October 1, 1998

CAROLINA WINS GATOR BOWL: Chris Keldorf threw three touchdown passes and the Tar Heel defense allowed just 185 total yards as Carolina defeated Virginia Tech, 42-3 in the Gator Bowl. Carolina won its bowl game for the third consecutive season. LSU and Nebraska are the only other schools that have won three bowl games in the past three years. Carolina set bowl-game records for most points (42) and margin of victory (39). Keldorf threw for 290 yards and earned Gator Bowl MVP honors.

TAR HEELS WIN 11 GAMES: Carolina capped one of the best seasons in its storied football history with a 42-3 victory over Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl. The Tar Heels finished the season 11-1 overall and were 7-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UNC finished second in the ACC, one game behind Florida State. It is only the third time in school history that Carolina has won 11 games. The Tar Heels were 11-1 in 1972 and 11-1 in 1980.

SIX STRAIGHT BOWL GAMES: Carolina appeared in a bowl game for the 22nd time in school history and the sixth consecutive season. That is the longest span of consecutive bowl games in Carolina history. The Tar Heels played in five straight bowl games from 1979-83.

Carolina's six straight bowl appearances is the eighth-longest active bowl attendance streak in the country. Nebraska (29), Michigan (23), Florida State (16), Ohio State (9), Tennessee (9), Penn State (9) and Florida (7) are the only schools with longer active streaks.

THREE FIRST-ROUND NFL DRAFT PICKS: For the first time in school history three Tar Heels were selected in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft. Defensive end Greg Ellis was selected by the Cowboys with the eighth overall pick. Linebacker Brian Simmons was chosen by Cincinnati with the 17th pick and defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday was taken 19th by the Green Bay Packers. Carolina and Tennessee were the only two schools with three first-round selections.

Overall, seven Tar Heels were drafted including free safety Omar Brown in the fourth round by Atlanta, linebacker Kivuusama Mays in the fourth round by Minnesota, cornerback Robert Williams in the fifth round by Kansas City and running back Jonathan Linton in the fifth round by Buffalo

CAROLINA NINTH IN WINS LAST SIX YEARS: North Carolina is the nation's ninth-winningest Division I football program over the last six seasons. Carolina has been to bowl games in each of those six seasons. The Tar Heels are 55-18 in the last six years and 68-26-1 in the 1990s.

Nebraska (68 wins), Florida State (64), Florida (63), Ohio State (59), Penn State (58), Tennessee (58), Texas A&M (56) and Alabama (56) are the only programs with more wins than Carolina in the last six years. Colorado and Michigan both have 53 wins.

BACK IN THE TOP 10: No. 4/6 Carolina finished in the Top 10 for the second consecutive season. It is the fourth time in school history UNC has posted consecutive Top 10 finishes in the media or coaches polls. The other "repeat Top 10" seasons include: media poll in 1946 and 1947, media poll in 1947 and 1948, and coaches poll in 1981 and 1982.

UNC has finished in the Top 20 of at least one of the two major polls (Associated Press or coaches' poll) 17 times in history. The Tar Heels were ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and No. 6 in the Associated Press poll last season.

ELLIS, SIMMONS TO JOIN ELITE GROUP ON STADIUM FACADE: Three seasons ago the University of North Carolina established criteria for distinguished football players to be honored by placing their name and number on the facade of the upper deck at Kenan Stadium. The award goes to players who have been National Players of the Year, ACC Players of the Year, consensus first-team All-Americas, or had their numbers retired.

The "honored jersey" players are also honored in the new Frank H. Kenan Football Center Hall of Honor.

Fourteen players were honored when the award was introduced in 1994. Since its inception, defensive tackle Marcus Jones and cornerback Dre' Bly qualified for the award. Jones went up immediately after his All-America season in 1995, but Bly, who qualified in 1996, asked the University to wait to honor him after his collegiate career was complete. Bly repeated consensus honors in 1997.

The 17th and 18th players to be honored are senior defensive end Greg Ellis and senior outside linebacker Brian Simmons.

Other honorees include: George Barclay, Andy Bershak, Bill Sutherland, Charlie Justice, Art Weiner, Danny Talbott, Don McCauley, Ron Rusnak, Ken Huff, Mike Voight, Dee Hardison, Lawrence Taylor, William Fuller, Ethan Horton and Marcus Jones.

CONSENSUS RECIPIENTS AGAIN (AGAIN): When Dre' Bly earned consensus first-team All-America honors in 1996, it marked the first time in Carolina football history that UNC players earned consensus first-team All-America honors in consecutive seasons. Bly's, Greg Ellis' and Brian Simmons' selections in 1997 mark an unprecedented third straight year with a consensus All-America.

UNC had eight consensus first-team All-Americas in the school's first 104 years and five in the last three years.

Carolina's eight other consensus first-team selections are: Andy Bershak in 1937, Charlie Justice in 1948, Don McCauley in 1970, Ron Rusnak in 1972, Ken Huff in 1974, Dee Hardison in 1977, Lawrence Taylor in 1980, William Fuller in 1983 and Marcus Jones in 1995.

MULTIPLE CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICAS: When Dre' Bly, Greg Ellis and Brian Simmons earned consensus first-team All-America honors, it marked the second time in Atlantic Coast Conference history that three players from the same team earned that distinction in the same year. It is the first time ever that an ACC school has had three consensus All-Americas on the same side of the ball. In 1993, Florida State had three consensus first-team All-Americas - Heisman Trophy quarterback Charlie Ward, linebacker Derrick Brooks and cornerback Corey Sawyer.

UNC FIRST TO PUT THREE ON A.P. ALL-AMERICA TEAM: The University of North Carolina is the first school in Atlantic Coast Conference history to place three players on the Associated Press All-America first team. Cornerback Dre' Bly, defensive end Greg Ellis and outside linebacker Brian Simmons made the prestigious Associated Press team. Middle linebacker Kivuusama Mays was a third-team A.P. selection.

Carolina and co-national champion Nebraska were the only teams to have three players on the 1997 Associated Press first team. Carolina made up half of the ACC players who made the team. Florida State defensive end Andre Wadsworth and linebacker Sam Cowart and Clemson linebacker Anthony Simmons also made the A.P. team. All six ACC players were named on defense. Half the A.P. defense was selected from the ACC.

ACC schools placed two players on the Associated Press first team on four previous occasions since the ACC was formed in 1953 and 10 times overall.

BLY IS CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA AGAIN: Not even the legendary Charlie Justice or the awesome Lawrence Taylor achieved what Dre' Bly achieved with his second straight consensus All-America selection. The Chesapeake, Va., sophomore is the first player in Carolina football history to earn consensus first-team All-America honors in two seasons.

Bly, who tied the UNC career interceptions record with 16 in just 22 regular-season games, earned first-team All-America honors in 1997 from the Associated Press, the Walter Camp Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America and Football News. He is the fifth player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to be named a consensus All-America more than once.

DEFENSE RULES: Carolina allowed 209.3 yards per game last year. That was the lowest yardage total allowed since the 1948 team gave up just 178.0 yards per game in 10 games. It was the third straight year the Tar Heels gave up less than 300 yards per game and the fifth straight year the defense gave up less yards than the previous season. Carolina gave up 326.5 yards per game in 1992, 322.3 in 1993, 319.3 in 1994, 267.3 in 1995, 225.6 in 1996 and 209.3 in 1997.

The 209.3 yards is the lowest per game average in the Atlantic Coast Conference since Clemson allowed 184.7 yards per game in 1963.

FIRST TIME AT DEATH VALLEY SINCE TAYLOR: Carolina's win at Clemson was the Tar Heels' first in Death Valley since Lawrence Taylor was a Tar Heel in 1980.

LINTON'S MEMORABLE MOMENT: With a 7-yard run up the middle with 9:19 to play in the fourth quarter against Duke, senior tailback Jonathan Linton became the 14th Tar Heel to run for 1,000-plus yards in a season. Linton carried 36 times for a career-high 199 yards and two touchdowns against the Blue Devils. A Carolina player has rushed for 1,000 yards 24 times, an NCAA record. Linton finished the season with 1,004 yards on 248 carries (4.0 yards per carry).

50-50 FOR NA BROWN: Reidsville, N.C., native Na Brown caught a UNC record 55 passes. He broke the former record of 54 set by Leon Johnson in 1995. The previous record for a wide receiver was 53 by Octavus Barnes in 1995. Brown had 52 receptions in 1996. He is the only player in Carolina history to have at least 50 catches in more than one season.

CAROLINA TRIFECTA: North Carolina is the only school in the country to have a finalist for the Butkus, Lombardi and Thorpe Awards, which are given to the nation's top linebacker, lineman and defensive back, respectively.

Kivuusama Mays was one of three finalists for the Butkus, Greg Ellis was one of four finalists for the Lombardi and Dre' Bly was a finalist for the second consecutive season for the Thorpe.

FIVE-YEAR PLAN: Carolina has won 46 games over the last five years. That is the best five-year period in UNC football history. The Tar Heels had won 45 games from 1979-83.

The Tar Heels have a 46-15 record in the last five years. Carolina was 45-14 under head coach Dick Crum from 1979-83.

ROAD WARRIORS: Carolina won all five of its road games in 1997, the first time UNC has accomplished a perfect road record since going 5-0 in 1981. Those are the only two times Carolina has won all of its road contests since it joined the ACC in 1953.

EIGHT STRAIGHT WINNING SEASONS: Carolina posted a winning season for the eighth consecutive year, the longest streak in modern day Carolina football history. The Tar Heels did have nine straight winning records from 1897 to 1905.

DEFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST: North Carolina was the only school ranked in the top five in the nation in all four major defensive categories. Carolina was second in the country in total yards allowed per game, third in pass defense, fourth in run defense and fifth in points allowed.

TORBUSH IS THE CHOICE: East Spencer, N.C., native Carl Torbush, who was part of Mack Brown's original staff, was promoted to head coach on December 8. Torbush spent the last 10 years as the Tar Heels' defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He was the National Defensive Coordinator of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association in 1996 and was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award as the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1997.

Torbush is a 1974 graduate of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn., where he played for Coach Ron Case, who is now the secondary coach at Carolina.

Torbush was an assistant coach at Southeastern Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss and Carolina. In 1987, Torbush was head coach at Louisiana Tech and led the Bulldogs to a 3-8 record.

THREE-PEAT FOR ELLIS: Greg Ellis became the third player in Carolina history to be named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference three times. He joined defensive lineman William Fuller and offensive lineman Pat Crowley as the only three-time All-ACC selections at UNC. Fuller was first team in 1981-82-83 and Crowley received the awards in 1987-1988-1989.

ALL-AMERICAS: Cornerback Dre' Bly, defensive end Greg Ellis and outside linebacker Brian Simmons each received first-team All-America selections in 1997.

First-team selections by team include:
Associated Press - Bly, Ellis and Simmons
Walter Camp Foundation - Bly, Ellis and Simmons
Football News - Bly, Ellis and Simmons
Football Writers Association of America - Bly
American Football Coaches Association - Ellis

Second- and third-team All-America selections are as follows:
Sporting News - Ellis (second team)
Sporting News - Bly and Simmons (third team)
Associated Press - Kivuusama Mays (third team)

SIX MAKE FIRST-TEAM ALL-ACC: Carolina placed six players on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team and four on the All-ACC second team.

Leading the way was three-time first-team selection Greg Ellis. He is only the third UNC player ever to earn first-team All-ACC three times. Linebacker Kivuusama Mays, center Jeff Saturday and cornerback Dre' Bly received their second first-team All-ACC selection. Mays was a first-team All-ACC pick in 1995 and a second-team choice a year ago.

Defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday and cornerback Robert Williams received first-team All-ACC honors for the first time.

Outside linebacker Brian Simmons, free safety Omar Brown, tight end Alge Crumpler and tailback Jonathan Linton were second-team selections.

RECORD BOOK FALLS IN DUKE WIN: The Blue Devils scored the first 14 points, but a 36-point second half and an accompanying assault on the record books led Carolina to a 50-14 win over Duke. The win was Carolina's eighth consecutive triumph over the Blue Devils, the longest streak by either team since 1929.

Quarterback Chris Keldorf threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns, flanker Na Brown had six receptions and two scores and tailback Jonathan Linton rushed for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead a 527-yard offensive attack. Cornerback Dre' Bly picked off two passes and linebacker Kivuusama Mays had 10 tackles, two for losses, and had one interception. Carolina held the Blue Devils to 46 rushing yards and only 11 total first downs.

A number of records, single-season and career, and milestones were set in the process. They include:

• Senior tailback Jonathan Linton rushed for a career-high 199 yards and went over 1,000 yards for the season. That is the 24th 1,000-yard season - an NCAA record - by a Tar Heel tailback. It was the 10th time in series history a Tar Heel back rushed for 175 or more yards.
• Senior quarterback Chris Keldorf threw four touchdowns for the third time in his career and became the alltime passing touchdowns leader in Carolina history with 35.
• Senior split end Octavus Barnes caught his 19th career touchdown pass, a school record.
• Junior flanker Na Brown had six receptions to increase his team-leading total to 55 catches, a UNC single-season record.
• Brown became the first Tar Heel in history to have more than one 50-catch season.
• Sophomore cornerback Dre' Bly equaled the UNC career record for interceptions. Bly picked off two passes and broke up two more in the win over Duke. He has 16 regular-season interceptions to tie Lou Angelo's school record. The ACC career record is 17 by five different players.
• Senior defensive end Greg Ellis added a sack to finish his career with 32.5 quarterback sacks, a UNC record.
• The 50 points against Duke were the most by Carolina since a 59-34 win in 1970 and the second-most alltime. UNC also scored 50 in a 50-0 win over Duke in 1959.
• The five interceptions by the UNC defense (two by Dre' Bly, one by Robert Williams, Jomo Legins and Kivuusama Mays) were the most by Carolina since it picked off five at Virginia in 1981.

LINTON GAINS 100 AND 100: Jonathan Linton had a truly remarkable effort at Georgia Tech. The Catasauqua, Pa., native became the only player in Carolina football history to rush for 100 yards and have 100 receiving yards in the same game.

Linton ran over the Yellow Jackets en route to 138 yards on the ground and caught six passes for 137 yards. Linton, who had 177 yards rushing vs. N.C. State the previous week, became the first Tar Heel to rush for 100-plus yards in consecutive games since Leon Johnson rushed for 195 against Arkansas in the 1995 Carquest Bowl and 109 yards against Clemson in the 1996 opener.

He is the first UNC running back to get 100 yards receiving since Don McCauley had 122 yards against the Air Force in 1968. The 137 yards are the most ever by a UNC running back.

Linton set up the Tar Heels' last field goal, what proved to be the winning margin, with a reception for 38 yards and a run for 31 yards. The 38-yard catch-and-run came on a short pass from Carolina's own 10-yard line.

SCHOOL-RECORD COMEBACK: Carolina rallied from a 20-3, second quarter deficit to beat Virginia, 48-20. The comeback from 17 points behind matched the largest in school history. UNC also rallied from 17 points down in 1987 to beat Georgia Tech, 30-23, in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets led that game, 20-3, at the half.

MOST SINCE CHOO CHOO: Carolina's 48-point effort against Virginia was the highest scoring output by the Tar Heels against the Cavaliers since 1946, Charlie Justice's freshman year. UNC beat the Wahoos, 49-14, in Charlottesville in 1946. The 48 points by the Tar Heels were the most at Kenan Stadium against Virginia since UNC beat the Cavs, 61-0, in 1935.

DEFENSIVE SHUTDOWN: Carolina's top-ranked defense clamped down on the Cavalier offense in the second half and held Virginia to just 68 yards in the final two quarters. Virginia compiled 130 yards on 27 plays in the opening half en route to a 20-10 lead. In the second half, however, Carolina held the Cavaliers to 2.3 yards per play (68 yards on 30 plays). That included three pass completions in nine attempts for 18 yards and 50 rushing yards on 21 carries.

The Tar Heels recovered three fumbles and picked off a pass in the second half. Two of the turnovers were forced in a span of 34 seconds and led to 14 UNC points.

SEVEN ACC WINS: Carolina was 7-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. That was the 24th season in which the Tar Heels have played at least seven games against ACC competition and the first in which UNC has won seven games. UNC won six ACC games in 1963, 1971, 1972, 1980, 1993 and 1996.

The Tar Heels are 33-15 in the ACC in the last six seasons.

MAYS A BUTKUS FINALIST: Senior inside linebacker Kivuusama Mays was one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, which is given to the top linebacker in the nation by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Fla. The presentation was made by Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus on December 13 at the Orlando Marriott World Center. The other finalists included Sam Cowart of Florida State and award winner Andy Katzenmoyer of Ohio State.

Carolina became the only school in the country to ever have four players on the Butkus List this year. Brian Simmons was a semifinalist for the second straight year. Keith Newman and Brandon Spoon were also on the list.

ELLIS A LOMBARDI FINALIST: Defensive end Greg Ellis, a senior from Wendell, N.C., was a finalist for the Lombardi Award, given to the best down lineman in college football. The award was presented in Houston on December 10th. Ellis is the alltime sack leader in Carolina history with 32.5, including nine this season. Ellis was joined among the finalists by Florida State defensive end Andre Wadsworth, Nebraska end Grant Wistrom and Ohio State linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer. Wistrom won the award.

Ellis made 14 tackles against Clemson, including two sacks for 13 yards. He had a sack and an incredible nine QB pressures against Duke. For the season, Ellis made 87 tackles, including 18 for losses of 79 yards. He made 25 more tackles than he did in 1996. It is the most tackles by a defensive lineman since first-team All-America tackle Marcus Jones had 94 hits in 1995.

IN-STATE ACC WINS: The Tar Heels have won 16 consecutive games against in-state rivals from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Carolina has not lost to Duke, N.C. State or Wake Forest since the Pack toppled UNC, 27-20, on September 26, 1992. Since that defeat, Carolina has beaten N.C. State and Wake Forest five times apiece and Duke six times.

PERMANENT CAPTAINS NAMED: Carolina named five players as permanent team captains for the 1997 season at the annual banquet on November 30. The five captains include senior tailback Jonathan Linton, senior center Jeff Saturday, senior defensive end Greg Ellis, senior outside linebacker Brian Simmons and senior defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday.