North Carolina 33, Hurricanes 24 (Final); Butch-ered in Chapel Hill as Harris' four INTs doom UM

Collball Week 11 roundup:

[Look for our latest Canesfan Satisfaction Meter poll in a separate blogpost just above this one]

North Carolina 33, No. 14 Hurricanes 24 (Final):

FINAL: Well I said in the original post below that I had a bad feeling about this game, and with apparent good reason. Canes fall to 7-3 and the curse of having never won in Chapel Hill continues. A sweet win for Butch Davis against his former school. A tough loss for Miami, which probably cost itself a chance to finish the season ranked in the top 10. Pretty simple about today: Teams that throw four interceptions win about as often as the [Old Reference Alert] Washington Generals used to against the Harlem Globetrotters.   

SECOND HALF: UNC chashes a killer FG for a 33-24 lead with just under 2 minutes left. Miami needing a miracle now ..... UM run defense not good enough in closing minutes ..... Harris-to-Graham TD pass pulls Miami within 30-24. A defensive stop here and UM will have time to win. What a crazy, weird game ..... Harris' 4th interception results in a UNC touchdown and 30-17 score. Interceptor fumbles forward and from there the score results. Rview affirms call on field, tough Randy Shannon argues vehemently. ..... Canes rally continues with Cooper 2-yard TD run drawing Miami within 23-17 late 3-Q ..... Hankerson Ginns (drops) a TD pass ..... Bosher FG pulls Um within two TDs. Still plenty of time if the defense can keep Team Butch at 23 ..... UNC adds a FG for 23-7 lead. Big hole for Canes on a nightmare afternoon -- so far -- for Jacory Harris and the offense.

FIRST HALF: Poor clock management by UM, ending the first half with a timeout unspent ..... Jacory Harris' 3rd INT of game returned 77 yards for TD in final minute of half. .... Very daring fake punt by Miami works! Gutsy call ..... Jacory Harris throws 2nd interception of game. Too, too many for him this season. This one leads to FG and 13-7 Heels lead ..... UNC settles for 22-yard FG, mid-2Q. Miami pass defense looking shaky ..... Berry in from 2 out and UM ties it 7-7 ..... Tar Heels beat Miami blitz for touchdown pass and first score of game, early second quarter ..... Georgia Tech winning today eliminated UM from contention for the ACC title. No matter. plenty still in play for the Canes as long as they keep winning, including a major bowl and final top-10 ranking.

Original post:

Well traveling to Butch Carolina is a mighty test for the 7-2 Canes, who still have a top-10 ranking and major bowl very much in play with a win. UNC is a credible 6-3 and plays solid defense and you know ex-Canes coach Butch Davis will have his troops pumped. This also presents a mental hurdle for UM because the Canes have never won in Chapel Hill. Is it finally time? Canes a 3-point favorite but I must say this one makes me nervous. I do not have a good feeling. I'd be pleased to be wrong. [Pictured below left: Randy Shannon and Davis pretending to like each other].

Your thoughts invited before, during and after the game. Look for our latest Canesfan Satisfaction Meter blog poll in a separate post soon after the final whistle,  probably by around 7:30.

Other Week 11 state-college FBS/Division 1 games:

Rutgers 31, No. 24 South Florida 0: Thursday night spank! Bulls should be disbanded after loss like this.

Florida State 41, Wake Forest 28: Nice road win for the underdog Seminoles, now 5-5. Good to see a little good news toward the end of a tough, tough season for Bobby Bowden. 

Central Florida 37, No. 15 Houston 32: Huge home win today for the underdog Knights (now 6-4) over a ranked opponent.

No. 1 Florida 24, South Carolina 14: The Gators surviving more than spanking Steve Spurrier's 'Cocks. Knew this one would be interesting. But 10-0 is 10-0.

FAU 35, Arkansas State 18: Nice little home upset win for Howard & The Owls, now 3-6.

FIU 35, North Texas 28: The Int'l improves to 3-7 with a big home win. Victories by FIU and FAU on the same day. No way!

National game of the week: No. 11-Ohio State beats No. 10-Iowa 27-24 in overtime to secure a spot in the Rose Bowl.

COTE'S TOP 30-PLUS

Our own national Top 30 ranking, plus any state schools with points. Rankings do not include Week 11 results from earlier this week:

Rank  Team  Points (Last week)

1     FLORIDA 987 (1)

2     Texas 947 (2)

3     Alabama 925 (3)

4     Southern Cal 810 (4)

5     Boise State 770 (5)

6     Louisiana State 746 (6)

7     TCU 670 (10)

8     Penn State 666 (7)

9     Ohio State 658 (8)

10   Virginia Tech 622 (9)

11   Cincinnati 621 (11)

12   Oklahoma State 551 (12)

13   MIAMI 508 (14)

14   Georgia Tech 488 (16)

15   Oklahoma 480 (13)

16   Iowa 468 (15)

17   Oregon 429 (18)

18   Mississippi 397 (17)

19   Brigham Young 395 (19)

20   Houston 341 (21)

21   California 330 (20)

22   Utah 283 (23)

23   Kansas 246 (22)

24   Pittsburgh 243 (26)

25   Nebraska 222 (24)

26   Georgia 197 (25)

27   Notre Dame 163 (27)

28   North Carolina 117 (28)

29   SOUTH FLORIDA 116 (31) 

30   Arizona 100 (36)

37   FLORIDA STATE 77 (34)

[Poll note: Our rankings, in their first year and experimental, use a formula that results in more conservative movement -- up or down -- than in other polls or rankings. I'll be interested to judge them after the regular season as the bowls approach].

Comments

[Iron Mike T]

Sad to see Coach Bowden end up like this.

[_HM_]

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2009614

GameDay playlist

4 Quarters

[OC Dolphin]

Yup Greg. I agree with your thoughts on this one. All this concurrence is starting to worry me.

[IMAWriterRobJ]

Poor clock management again. We blamed Nix, now Whipple...methinks RS is the culprit.
BTW, why didn't UM challenge the spot on the near TD earlier?

RS is a great recruiter, but Tommy Tuberville would get these guys to the next level.
Shannon will never be fired for fear of the backlash by black recruits.
So get used to 2 more seasons of 8-4, maybe 9-3 and the Citrus Bowl...if we're lucky.
Ww the talent to come back this game, but won't. Wish it weren't so.
I hate that 45 years of being a UM fan and grad has lead top this.
Announcers tereating UM like the 2nd dog in a game...with NORTH CAROLINA!!.
Makes me sick.

[IMAWriterRobJ]

NTW, Greg,
Props for calling PETA what they are. PC is killing this country.

[Iron Mike T]

Congrats to the Seminoles and Coach Bowden.

[Alex]

We are garbage. Killed OURSELVES the whole game. Turnovers turnovers turnovers...We handed UNC 14 points. Why does Harris treat every drive like we're down and need a hail mary pronto?! Chill out and run the offense. God I'm aggravated. We are NOT back. Bring in guys like Kelly, Irvin, Sapp, Reed, etc..we need strong mentors for this team. No more excuses..I don't wanna hear "oh well we're young and just.." NO! This is Miami. And it is sickening how we are accepting mediocrity. We are soft and I can't stand it.

[Cooperstowncane]

Coaching ,coaching coaching. If we had the likes of Urban , Lou Saban , We would be a better team no doubt.

[Cooperstowncane]

Also we have to ditch that 4 man rush ,Shit this sucks.

[Canesfansc]

JUST THE MOST PATHETIC DISPLAY OF FOOTBALL I'VE SEEN ALL YEAR! From coaching to players.

[the shadow knows]

sheeneman74,

what happened to your pumping of jacorry harris for the statue campaign? didn't believe the ole shadow when this observer noted that he floats all his passes and posseses an overrated arm? saw this coming as well s my alma mater, USC, losing three games this season, which are already on the books. thought a two loss match-up between the canes and trojas would have been nice, but it says here that troy might lose to the bruins or arizona and should pass on a bowl bid this season.

[laxcane]

I don't think Butch outcoached us, he has a more polished quarterback. Back in the day, Jacory would never have received an offer from us.

We are recruiting well in all fronts, need some qb signees.

Jacory should not allowed to throw floaters any more and realize he can't sit in the pocket too long..

We still need to manage the clock better

[Canesfansc]

I hope this loss quiets the die hards that think this coaching staff (Whipple included) is going to take this program to the next level. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!! If Shannon is smart he had better save some of his scholarships for a few quarterbacks. Sorry folks, Jacory is not the man to move this offense consistantly. Way too many bonehead plays, not accurate and abosolutely no zip on the ball. He has killed this team this year. Now I can see why Shannon wanted Marve, he could run, roll out and throw thow the ball with authority. Jacory is still playing for Northwestern.

The defense as a whole is slow, out of sync, has only a few guys that can really hit and not one of them have the basics for just making a simple tackle.

And to you John Lovett...Please leave Miami!!

[rawpimple]

I have told you all along that coach is a joke of a head coach. 1st half clock management is just one of many poor coaching examples.

another 4-6 loss season which is becoming typical for the canes

[the shadow knows]

canesfansc,

stated long ago by this observer that rayray armstrong would challenge jacorry harris next spring at QB, and i believe what is happening now indicates that the ole shadow was on the right track. but having invested two seasons in #12, it ain't gonna happen unless thay can get an injury redshirt for this year for rayray due to limited games.

[Jimbo]

shadow,
R U enduring the USC game results?

[CanesGradStudent]

This is how life will be under Randy Shannon. 3-5 losses a year, and a mid-December Bowl game. Until he's gone, this isn't going to change.

Get Tommy Tuberville on the phone.

[the shadow knows]

Jimbo,

i figure the trojans for three losses- cal, oregon, and either ohio state or notre dame. washington was a shock, stanford not after the immature defense started giving up points wholesale against oregon and oregon state, and with jim harbaugh, who should have been hired by michigan, having stanford on a major roll. beating the bears, the irish and the buckeyes and possibly losing four (UCLA won't be easy) is the surprise. taylor mays can't play pass defense. i went through two consecutive 6-4-1 seasons while a student a USC, but at least my senior year, 1972, produced what is stillacknowledged as the greatest team of the last half of the twentieth century.