Aug. 28, 2008

By Lauren Brownlow

Every Thursday, check TarHeelBlue.com for the latest edition of the Game Guide, which provides all the information you need to get ready for gameday.

The Basics

North Carolina will open the second season of the Butch Davis era in the first of seven home games this season against the McNeese State Cowboys. The Tar Heels are coming off of a 4-8 season last year and were picked by the ACC media to finish second in the Coastal Division. Even though Butch Davis is 1-0 in season-openers as head coach at North Carolina, the team is 3-7 in the last ten season-openers and will look to win back-to-back opening games for the first time since the 1996-97 seasons. Carolina will be facing its fourth Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team in the last five years, going 3-0 in those games. McNeese State was 11-1 last year, going undefeated during the regular season and winning the Southland Conference title for the second year in a row and fifth time since 2000. The Cowboys were knocked out in the first round of the FCS playoffs last season and this year, they are ranked tenth in the FCS preseason poll.

Game Time: McNeese State at North Carolina, 6:00 PM.

Carolina's game notes can be found here and McNeese State's official football site is here.

Last Time: This will be Carolina's first meeting with McNeese State. It will also mark the first time that McNeese State has faced an ACC opponent. Carolina has played 22 games against schools from the state of Louisiana and has a 6-14-2 record. McNeese State is 1-8 against Division-I teams with the lone win coming against Louisiana-Lafayette last year, 38-17. Butch Davis faced McNeese State while he was at Miami in 2000; the Hurricanes won the game 61-14.

Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 5:00 PM. The radio broadcast is also available on XM Channel 193 at 6:00. Since it's a home game, the Tar Heel Sports Network broadcast can be heard on XM.

TV Coverage: This game will not be shown on television.

Game week TV/radio coverage: "Butch Davis Live", Coach Davis' weekly radio show, will be broadcast live from the Top of the Hill restaurant on Franklin Street every Wednesday at 7:00. Inside the Huddle with Butch Davis airs Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on FOX Sports South. The show will air on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WTVD ABC 11 in the Triangle and will review Saturday's game. The Tar Heel Football Review show featuring highlights of the previous week's games will air Tuesday's at 7 p.m. and Thursday's at 8 p.m. in the Triangle and Fayetteville on the local Time Warner Cable station.

Storylines

An improved Carolina defense facing an early test: McNeese State runs the spread offense with plenty of lethal weapons at all of the skill positions. It is coming off of a season in which it averaged 208.9 yards a game on the ground (21st in the FCS) and 222.8 yards through the air for a combined 431.8 yards of offense (12th in the FCS). Three starting offensive linemen who helped pave the way for that attack earned All-Conference honors and are back this season. The Cowboys scored a whopping 52 touchdowns last season and converted a ridiculous 42 of 48 red-zone opportunities, including 37 touchdowns (26 on the ground). The Cowboys allowed just 15 sacks last season and converted 74 of 152 third downs (48.7%). They also led the conference and ranked 15th in the FCS in scoring offense (35.2 points per game). They led the league and ranked seventh in the FCS with a pass efficiency rating of 161.3, 22 touchdowns to just eight interceptions and completed 66.6% of its pass attempts.

"McNeese is a very explosive, fast football team. Typically, their program is marked by having very, very fast, skilled players. Guys can actually run really well in that program. They're going to run a spread offense, and we've talked about it before that when you're playing a spread offensive team, you really need to be disciplined. It's going to be discipline, execution and not giving up big plays," Davis said. "If you watch spread offenses, very seldom do they go 16 plays for 80 yards. There are always big plays in there - big plays with the reverse, big plays with the quarterback running the ball, big plays in the play-action. They try to get you sucked in trying to stop the dive and the read-option part of it, and then all of a sudden, you'll see, whether it's West Virginia or any of the other teams that have probably been very good at it, there are big plays. You have to match them speed-wise. You don't want to go out there with guys trying to cover - they've got 4.4, 4.5 wide receivers and you've got 4.6, 4.7 secondary guys, that's not a real good matchup."

Carolina had a lot of youth and not a lot of depth on defense last season, part of the reason that even though it was much better it finished eighth in the league in total defense (349.8 yards allowed per game). Carolina allowed 24.5 points per game (ninth in the league). The pass defense was a bright spot, ranking second in the league allowing 207.2 yards per game and just 16 passing touchdowns. Carolina allowed just 109 passing first downs, fewest in the ACC. However, Carolina allowed a 62.4% completion percentage (second-highest allowed in the ACC) and picked off just 11 passes (tied for the third fewest). But after starting the year with eight pass breakups in the first six games, the team finished with 20 in the final six games (15 in the last four games).

The strength of last year's team and this year's team was in the defensive line, which notched 34 sacks last year (fourth in the league). But Carolina's run defense was inconsistent at best and finished ninth in the league, allowing 142.5 yards per game. The 3.5 yards per carry average was the fourth-highest allowed in the league. The 103 rushing first downs Carolina allowed were the fourth-most in the ACC. Carolina's pass defense was not as good as the numbers would make it seem since opponents tried to run on Carolina more than pass. With the young players being a year more experienced, this unit will be a lot better collectively defending both the run and the pass if they are able to just play.

"We talk to the defense all the time about you've got to run, chase and swarm the football. We want to try to get 11 guys around the ball as often as possible. The only way that you can play with reckless abandon is you've got to be really confident in knowing your assignments," Davis said. "I think back to last year, how many times that we - and out of necessity, because of injuries - but the number of times that Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant flipped, SAM, MIKE, WILL, moved those around. Chase Rice got hurt. Mark Paschal had to play in some situations. It really hurt their growth and development to just get focused and locked in and zeroed in on one particular position. So hopefully, we start out with a little bit better basis at the beginning of this season. Hopefully, if they'll all stay healthy then I think that will allow them to continue to grow and play better."

Carolina ranked eighth in red-zone defense, allowing opponents to score 41 out of 50 times (82 percent). The 26 touchdowns and 16 rushing touchdowns Carolina allowed in the red zone were the second-most in the league. Carolina did get some luck as opponents managed to miss six field goals while inside the red zone. So that means that technically the Carolina defense stopped its opponent from reaching the end zone just three times. In four wins, Carolina allowed four red-zone rushing touchdowns compared to 12 in eight losses. The team showed significant improvement defending the run in the red zone as it allowed just four rushing touchdowns in the red zone in the final four games (zero in the final two games). Opponents averaged 18.8 points per game off of points in the red zone, 20.6 in eight losses compared to just 15.3 in four wins. In the final seven games of the season, Carolina held opponents to 22 of 27 red-zone scores (81.5%) after allowing 19 of 23 (82.6%) in the first five. Taking out the blowout loss to Wake Forest, Carolina held opponents to 17 of 22 conversions (77.3%) in six of the last seven games while allowing 24 of 28 (85.7%) in the other six games.

Plain and simple, the Tar Heels have to stop the run this season. The Tar Heels were plagued by inconsistency in that department last season, allowing 135.6 yards on the ground in the first nine games and slipping to allow 163.3 in the last three games, including a huge rushing day by NC State which had been one of the worst rushing teams in the league. The only consistent thing is that when the Tar Heels stopped the run, the won - opponents averaged 124.3 yards on the ground in Carolina's four wins compared to 151.6 in the eight losses. Wake Forest and South Florida buried the Tar Heels with an average of 166 yards on the ground. East Carolina's skill players gave Carolina fits last season (see Johnson, Chris) and McNeese State has the potential to have a big day on the ground.

Everything starts up front: The Carolina offensive line is expected to be one of the stronger units on this team. Offensively, Carolina got off to a hot start last season throwing the ball and couldn't manage to get anything going on the ground. This caught up to the Tar Heels in ACC play when teams began to figure out T.J. Yates - passing became more difficult and running seemed impossible. Carolina finished last season tenth in the league in rushing yards with 99.2 a game. The good news is that on the strength of Greg Little, Carolina averaged 126.5 yards in its final two games. The bad news is that Carolina finished 11th in the league in time of possession and even in that final game against Duke, Carolina had trouble sustaining drives and had a 12:46 deficit in time of possession.

Carolina passed the ball fairly decently throughout the year, finishing with the fifth-best passing offensive in the ACC (and averaging a league-high 7.4 yards per completion), but those numbers were largely out of necessity since Carolina couldn't seem to run the ball. While Carolina's 15 passing touchdowns were tied for sixth in the league, its 29 total touchdowns were tied for the fewest overall because of only 11 rushing touchdowns. The only team to rush for fewer touchdowns was Duke (six).

Carolina also ranked ninth in the league in sacks allowed and of those 37 sacks, just seven came in Carolina's four wins and 30 came in eight losses, including eight in two blowout losses and 22 in six close losses. After letting NC State get a season-high nine quarterback hurries in that close loss, the line held Georgia Tech to one hurry and Duke to zero. Carolina's quarterback was hurried just three times in its four wins compared to 22 times in eight losses. Carolina was able to hold Duke to just two tackles for loss, tying a season-low in ACC games (Virginia, NC State and Miami were also held to just two apiece).

Carolina was tenth in the league in first downs with 201, but 116 of those were by passing; only two teams in the league had fewer first downs rushing than the Tar Heels did (72). Carolina had three ACC wins and totaled 26 rushing first downs in those three games. It had 20 rushing first downs in five ACC losses. The Tar Heels also ranked last in the ACC in third-down conversions, making just 48 out of 164 attempts (29.3 percent). It was both the fewest attempts and conversions of third downs by any team in the league.

The rushing woes also showed themselves in the red zone, where Carolina placed ninth in the league in chances converted. The Tar Heels scored just 15 touchdowns in the red zone (fewest in the league) and only eight rushing touchdowns, the second-fewest. But after notching just six rushing touchdowns in the red zone in the first ten games of the season (0.6 per game) Carolina managed to run for two in the final two games.

The Tar Heel passing attack got going early last season in the opener against James Madison. Though it may have excited the crowd and gave the team something to build on, it ended up being a bit of a mirage. Carolina scored 130 points inside the red zone and 124 points outside of it last season and while big plays are fantastic, they're not something a team can count on consistently. Carolina should use this game to establish its offensive identity as a team that can - and will - run the football.

The Tar Heels will certainly be tested by McNeese State though, a defense which will have no problem blitzing Yates while allowing its speedy corners to play man-to-man down the field. The Cowboys also led the Southland Conference in turnover margin at +17 on the season - 36 gained and 19 lost. Twenty-one of those 36 turnovers gained were fumbles and six were forced in the red zone. McNeese State also led the conference in pass defense efficiency with a rating of 115.7 allowed (12 touchdowns to 15 interceptions and a 55.7% completion percentage).

Special teams: Injuries and a lack of depth hurt the development of quite a few young players last season, but it also robbed many of the opportunity to spend a year learning the game as strictly special-teamers. Freshmen linebackers like Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant were playing on multiple units. While Carolina's starters will still see some special teams action this season, it won't be to the point where any starter on either side of the ball becomes overtaxed. But some of Carolina's special teams units, like the punt protection group, has remained essentially intact from last season to this season, allowing Davis and Carolina's special teamers to progress beyond the basics.

"Until a lot of these guys get battle-tested in covering kicks, which was a big sore spot with us last year - we didn't at times do as well as certainly you need to to win ball games, covering punts and covering kickoffs - it's an area that we need to get better. We hope that we're starting off with a better pool of players that are more experienced. They understand the schemes that they're going to see. Hopefully, we'll have a little bit faster of a unit of guys that are out there covering the kicks," Davis said.

Carolina knew what it was getting last season in senior kicker Connor Barth, who made 19 of 22 field goals (second in the ACC) and 21 of 23 extra points. Barth also averaged 63.4 yards per kickoff (fifth-highest in the league) and had eight touchbacks. But the Tar Heels ranked seventh in the league in kickoff coverage, their worst special team ranking, netting just 40 yards per kickoff. Despite speedy Brandon Tate's potential to score any time he receives a kickoff or punt, Carolina was just sixth in kickoff returns last year (20.3 yards per return) and sixth in punt returns (9.8 yards). Kickoff coverage is an area that Carolina will need to improve on significantly this season.

But the punting was a bright spot. Terrence Brown and the punting unit ranked fourth in the league, averaging 36.0 net yards per punt. Brown himself averaged 41.4 yards per punt, third-most in the ACC. His punting average did not accurately reflect his skill level since Carolina employed a bit of directional punting last season.

Part of getting past the basics for Davis is working on the nuances of special teams, from the ins and outs of protections to the operation times of kicks and punts. In the most recent scrimmage last Saturday, the team ran 30 scripted special teams scenarios that concentrated on the unusual things that can crop up - onsides kicks, "hands" teams, kickoffs at the end of a game and punting from inside the five-yard line. Davis also said that Brown has gotten his operation time to about 2.1 seconds or less (including the snap and kick). He was also pleased with the operation time of the extra point and field-goal units, all of which operated at 1.25 seconds or less.

But which kicker will win the job is still undecided. It will either be true freshman Casey Barth (little brother of Connor) or redshirt freshman Jay Wooten. Davis has implied that both could be a part of the Carolina game plan, depending on which one he thinks can execute whatever kind of kick that Carolina needs at a particular moment. If one emerges, that's fine with the staff but if one doesn't emerge, it will be kicking by committee. "The accuracy for both of them is definitely good. I think Jay (Wooten) has got a little more strength, just because he's been here for a year lifting and stuff like that. He's gotten to develop a little more than Casey (Barth) has straight out of high school," Brown said. "So I definitely think Jay has got a little more leg strength and that's shown on his kickoffs, putting it on the goal line and a couple of yards deep. So definitely Jay with the leg strength, but they both can be deadly accurate."

McNeese State has been a strong special teams unit the last few years, leading the Southland Conference in kickoff coverage last year with 45.3 net yards per kickoff. Kicker and punter Blake Bercegeay, a senior, led the team to 36.5 net yards per punt (second in the league) while making 54 of 56 extra points. His 78 points made him the leading scorer on last year's team. He also had eight touchbacks and led the league in distance on kickoffs (60.9 yards), but he made just 8 of 14 field goals, including just 3 of 5 from 40-49 yards. But as a punter, he placed 17 punts inside the 20 yard-line and forced six touchbacks and three fair catches.

The Cowboys ranked fifth in kickoff returns with 19.4 yards per return and one touchdown. In punt returns, they were fourth in the conference and averaged 9.2 yards. With speedy wide receiver and return man Steven Whitehead coming back, the Cowboys' special teams could be as dangerous as they were when he was healthy last in 2006, leading the punt return unit which ranked sixth in the FCS national rankings at 15.7 yards per return. To put that in perspective, Virginia Tech led the ACC last season with 15.7 yards per punt return; Carolina averaged just 9.8.

At The Game

Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: WCHL 1360 is the local affiliate.

Parking/construction update: For the latest information, click here.

Pregame activities: Tar Heel Town will open at 3:00 PM on Saturday and the Countdown to Kickoff radio show will broadcast live there beginning at 4:00. The Old Well Walk will be at 3:30 and then the Marching Tar Heels will perform on the steps of Wilson Library at 5:00 before heading to the stadium. Then at 5:15, start making your way to Kenan Stadium and make sure you're in your seats early. For more information, see the new <"http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/unc/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2008fanguide">2008 Fan Guide on TarHeelBlue.com.

Postgame activities: See the Fan Guide on TarHeelBlue.com for the latest information on postgame parking and activities.

Watching At Home

Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.

A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.

Names To Know

Greg Little: He had his growing pains along the way, but sophomore starting tailback Greg Little successfully executed a position switch midseason from wide receiver to running back last year. Now, he has spent the off-season working to get better and while his natural athleticism and speed will take the Carolina running game a long way, now he has more fundamentals to add to that. "I just feel comfortable now, knowing that I can tell when blitzes are coming, instead of just waiting for them to come. I actually can see things happening before they actually happen, and that's another plus. You can play a lot faster that way. It feels like high school again. I feel like that I can dominate this game now that I know what to do and where to be," Little said.

Little began the season as a wide receiver that only ran the ball to add a wrinkle to the offense. He had nine rushing attempts in four different games for Carolina (no more than four per game), gaining 57 yards (6.3 per carry). Still, it was more of a gimmick up until the Georgia Tech game, when the coaching staff decided to see what he could do at tailback. It got what you could expect from a freshman - some good and some bad. Were it not for a 26-yard loss at Georgia Tech when he didn't year T.J. Yates audible at the line to change the play, he would have gained 115 yards against a very stout Tech defense. He ended up with 89 yards on 24 attempts (3.7 yards per carry). Still, that 3.7-yard average was better than what the Tar Heels ended the season with as a team (3.0 yards) and without the 26-yard loss, Little would have averaged 4.8 yards per carry.

The team had 253 yards rushing in the final two games of the season and Little had 243 of those yards himself, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Still, Little led everyone except T.J. Yates in fumbles with five and was fortunate to lose just one of the fumbles (at Georgia Tech). He had three fumbles in the final two games including one against Duke that Carolina was able to keep. In that Duke game, he had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that nearly cost the Tar Heels late but scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime - one of two touchdowns he rushed for that night - and amassed 154 yards on 26 carries (5.9 yards per carry).

He finished the season with 59 rushing attempts and gained 300 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and scoring two touchdowns. He averaged 27.3 yards per game. To put it in perspective, former starter Anthony Elzy had 92 attempted for 321 yards (3.5 yards per carry) and scored five rushing touchdowns. Another guy given a chance at starter, sophomore Johnny White (who is now a cornerback) did not score a rushing touchdown and had 399 yards on 95 carries (4.2 yards per carry). He did more for the team than just run the ball, catching 13 passes (eight in the last three games) for 99 yards. He also had 11 kick returns for 145 yards (13.2 per return) and finished the season fourth in all-purpose yards with 49.5 per game.

It's somewhat unfair to put this much of a burden on a sophomore that has started just two games at running back in his career, but Little doesn't mind bearing the weight of expectations for what should be a vastly improved running game. Still, it wouldn't hurt for Carolina's other backs to help Little as Carolina develops what should be a much more consistent running attack.

E.J. Wilson: Playing on a defensive line with the likes of Kentwan Balmer, Hilee Taylor and Marvin Austin makes it a bit easier to go unnoticed. But the junior defensive end is now one of the older and more experienced players on the line and statistically speaking, he is one of the best returning lineman as well. He finished the season tied for seventh in the ACC in fumbles recovered with two. He is the leading returner in tackles for loss with 9.5 (tied for second on the team with Kentwan Balmer) and he had 3.5 of those tackles for loss in the final two games. He finished out the season with at least one tackle for loss in six of the last seven games and 7.0 tackles for loss in that span. Two of his five sacks came in the final two games. Wilson is also the leading returner in quarterback hurries with four last season.

Wilson finished the season tenth in tackles with 44 and has the 7th-most of any returning player. He had 15 tackles in the last three games and 26 in the final five. Against Duke, he closed out the season very well with six tackles (two solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble. In the third quarter, he sacked Thaddeus Lewis at the 47-yard line for a 4-yard loss and managed to knock the ball out, forcing a fumble that Bruce Carter recovered with 7:19 to go in the third quarter. That play came right after Lewis completed a 35-yard bomb from the Duke 22-yard line to set the Blue Devils up in Carolina territory with the game tied at seven apiece. That play made him the ninth Tar Heel of the season to force a fumble.

Wilson is the only defensive lineman left on the team to have started all 12 games last season. The Tar Heels have quite a bit of depth at tackle to replace Kentwan Balmer but not nearly as much at defensive end, where Hilee Taylor's production and motor will both be sorely missed. He showed a propensity last season for being able to make some big hits and play consistently, both things that Carolina will need on its defense this season.

Charles Brown: While Kendric Burney seems to have solidified one of the corner positions, the other one is up in the air. Sophomore cornerback Charles Brown is listed as an "or" with Jordan Hemby, but Brown has quite a bit more playing experience. Deunta Williams, Marvin Austin and Burney all had standout freshman seasons for the defense, but Brown especially came on strong late, starting eight games on the season (all of the final seven) and finishing the season tied for second place on the team in tackles with 59. He had 42 solo tackles, which were also second on the team (both behind only Durell Mapp). Brown had 26 tackles in the final four games, 19 of which were solo.

Brown was second on the team in interceptions with two and he returned one of them 92 yards for a touchdown at NC State, making him only one of two non-offensive players to score a touchdown. He also had an interception against Miami, just his second start. His 5.0 tackles for loss last season led all members of the secondary. He also had one sack and four pass breakups. But despite the ugly nature of the game, the Duke game was one of his best. He had seven total tackles (six solo), one tackle for loss and one pass breakup. On Duke's last drive of regulation, he had a tackle for a one-yard loss that set up 2nd and 11 with 38 seconds left at the Carolina 32. One play later on 2nd and 11, he saved a first down by tackling the Duke receiver after a nine-yard gain at the Carolina 23-yard line. Duke would go on to miss a field goal that would have won the game.

Carolina has a lot of young bright spots on its defense but there are some questions when it comes to the cornerback spot opposite Burney and of the depth at that position overall. If Brown continues his solid play from last season, he could make the Tar Heel defense that much more solid.

Derrick Fourroux: The 6-2, 200-pound junior quarterback has been starting for McNeese State for three years now and has provided a spark to an already-potent offense. He led the team in total offense with 217 yards per game. He had a 156.12 quarterback rating last season, completing 125 of 218 passes (57.3%) for 2,054 yards (171.2 per game). He threw for 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He was tenth in all of the FCS in passing efficiency and 37th in total offense. He ran the ball 115 times for 550 yards, averaging 45.8 yards on the ground per game and 4.8 yards per carry. He scored seven rushing touchdowns. Fourroux is both a dangerous runner and passer, scoring 27 of the Cowboys' 52 touchdowns. He is also experienced and certainly won't be afraid or intimidated by Carolina.

Steven Whitehead: Senior wide receiver and return specialist Steven Whitehead missed most of last season after suffering a knee injury in the second game, but the former All-American is back and ready to go. The 5-8, 173-pound Whitehead might not be physically imposing, but he is fast. He ranks fourth in McNeese State history in kickoff return yardage and eighth in punt return yardage. In 2006, Whitehead was the Southland Conference Player of the Year, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and all-purpose yards. He ranked fourth in the FCS in punt returns (16.81 yards), 18th in kickoff returns (23.95 yards) and 25th in all-purpose yards (130.0 per game).

Vaalyn Jackson: Senior defensive tackle Vaalyn Jackson is the leading returning player in tackles for loss with 13.5 last season and tied for the most returning sacks with 3.0. He also leads all returning team members in quarterback hurries (12) and fumbles forced (four). Jackson had 46 tackles last season (22 solo) and also had four pass breakups. He is one of two returning First-team All-Southland Conference defensive players. Jackson is just 6 feet tall and 295 pounds, but he and senior teammate Kenneth Lundy (who mans the other tackle spot and is 6-2, 260) were mentioned by Davis as players who have impressed him. "They're big, they're physical, they look an awful lot like potential NFL-type players. They're 6-3, 300 pounds. They're athletic, they're quick and they do a great job penetrating, so they'll try to cause you a lot of havoc," Davis said.

Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.