Tar Heels Bowl Hopes Alive

North Carolina continued its long hard road towards bowl eligibility Saturday, defeating no. 19 Boston College at Kenan Stadium, 16-14. It was Carolina's second straight home win over a ranked opponent, the first time UNC has accomplished this since 1991. With the win the Tar Heels improved to 4-4 on the season, 3-2 ACC play, while BC fell to 6-3, 3-3. By beating BC, Carolina also remained in contention for the championship of its ACC division.

Jesse Holley caught eight passes for 125 yards, and Wallace Wright got the Tar Heels off to an electrifying start by returning the game's opening kickoff for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead, but it was the defense that really carried the day for UNC. After BC moved 63 yards for a touchdown on its first possession to tie the score at 7-7, the Eagles did not score again until less than 1 minute remained in the game -- a span of nine possessions.

Carolina, meanwhile, got the remainder of its points from the foot of sophomore kicker Connor Barth. Barth, who has been struggling this season with his accuracy, was 3-3 on field goals, with kicks of 20, 22 and 44 yards.

The UNC defense continued to play with urgency and effectiveness. Carolina limited BC to 100 yards on the ground and 337 yards of total offense. During the second quarter, when Barth kicked two of his three field goals to give UNC a 13-7 lead, the Tar Heels held BC to 18 yards and no first downs on only nine plays from scrimmage.

There was good play all around from the defense, but the stars of the day for Carolina were Larry Edwards and Tommy Davis. Edwards had ten tackles and always seemed to be around the ball when the Tar Heels came up with a stop or a big play. Davis picked up a pair of sacks, one of which pushed BC out of field goal range on a key possession late in the third quarter.
The UNC offense, while by no means explosive, was effective in the all-important statistic of maintaining possession of the ball. The Heels had an overall eight minute advantage in time of possession ( 34:04 to 25:56), with four drives that ate up more than five minutes each. Three of those drives led to Barth?s all-important field goals.

Carolina converted 9-of-18 third down opportunities, while Boston College was a more ordinary 6-15 in that category. The Tar Heels had 211yards passing and 99 on the ground, with Ronnie McGill going for 75 hard-churning yards on 20 carries. Barrington Edwards also carried ten times for 32 yards and had a pair of important pass receptions. UNC quarterback Matt Baker was 20-for- 32, totaling 211 yards, with one interception which was the game?s lone turnover.
Senior quarterback Quentin Porter, who was 16-26 for 144 yards for BC,gave way in the fourth quarter to sophomore Matt Ryan, the hero of the Eagles' earlier come-from-behind win against Wake Forest.

Ryan nearly worked some similar magic against Carolina, going 10-14 for 93 yards and engineering BC's final 80 yard scoring drive in just 1:41.

Luckily for the Tar Heels, Ryan did not get his hands on the ball again, as Boston College?s attempt at an onsides kick following that score was recovered by UNC tight end Justin Phillips with just 44 seconds remaining in the game. After Phillips? recovery, the Tar Heels were able to run out the clock ("three knees and a win") and preserve this hard fought victory.
Boston College shot itself in the foot with penalties in the game. A delay of game on the Eagles' final possession of the first half pushed them out of comfortable field goal range, and an ineligle receiver infraction negated a BC touchdown in the third quarter. The Eagles also kept a UNC scoring drive alive with a roughing the passer penalty on third down when Carolina would have otherwise been forced to punt.

With an even record and in need of two more wins to become bowl-eligible, UNC can now concentrate on Maryland, whom the Tar Heels face in another crucial contest next Saturday at Kenan Stadium. Speculation following the win was that the game would be televised by ESPN with a 7 PM start.

Source-Tarheeldaily

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