebraska because maybe, just maybe, they aren't quite the second coming of Turner Gill.
Joe Dailey, the Tar Heels' junior quarterback from Husker Town, hardly resembles Turner Gill. Nor, for that matter, does he resemble Matt Baker, the tackling dummy who survived inept blocking and malicious pass rushers last year to produce five Carolina wins and now works for the Dallas Cowboys.
Maybe Dailey will get there someday, but yesterday wasn't someday. Yesterday was a bust. His steady diet of swing passes delivered six completions in 12 attempts for 29 yards. His presumed running ability remained a faint rumor, with 18 yards on just three carries.
He didn't move the Tar Heels, but he moved Tech from surprising first-half jeopardy to virtual certainty. On two occasions, Dailey looked for Carolina receivers and saw them while failing to recognize the Tech defender in between. Twice, Dailey threw short passes to a short Tech defender almost within spitting distance. Twice, the Tech defender accepted the donation with stunned exhilaration.
UNC had a 3-0 lead
Xavier Adibi returned the first interception to the 1-yard line and set up the first Tech touchdown, which erased an early 3-0 Carolina lead and changed the game's tone forever. The second interception led to Dailey's exit.
"I don't remember the first one, to be honest with you," Dailey said. "The second one, I remember. There was an option route there, obviously, and it was to where my receiver initially began his descent. The safety came across the middle and took it from him. There was nothing I could do about it, really."
Obviously, all those spectators and TV viewers who thought Dailey dumped the ball to the wrong guy were delusional, thinking this was a football game rather than a shuttle reentry.
Dailey's flaws finally forced Coach John Bunting to try backup Cam Sexton. Sexton handed off twice and bounced a pass off a Tech lineman, then removed his helmet, flustered. The worst came seconds later.
The Hokies swarmed David Wooldridge and blocked his punt, which set up another 1-yard touchdown drive.
"To give any team 14 points on 2 yards of total offense is disappointing and will usually cost you the game," Bunting said.
Tech took advantage, but no one can say Tech lacked compassion. The Hokies lost three fumbles. They gained only 224 yards and made only nine first downs. They looked ordinary, not 16th in the AP poll.
The Hokies trotted out their own version of the unpolished quarterback, sophomore Sean Glennon, who threw lots of sideways passes that went nowhere, including one he caught on the ricochet for a 1-yard loss. Glennon (10 of 17 for 66 yards) fumbled a snap that presented Carolina a 35-yard path to the end zone. The Tar Heels didn't score, nor did they convert another Tech fumble from 29 yards out.
Hot and bothered, the Kenan Stadium crowd became irritable. Carolina chose to sit on the ball for the final two plays of the half rather than risk a turnover trying to travel 75 yards, a perfectly rational decision. The fans, driven to irrational frustration, booed passionately.
Sexton struggled, too
The damage mounted, with Tech intercepting two Sexton passes and pushing the Carolina turnover total to five. Sexton's explanation of one mistimed timing route: "It looks bad on TV, but it's real close to being perfect."
The Tar Heels chose optimism over pessimism, their expressions demonstrating considerable creativity. Receiver Jesse Holley promoted coordinator Frank Cignetti's offense, which generated only 268 yards. "This is only our second live game in this new offense," Holley said, "and we're still trying to find that one thing that can get this thing clicking."
Linebacker Durell Mapp brushed off the notion that the season could get away quickly. "I'm never going to be scared of that," he said. "We've always got a chance regardless. I'm still going 10-2. I don't know how everybody looks at it, but that's still the way I look at it."
Pro football shaped the way Bunting wants his team to look at it. "All we need to do," he said, "is put the package together....Who knows what might happen? I've been around a lot of 0-2 starts, and a lot of great things have happened with those teams, including a playoff team in Philadelphia."
If vast experience with 0-2 starts doesn't soothe the Carolina boo birds, they can always ignore their reality and wallow in their Triangle neighbors' misery. Duke blew its chance for an elusive victory when Wake Forest blocked a chip-shot field goal on the last play. N.C. State lost at home to Akron.
One other thing: The Wolfpack eventually may put its offense in the hands of a recent recruit. What's so special about Harrison Beck? He's another quarterback transfer from Nebraska.
