Sept. 29, 2008

by Lee Pace, Extra Points

So which of the delicious story lines from Carolina's pulsating 28-24 win over Miami is your favorite?

That Cam Sexton, lost in the shuffle of eight interceptions in 2006, a coaching change, the recruiting hullabaloo around Mike Paulus and the elevation of T.J. Yates on the depth chart, would emanate from the shadows and play such an outstanding game? He was 11-of-19 with no interceptions and touchdown passes of 74 and 14 yards. After throwing the game-winner to Brooks Foster with 46 seconds left, Sexton sat on the bench on the Carolina sidelines, received congratulations from his coaches and teammates, then took a miniscule moment for himself. He leaned over, his head nearly between his knees, draped a towel around his head and gave a silent word of thanks.

"I talk a lot about my faith," he said. "I get stronger through my faith. I knew I would play again--it had to come eventually."

That Butch Davis would return to the city where he'd known such success--first as an assistant under Jimmy Johnson at the University of Miami from 1984-88, later as head coach himself from 1995-2000--and knock off the Hurricanes for the second year in a row? Davis was a first-year defensive line coach in 1984 when Doug Flutie launched his 48-yard "Hail Mary" pass to Gerard Phelan on the game's last snap to give Boston College a 47-45 win over the Hurricanes. He's seen that replay more times than he can count over a quarter century and winced in pain each time. Davis certainly saw his life flashing in front of him Saturday as Miami quarterback Robert Marve launched a potential game-winning pass to Kayne Farquharson in the end zone with 10 seconds left. The receiver was open in the seams of the defense, but the pass was slightly overthrown. It bounced off Farquharson's hands and into those of Trimane "Johnny-on-the-spot" Goddard.

Davis shred his headset, threw his fists into the air and excitedly hugged a couple of the nearest bodies to him--easily the most animation from the calm and measured man in his 21 months in Chapel Hill.

"I'm so sick of watching Hail Flutie, it's nice to be on other end of it one time," Davis said in relief.

That the Tar Heels refused to wallow in the poor-mouthing that enveloped them last week and, further, girded their backbones after falling behind 14-0 after one quarter Saturday? Their 17-point collapse against Virginia Tech was still a ripe lesion and could well have dealt a death punch to a weaker team's psyche, and the loss of Yates, who had opened the year on so many strong notes, left veteran observers shaking their heads and moaning, "What's next?" Instead, the lesson learned against the Hokies was that the potential was there to compete with the top rung teams of the ACC, but it would take more composure and mental sinew to hold strong in the face of the inevitable late-game charge from an established program.

"We did not finish like we know we can," defensive tackle Cam Thomas said last week. "We're working on finishing, on leaving everything on the field. That's the word: finish."

"The win shows the character of this team," added Goddard, who corralled two Hurricane passes Saturday. "We never gave up."

Or that the Tar Heel staff and players collectively found the tactics and tenacity to win against a team that in many respects mirrors their own--programs in the second years of their respective head coaches' tenures with good stockpiles of young players entering the program? Offensive coordinator John Shoop said last week that no one was "sighing or drooping their shoulders" over Yates' loss and, in fact, he sensed just the opposite. Shoop told of having the team's wide receiver triumvirate--Brandon Tate, Hakeem Nicks and Foster--stand up in a team meeting and pledge that when the ball was in the air at any time against the Hurricanes, they would find a way to catch it. No one else was going to get it.

"Just get it out there," Nicks told Paulus and Sexton. "I'll jump and get it."

Tate and Foster echoed the pledge, and Foster leaped above Hurricane defender DeMarcus Van Dyke to spear the winning touchdown with one foot landing in-bounds by a whisker.

"The dude definitely made a great play on it," Foster said. "For a second I couldn't see the ball. It came back in my vision and I just went up and got it."

And so it was that all these plots melted into a thick stew of intrigue in sultry, sticky Miami Saturday afternoon. Dolphins Stadium, the site of the Tar Heels' 20-10 win over Arkansas in the 1995 Carquest Bowl, is now the Hurricanes' home after the implosion of the venerable Orange Bowl. It's an excellent facility with plenty of NFL amenities, but the facility is 15 miles and a lengthy drive from the Hurricanes' Coral Cables campus. So it doesn't lend itself to a traditional collegiate atmosphere, and there were broad swaths of orange seats open as just over 35,000 fans showed up in a facility that seats more than twice that. But there was plenty for those in attendance to watch for.

How would Butch be received? (It was a non-issue; he and Hurricane coach Randy Shannon enjoyed their pre-game visit, but seven-plus years since Davis's departure is a long time to carry grudges by those miffed that Davis left Miami for Cleveland of the NFL.)

Who would start at quarterback for Carolina? (No pre-game announcement was made, but the plan from Davis and Shoop was to start Paulus, give him two possessions, then play Sexton and be fluid from there).

How would the Tar Heels take the heat off whichever quarterback played? (They worked in lots of wrinkles, including using Tate as a passer, Ryan Houston as a bulwark up the middle and more double-team blocking at the point of attack in the running game).

And how would the Hurricanes gird up for revenge against the Tar Heels, who beat them 33-27 last October ushered the Canes on a 1-6 fold job the rest of the season? ("That hurt us mentally," one Hurricane said last week. "North Carolina has kind of been an issue for us," another added.)

Paulus did nothing bad during his two series of action, and Davis and Shoop were quick to underline that point after the game. But it was clear from Sexton's second completion of his first series that he had the goods. Using his quickness to roll out of the pocket, away from the Hurricanes' fierce pass rush, Sexton threaded the needle to Nicks for a 14 yard-completion--the ball adroitly aimed over one Hurricane defender, to the right of another but to the left of the impending sideline. That set up Carolina's first touchdown, a six-yard bullish rampage up the gut by Greg Little, and gave the Tar Heels new life.

From there, Sexton was the picture of cool. There was no wasted motion, no energy expended on excessive celebration. Davis talked afterward of how Sexton kept his eyes peeled downfield and never panicked in the face of the pass rush. Shoop noted Sexton's poise and the fact that in conversations over the headsets between series, they were both seeing the same things. The 74-yard shot down the middle to Nicks for a touchdown required an on-the-fly adjustment by Sexton as Nicks cut the route off a bit shallow. And the final touchdown was the very play on which Paulus threw into coverage for a costly interception the week before--fake to Tate on the end-around, then roll-out to the right with three potential receivers downfield. Only Sexton found the right guy this time.

"I was seeing the field well," Sexton said. "The ball felt good in my hands."

Sexton thanked his teammates and family for their support through two difficult years. He noted that Davis, Shoop and the rest of the coaching staff had "taught me how to play football again." He spoke of playing loose and with nothing to lose, that if he stunk "it wouldn't change anyone's opinion of me." He said he hated to see Yates grounded with his injury, that there's no animosity in the quarterbacks' room. He admitted he was nowhere near ready to play two years ago when he and Joe Dailey shared the starting role.

"When I was down, I kept telling myself, `It's coming,'" Sexton said. "No matter how down I was, I kept repeating, `It's coming. It's coming.' We did this together. It's the greatest thing in the world--we did this together."

That togetherness now gives the Tar Heels a spiffy 3-1 record with unbeaten Connecticut coming to Chapel Hill Saturday night. As always, there are issues to address, many this week in the kicking game. Punter Terrence Brown mishandled a snap, the Heels made a costly running-into-the-kicker penalty, and Jay Wooten was off-target on a fourth-quarter kick-off that gave Miami possession at its 40. The defense missed some first-quarter run fits, helping the Hurricanes to their early lead, and a fine run by Shaun Draughn in the first half was negated by a holding call.

As always, though, hammering away at those problems is infinitely more pleasant after a win. Davis's rule is that all games are mentally dispatched after 24 hours, win or lose, and it's on to the next game. But he'll forgive Tar Heel fans if they treasure all the angles of the Miami win a bit longer.

Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace is in his 19th year of chronicling Carolina football through "Extra Points." He'll answer questions about the Tar Heels weekly throughout the season through his "Extra Points Mailbag" and on the pregame show for the Tar Heel Sports Network. Email him at leepace@nc.rr.com and include your name and hometown. No recruiting questions, please.