Tar Heels dominated game against Rutgers after so-so win over McNeese State
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - North Carolina coach Butch Davis was pleased by his team’s dominating Thursday night performance at Rutgers Stadium.
But what might bode the brightest for the Tar Heels’ continued rebuilding effort — and their ACC opener against Virginia Tech next weekend — is what they did before the 44-12 victory.
“The preparation we had prior to tonight’s ballgame was about as good as we’ve had in the 18 months I’ve been a head coach,” Davis said after his team broke its 20-game losing streak outside the state of North Carolina.
“We were very disappointed in ourselves and the way we played a week ago against McNeese State, and I think our players really responded.”
Davis said the coaches were tough on the players after UNC’s unimpressive season-opening victory Aug. 30. The Tar Heels went full speed, he said, and “we had four practices last week that were probably harder than any practices we had during training camp. It was old-school football; we went out and we worked and we hit and we tackled; we did a lot of stuff. And they responded.”
Indeed, the Tar Heels players credited the focused, sometimes grueling workouts for their most lopsided victory since beating Duke 52-17 in 2001.
Although the defense gave up 383 yards, the Scarlet Knights didn’t convert a play of more than 25 yards and finished 0-for-9 on third downs. Most important: UNC’s secondary was noticeably more physical than in Week 1, making hard hits and snagging four interceptions — something they focused on during the previous 10 days on the practice field.
“If the scout team gained one yard, we got blessed out about it,” said cornerback Kendric Burney, who grabbed one of the picks.
UNC still didn’t have an individual 100-yard rusher, but the offensive line was more cohesive and consistently opened more holes. The Tar Heels gained 157 yards on the ground, and quarterback T.J. Yates was sacked only once.
Another product of some intense workouts.
“Coach Davis was jumping everybody,” tailback Shaun Draughn said after a practice several days after the McNeese State win. “All that losing — that mentality — we need to get it out of our head.”
Read More:News & Observer
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