September 12, 2008

Here come the Heels

Wow, dominating performance from the UNC Tar Heels last night. They pretty much had their way with Rutgers. Very impressive. Not only is their defense much improved, they actually have a good core of skill players to build around. Things are up looking up in Chapel Hill.

Suddenly that October trip down to Chapel Hill is looking like a load for us. It is amazing how cyclical college football can be. Two years ago, they came to South Bend as one of the worst teams in the country. Now, they have Butch Davis and all kinds of young talent. That is going to be a tough game.

Always great to hear that North Carolina fight song playing. It's always strange to hear a fight song out of context. I'm so used to hearing that song in the Dean Dome that it's wierd to hearing it at a football stadium. Probably could say the same thing about hearing "Hail to the Victors" and "Fight On" at a basketball arena.

Rutgers looked awful by the way. I think they are starting to remember that they are Rutgers. There's a reason they've only won one bowl game in 30 years. Schiano might end up righting the ship, but he also might end up regretting that he passed up some opportunities to get to a better program. Enough with the wood-chopping by the way. You look a little silly when UNC throws a 60 yard touchdown and you're over there on the sideline chopping.

For all the good things that have happened in the Big East the last couple years, they are tearing it all down this year with the brutal performances of the league in nonconference play so far. If the Big East doesn't step it up, I wouldn't be surprised to hear some grumbling from the other leagues about whether the Big East belongs in the BCS discussions going forward.

3 comments:

Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mike said...

Blogger Mike said...

Very impressive performance by UNC. Although I think the Tar Heels will have a few stumbles along the way this year given their inexperience, there is no question that Butch Davis is well on this way to stocking the roster with top-flight talent on both sides of the ball. Tate and Nicks are explosive wide receivers and Greg Little has great potential at running back. Their QB, T.J. Yates, reminds me of the former Oregon State QB, Jonathan Smith. Like Smith, Yates doesn't have tremendous arm strength or athleticism, but he knows where to throw the ball and he's accurate.

As for Rutgers, what can you say? Two embarrasing blowouts at home on ESPN to start the season is never good. I wonder whether Schiano is regretting his decision to stay at RU rather than pursuing the Miami job or another top flight position. Maybe he can still succeed Paterno at Penn State, but who knows? At least there is a bright side: the Big East is so weak that Rutgers could actually contend for the league title if they improve over the course of the year.

Zach Powers said...

If you're going to start kicking conferences out of the BCS, then the ACC needs to be on the list as well, positive performances by the Heels notwithstanding.