Saturday, September 12, 2009

North Carolina post game notes

This loss will hurt. Here's some post-game notes.
  • No word on the nature of Zach Frazer's injured right knee. He got hurt on a third-quarter scramble, stayed in and threw an incompletion, then didn't come back for the next series. We'll get an update tomorrow. A few other guys were banged up, too. Updates tomorrow. Also, Lutrus wasn't cleared by the medical staff to play, it wasn't a coaches decision.

  • UNC's Zack Pianalto dislocated his fibula after catching the tying touchdown. He caught his cleats wrong on the turf as he celebrated.

  • The mistakes were plentiful in the fourth quarter. North Carolina converted a 3rd-and-17 from its own 16, setting up Pianalto's touchdown. Both Cody Endres and Moe Petrus said it was miscommunication on the bad snap. "Moe thought he heard something," Edsall said. The holding call in the end zone was a killer. North Carolina's Robert Quinn, who was held by Dan Ryan, said he thought it was a blatant hold. "I was just waiting for the flag," he said. Ryan wasn't sure, though he seemed resigned that he was probably wrong. "I don't know," Ryan said. "We both went down. It might have been a hold, it might not have been a hold. ... Everything happened so fast. We just got tangled up. I probably needed better technique."

  • The safety hurts, but here's something to consider. Even if there's no penalty on Ryan there, the Huskies still faced a 4th-and-6 from their own 24 after what would have been a 16-yard completion to Todman. Obvously, UConn punts there. It's entirely possible, especially the way they were moving the ball, that UNC could have driven into field goal range anyway. I know, I know. But I'm just saying...

  • Even after the on sides recovery by Alex Molina, UConn was in position to win the game, a point Edsall hammered home after the game, against a very good North Carolina club. "We can stand toe-to-toe with people," Edsall said. "We need to make plays when they count." He also said the Huskies aren't in this for moral victories, and this is still a loss.

  • More on the final UConn drive...an Endres to Isiah Moore completion of six yards gave the Huskies' 2nd-and-4 from the 50 with around 1:10 on the clock. Instead of calling a time out (they had all three remaining) and setting up a play on a crucial situation, the Huskies wasted about 25 seconds before getting a play off, an incomplete pass. Now its 3rd-and-4. But Edsall said he doesn't regret not taking a time out there. "Not at all," he said. "All we needed to to do was get a field goal there. Those are situations we practice every week." Another incomplete pass and a sack (by who else? Bruce Carter) and the game is over with 26 seconds on the clock. The Huskies still had two timeouts remaining.

  • Great days for Desi Cullen (47.3 average per punt) and Lindsey Witten (three more sacks) and the D as a whole.

  • Was the defense worn down in the fourth quarter? Aside from a 3-and-out, which chewed only 80 seconds off the clock early in the quarter, the defense was out the entire fourth quarter until the on-sides kick. "Not really," linebacker Greg Lloyd said. "We're made for these situations, so we don't really mind. Obviously, we were out there a lot, but we're here to hit people and make plays. Yeah, it was tough, but you have to work through those things."

  • Another tough, tough opponent next week at Baylor. Injuries won't make it any easier.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Gary said...

Ok, so I'm angry about that game. ANGRY. They blew it. UNC didn't win that game UConn blew it. Plain and simple.

Anyone who wonders why UConn can't sell out home games has only this game to look at. It was a joke! A complete joke. I won't swear, because Chip won't use it, but it was bad. This team choked away a win. Gosh, this is bad. I don't know if I've ever been as angry watching UConn play. Yes, it was pass interference on that final drive, but it should NOT have come down to that. UConn should be ashamed. NO EXCUSE to lose that game. GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I'm mad. People should be mad. Let's get it next week. Cody, Zack, whomever, get it, play better, win, no excuses.

September 12, 2009 8:54 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what drives me crazy is toward the end the WR's made some nice catches but dropped some easy ones early on that were drive killers! If those passes are caught the drives last longer and more points get put up - and we have more wiggle room later on

September 13, 2009 10:49 AM 
Blogger Chip Malafronte said...

Agree. Definitely some drops by the receivers that shouldn't have been.

September 13, 2009 11:09 AM 
Anonymous Vinny from East Haven said...

Frankly, I'm amazed that they were in the game at all. North Carolina can't feel too good about struggling against a team as weak as UConn.

September 14, 2009 9:22 AM 

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