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North Carolina vs. Miami

A PUBLICATION OF The Daily Tar Heel | NOVEMBER 14, 2009SportSaturday

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2 | KicKoff 11/14/09 | DTH SPoRTSATURDAY

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Cover photo: DTH FILE/Will CooperCover design: Anne Krisulewicz

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SPORTSATuRDAy STAFF

Like a good dog or a psy-chotic ex-girlfriend, the annual Louie Awards are

back! And you thought something minor like no longer working on SportSaturday would stop me. That’s gotta be a joke.

First off, I’d like to give the Kanye West I’ma Let You Finish Award to North Carolina, for crashing what was supposed to be Virginia Tech’s parade. The Hokies were in first place in the ACC Coastal Division (with a resounding win over Georgia Tech) until North Carolina stum-bled into Blacksburg and some-how emerged with a victory.

Now — like Taylor Swift at the VMAs — Virginia Tech has to pick up the pieces and deliver the rest of their speech knowing the most interesting part is over.

The John Bunting Award goes to Al Groh and the Virginia Cavaliers. For the second straight year, Groh did enough for the team to save his job, but not quite

For the second consecutive year, it’s time for the ‘Louies’

louie hoRvaThtHE CHAMP iS HERE

enough to avoid the season being a disappointment for UVa.’s fans.

The Brett Favre Most Dishonorable Career Move Possible Award goes to Florida State. The Seminoles decided that they deserve 10-win seasons, and thus, Bobby Bowden must go. Bowden is only the coach who brought the Seminoles into national prominence!

And that’s before you get into the logic of promoting Jimbo Fisher just because they gave him a dumb clause in his contract that awards him 5 million if he’s not the head coach after this season.

The Kate Bosworth Most

DELAy OF GAME

Over-hyped and Simultaneously Underwhelming Star Award goes to Russell Wilson. During media day, Wilson seemed like a lock to carry the Wolfpack at least back to ACC mediocrity, but that still hasn’t happened. While N.C. State does rank in the top half of all offensive stats, I want more from my break-out superstar quarterbacks than a 1-4 conference record.

The Eric Crouch Award for Undeserved Credit goes to Clemson. They are a thoroughly average team, who happened to win just enough games to put themselves in prime position to win the division. I can’t believe it.

The Most Dignified Fight with Cancer Award goes to Mark Herzlich. Between his touch-ing ESPN Gameday feature and his ubiquitous presence around College Hill, he has been an inspi-ration for all. Get better, Mark.

Contact Louie Horvathat horvath.louie@gmail.com.

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daily tarheel fp 9-24-1.indd 1 9/28/09 12:00 PM

GAmedAy preview | 3 dTH SpOrTSATUrdAy | 11/14/09

O-line shifts on field to cope with season’s trialsBy AnnA KimASSISTANT SporTSATurdAy EdITor

Alan Pelc’s understanding of Cam Holland’s position didn’t begin by walking a mile in his shoes — just stepping in when Holland lost one.

“I played one snap at center against UConn,” Pelc, a left guard, said. “My first snap at center.”

But Pelc’s education has only accelerated since injuries forced him to fill in at center.

In UNC’s 19-6 win against Duke, Pelc took 40 snaps at right and left guard and 40 at center.

Freshmen Travis Bond and Brennan Williams took 40 snaps at right guard and 26 at right tack-le, respectively.

“It really is unique to see a bunch of guys all over the place,” Pelc said. “Especially to look over and see freshmen next to me.”

Coach Butch Davis had a slight-ly different choice description.

“It truly was musical chairs,” he said. “At week nine or 10, it’s not as tough … We’d like five guys who

play the whole game, but you’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt.”

And the linemen have heard enough grievances to accompany their injury reports this year.

In the last drive of UNC’s loss to Florida State, quarterback T.J. Yates was almost immediately sacked by a three-man front.

“We’ve definitely heard the feed-back,” lineman Kyle Jolly said. “It was tough. You are trying to keep all the linemen’s heads up.”

Coming into the season, the unit already posed questions with just three returning starters.

Then injuries left just two play-ers with experience prior to this year — who quickly assumed men-toring roles.

“Definitely having a couple freshman next to you, you have to be more vocal,” Pelc said. “You step them through it, point out linebackers. Help them read the defense.”

Davis has also sought to allevi-ate any problems of inexperience by allotting 75 percent of snaps

in practice for starters and the remaining for backups.

Come gameday, everyone is expected to be ready to play.

“The past three weeks have shown a lot of improvement,” Pelc said. “People were doubting us for a bit, but adversity has helped us.”

Even despite injuries, the line has allowed just 21 sacks in nine games, which makes for the fifth best protection in the ACC.

In UNC’s win against Virginia Tech boasted the original starting line for the first time since the sea-son opener.

The front five helped UNC gain 181 rushing yards and gave up just two sacks.

The reunion was characteristi-cally short-lived due to illnesses and ailments. But Bond said the offensive line remains confident.

That’s because blocking tech-niques are not all that the fresh-man has learned from Pelc.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Bond said. “You just have to be ready to step in.”

dTh fIlE phoTo

North Carolina’s offensive line had a lack of experience and dealt with injury problems this season, causing week-to-week adjustments.

PRE-GAME 12:30 PM Countdown to Kick-off with Ron Stutts

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DURING THE WEEK…

4 | Cover Story 11/14/09 | DtH SPortSAtUrDAy

UNC defense lives up to the hype

dth file/will cooper

North carolina senior e.J. wilson has recorded 28 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble this season as a defensive end. the 6-foot-3, 280 pound lineman has helped UNc become the Acc’s stingiest rush defense.

“We feel like we can’t be beat. We beat ourselves. If we execute, we feel like we can contend with anyone out there.”Deunta Williams, UNc sAfety

By mark thompsonAssistANt sportsAtUrdAy editor

North Carol ina ’s defense returned nine starters from last season, and has started eight of them. But this defense looks noth-ing like last year’s.

Whereas the 2008 defense gave up the second most total yardage in the ACC, this year’s defense has been fixated on one thing.

Domination.

“The only thing we’ve thought about going back as far as training camp is total domination,” junior safety Deunta Williams said.

“We feel like we can’t be beat,” he said. “We beat ourselves. If we execute, we feel like we can con-tend with anyone out there.”

The Tar Heels’ defense has overwhelmed opponents, leading the ACC in both rushing and pass-ing defense.

In 2008, UNC’s rush defense ranked in the middle of the league while its pass and total defense was only better than N.C. State’s.

The difference from last season has been a series of factors, but when asked, most defensive play-ers gave the same two reasons.

“Experience,” defensive tackle Marvin Austin said. “Experience and basically the preparation com-ing into each game.”

But it hasn’t just been experi-ence. UNC has also focused on two key areas of its defense.

Last season, the defense record-ed 22 sacks in its 13 games. This year, UNC has 23 sacks with at least three games remaining.

Led by sophomore defensive end Robert Quinn’s 10 sacks, the Tar Heels have pressured and trapped opposing quarterbacks like a tsu-nami.

“Robert Quinn has turned into a full-grown man out there,” Williams said. “Last year as a freshman he was trying to get his bearings and stuff like that. And, he’s demanding double teams and triple teams, so it gives other guys one-on-one situations.”

In 2008, the Tar Heels second-ary was beat most often when they dropped more guys in coverage.

Often the defense would blitz three linemen and drop eight play-

ers into coverage. With just three players pass rushing, quarterbacks had plenty of protection and time in the pocket to complete passes.

“This year we have a whole dif-ferent concepts for getting after the quarterback,” senior defensive end E.J. Wilson said. “We can’t just sit back there and hope he throws it up for someone in the secondary to make a play. We have to put pres-sure on him and get in his face.”

It doesn’t show up in the stat books as clearly as sacks, but pres-sure can disrupt a quarterback as much as a sack, causing errant throws.

UNC’s defense hasn’t blitzed more than last year, but that’s because it hasn’t been needed. The front four have been that good.

The other major aspect to the Tar Heels’ success is the defense’s play on first down situations.

“This year we are having nega-tive plays and plays for no gain,” Williams said. “Last year, they would get three or four yards and that would make it a lot easier on

them to call it second down. “I think on first down we are a

lot tougher,” he said. “Coverage-wise we are a lot snugger and we get so much pressure from our D-line. We don’t have to drop back as much.”

By forcing team into second or third-and-long situations, North Carolina has managed to allow the fewest first downs in the ACC, giving up 14.1 a game.

Last year, opponents converted 20.4 first downs on average each game against UNC — the league’s second worst total.

North Carolina’s defense, although similar in makeup as last year, has undergone a series of internal adjustments.

Players are better physically, skills are honed and attitudes are dead serious.

“To be the most physical defense, the fastest defense, and the most disciplined defense in the country,” Wilson said. “That has been our motto, that’s what we try to hang our hats on and I think that’s been working for us so far this season.”

Unit tops defensive stats in the ACC

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GameDay Preview | 5DTH SPOrTSaTUrDay | 11/14/09

key matchups

Cooper ran for a career-high 152 yards against UVa., including a 70-yard burst. That was the longest run from the line of scrimmage for a ‘Cane since Frank Gore in 2001. Thomas has recorded 16 tackles.

GraiG CooperUM rUnninG BaCk

CaM ThoMasUnC TaCkle

Jacory harris is coming off one of the team’s most dominant wins of the season. Deunta Williams and the sec-ondary are going to have their hands full trying to contain harris’ passing attack and the team’s offense.

Cornerback Brandon harris currently ties the national lead in passes bro-ken up (12) and fifth in total passes defended (13). little has not had a touchdown catch since UnC’s matchup against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

JaCory harrisUM QUarTerBaCk

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DeUnTa WilliaMs UnC saFeTy

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DTh File phoTo

The north Carolina defense utilized the zone blitz in a 19-6 win over the Blue Devils. Duke was limited to just 113 passing yards.

Tar Heels zoning in with defenseBy DaviD reynolDssporTsaTUrDay eDiTor

On a third-and-six for quarter-back Thaddeus Lewis and Duke’s offense, UNC’s Marvin Austin backpedaled into coverage, iden-tified where Lewis intended to throw and made a diving leap to swat away his pass attempt.

And while the agile play would stand out no matter who was playing defense, Austin’s size and positioning at the snap made it spectacular.

The 305-pound defensive tack-le had lined up over center at the beginning of the play before his foray into pass coverage.

“Marvin swears he could be a DB any day. He did do a good job of backpedaling, flipping his hips and knocking the ball down,” safe-ty Deunta Williams said of Austin’s technique. “We’ve got athletic guys down on the D-line.”

In North Carolina’s 19-6 win against the Blue Devils, the Tar Heels used this type of play, called a zone blitz, several times to dis-rupt the rhythm of the then-No.5 passing game of Duke.

The idea behind a zone blitz is to drop players into coverage whom the offensive pass protec-tion has identified as pass rushers. Then, the defense blitzes a few players the offense thought would be playing pass defense.

The idea is to wreak havoc on an offensive line trying to determine blocking assignments and con-fuse an opposing quarterback as to where the weaknesses in a pass

defense are.Lewis certainly was confound-

ed. The Blue Devils were limited to just 113 yards passing with the help of the scheme — 212 yards below their season average.

“Sooner or later people are going to throw things at you to counter your attack,” Lewis said.

“They did a great job of schem-ing that up.”

But Austin was not the only lineman to get in on the action.

Robert Quinn also recorded a pass deflection from the defensive end. He barely got his hand on a ball to force an incompletion on what was about a 10-yard pass.

And while Quinn’s might not have been as pretty as Austin’s, it came at a more pivotal time for North Carolina.

Quinn’s tip stalled a Blue Devil drive on the UNC 35 in the fourth quarter, with the Tar Heels cling-ing to a three-point lead.

“My first couple years in high school I used to play a little bit of linebacker,” Quinn said of the play. “It reminded of those old days.”

Quinn said UNC’s defense used the zone blitz more in the Duke game than it had in any other game. He hesitated to predict that the defense would use it again, say-ing that down and distance would be a determining factor.

But defensive line coach John Blake’s silence on when UNC might use it extensively again speaks volumes.

“Can’t tell you,” Blake said. “Got to use it again someday.”

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QB Harris ready to test UNC secondary Tar Heels hope to repeat history, steal upset again

lowdown

6 | breakdown 11/14/09 | dTH SPorTSaTUrdaY, breakdown | 7dTH SPorTSaTUrdaY | 11/14/09

By DaviD reynolDsSportSaturday Editor

“Heart Attack” isn’t a nickname usually mentioned in the same breath as a top-tier quarterback.

But in the case of No. 12 Miami’s Jacory Harris, it hasn’t been his own team’s coaches and coordinators for whom he has been raising the stress level.

It’s been opposing defenses.Harris has flourished in his sec-

ond season behind center for the Hurricanes, throwing for 2,336 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Those numbers — along with a 61.6 percent completion rate — have vault-ed Harris to the top of the ACC’s pass efficiency ranking this season.

Not bad for a player who had trou-ble being named the best quarterback on his own team, let alone in the con-ference, last season.

Harris, a true freshman in 2008, endured a season-long quarterback controversy that year with redshirt freshman Robert Marve.

Marve and Harris, both record-breaking quarterbacks in high school, were shuffled in and out all season at the position, with neither getting the upper hand in a mediocre 7-6 cam-paign for the Hurricanes.

The issue was settled in January when Marve opted to transfer out

of the program due to a rocky rela-tionship with Miami coach Randy Shannon.

And without having to look over his shoulder for a hook after a mistake, Harris has been a revelation.

“You can just tell the confidence and the poise after last year kind of alternating back and forth,” North Carolina coach Butch Davis said. “Now being a full time starter, how much of a difference that has made in his performance.”

Harris tore out of the gates to open the season against rival Florida State, torching the Seminoles to the tune of 386 passing yards and three touch-downs (one rushing).

As an encore, he put on another all-conference-worthy performance the next week against now-No.7 Georgia Tech, tossing for 270 yards and three touchdowns.

And he did it with efficiency. Harris completed 20 of 25 attempts, which comes out to a sterling 80 percent completion percentage.

The loss to Harris and the Hurricanes still remains the only defeat the Yellow Jackets have expe-rienced this season.

Performances like those have guid-ed the Hurricanes to a 7-2 record and helped put Miami at ease about the transfer of Marve.

“Maybe last year we wanted Marve out of the game and hoped that Jacory came in. Now that’s a different story,” UNC cornerback Kendric Burney said. “He’s been tearing up the field. He was a Heisman candidate for a few weeks.”

Winning isn’t anything new to Harris.

The sophomore captured the state and national championship in his lustrous high school career, finishing with an unblemished 30-0 record as a starter.

Along the way, he broke Florida’s passing touchdown record, an honor previously held in 2005 by Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and in 2006 by Marve.

But that’s not to say Harris is the perfect player.

He’s averaged more than one inter-ception a game this season, and he showed his inexperience in confer-ence losses to No.20 Virginia Tech and Clemson.

He completed just nine of 25 passes against the Hokies, and he threw three interceptions to the Tigers.

But Harris’ flashes of brilliance have outweighed his mistakes so far.

If anyone’s reaching for their chest after a decision on the field by “Heart Attack,” count on it being Davis and the UNC defense.

By anna KimaSSiStant SportSaturday Editor

TV coverage will be on ABC. Radio coverage will be provided by WCHL 1360 AM and WRDU 106.1.

The history between Miami and North Carolina runs deep, thanks to Butch Davis’ coaching resume.

And for UNC, it also appears to run like clockwork. North Carolina holds a 3-0 record when hosting the Hurricanes that stretches back to 1963.

Last season, UNC stole a memora-ble 28-24 win that was decided when Trimane Goddard intercepted a pass in the end zone on the game’s final play.

In 2004, North Carolina upset the No. 4-ranked Hurricanes on a 42-yard field goal that sealed a 31-28 victory.

UNC will look to continue its unbeat-en streak against Miami, who dominat-ed Virginia in a 52-17 rout last week.

With the win, the Hurricanes leapt up four spots in the AP Poll to No. 12.

But history is not all that is at stake. With only three games remaining,

the Tar Heels still need to record anoth-er win to secure bowl eligibility.

The team’s final opponent at home will boast the conference’s third-ranked scoring offense, a unit anchored by quarterback Jacory Harris.

North Carolina’s scoring offense ranks second to last in the ACC, but UNC will look to benefit from the nation’s fifth-ranked total defense and No. 11 scoring defense, which is giving up 15.3 points per game.

The defense will turn its focus to containing Harris, who tops the ACC in pass efficiency but has also thrown more interceptions than any other conference quarterback.

In Miami’s win against UVa., he totaled 232 yards on 18-for-31 passing.

He also utilized a versatile offense that showcased touchdowns by six dif-ferent scorers — the second time that has happened this season.

Running backs Graig Cooper and Damien Berry displayed their effective dual ground attack against the Cavaliers. Cooper ran for a career-high 152, which included a 70-yard burst.

UNC’s ground attack will be without leading rusher Shaun Draughn, who is out for the season with a fractured left shoulder. But Ryan Houston proved to be a capable replacement in UNC’s win against Duke.

If history serves as any indication, the final home game for the Tar Heels could be ripe for a staple of previous matchups — an upset.

20

8 G. Little87 J. Boyd

72 K. Jolly67 G. Elleby

65 C. Holland69 L. Dyer

64 J. Cooper67 G. Elleby

13 T.J. Yates 14 B. Hanson

45 D. Ramsey4 B. Rome

34 R. Houston6 A. Elzy

dwards20 C. Arnold

70 A. Pelc76 T. Bond

66 M. Ingersoll 73 B. Williams

17 Zack Pianalto80 Ed Barham

88 E. Highsmith83 D. Jones

9 S. Shields8 D. Van Dyke

44 C. McCarthy36 K. Robinson

1 B. Harris24 C. Grant

50 D. Sharpton11 A. Brown

7 V. Telemaque24 C. Grant

45 R. Buchanan31 S. Spence

6 R. Philips37 J. Campbell

92 J. Holmes54 M. Regis

91 J. Joseph96 C. Porter

90 S. Wesley56 M. Robinson

57 A. Bailey48 A. Smith

20

47 L. Byrd4 A. Johnson

64 J. Fox55 B. Jones

74 O. Franklin72 B. Washington2. Cooper

5 J. James

16 K. Burney37 L. Fantroy

42 R. Quinn94 M. McAdoo

93 C. Thomas97 A. Mullins

9 M. Austin91 T. Powell

92 E.J. Wilson90 Q. Coples

12 C. Brown23 J. Hemby

52 Q. Sturdivant47 Z. Brown

61 J. Figueroa66 H. Gunn

22 M. James23 T. Johnson

85 L. Hankerson3 T. Benjamin

54 B. Carter57 D. Guy

48 K. Reddick36 K. Tinsley

21 D. Searcy28 J. Smith

65 M. Pipho55 B. Jones

12 J. Harris19 A.J. Highsmith

70 A.J. Trump63 T. Horn

18 D. Epps23 T. Johnson

27 D. Williams10 M. Williams

wHen norTH carolina HaS THe ballwHen MiaMi HaS THe ball

Kenan Stadium, 3:30 p.m.

preDictions for toDay’s game

CompilEd by anna Kim

miami vs.north Carolina

(7-2) (6-3)

HeaD to HeaD

Miami offense vs. UnC d

UnC offense vs. Miami d

Special Teams

Intangibles

The Bottom line — north Carolina 21, Miami 20

unC’s offense mustered enough to defeat duke and maintain the Victory bell. Statistically, um’s total defense is comparable to that of the blue devils’. but the Hurricanes’ rushing defense is effective enough to slow down ryan Houston and unC. Edge: Miami

miami’s offense has shown the ability to rally and close out wins and steal come-from-behind victories. but it will still have to face the top-ranked defen-sive unit, which will look to end Qb Jacory Harris’ success. Edge: UnC

poor special teams have burnt miami many times this season. and while thearon Collier made highlights with his devin Hester-like 60-yard punt return against uVa., unC still boasts the aCC’s third-ranked punt return unit and gets the edge here. Edge: UnC

When miami arrives at Kenan, its fates will already be sealed contingent on Georgia tech’s win or loss against duke. unC will try to close out its final home game with a win and earn itself bowl eligibility. Edge: UnC

puntEr: Grant SchallockKiCKEr: Casey barthpunt rtn: da’norris SearcyKiCK rtn: Johnny White

No. Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Pos. _ _ YR. 1 _ _ Gene robinson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.2 _ _ bryn renner _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qb _ _ _ Fr. 3 _ _ peter magnum _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ So.3 _ _ Joshua adams _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Fr.4 _ _ bobby rome _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Fb _ _ _ _ Sr.5 _ _ Jamal Womble _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Fr.*6 _ _ anthony Elzy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tb _ _ _ _ Jr.7 _ _ mike paulus _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qb _ _ _ So.8 _ _ Greg little _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Jr.9 _ _ marvin austin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dt _ _ _ _ Jr.10 _ melvin Williams _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Sr.11 _ Joshua mcKie _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Fr.11 _ Casey barth _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pK _ _ _ _ So.12 _ Charles brown _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cb _ _ _ Jr.13 _ t.J. yates _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qb _ _ _ Jr.14 _ braden Hanson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qb _ _ _ Fr.*15 _ a.J. blue _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ atl _ _ _ Fr.16 _ Kendric burney _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cb _ _ _ Jr.17 _ Zack pianalto _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ _ Jr.19 _ Josh Hunter _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.20 _ Shaun draughn _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Jr.21 _ da’norris Searcy _ _ _ _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ Jr.23 _ Jordan Hemby _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cb _ _ _ Sr.23 _ Steven Hatley _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ So.24 _ terry Shankle _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.26 _ mywan Jackson _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.27 _ deunta Williams _ _ _ _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ Jr.28 _ Jonathan Smith _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ Jr.29 _ brian Gupton _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cb _ _ _ So.30 _ Carter brown _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Jr.30 _ C.J. Feagles _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ p _ _ _ _ Fr.32 _ tyler Caldwell _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ Sr.32 _ ryan Houston _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tb _ _ _ _ Jr.33 _ Christian Wilson _ _ _ _ _ _ Hb _ _ _ So.33 _ Hayden Hunter _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Jr.34 _ Johnny White _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Jr.35 _ Herman davidson _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ So.36 _ Kennedy tinsley _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Sr.37 _ laCount Fantroy _ _ _ _ _ _ Cb _ _ _ So.39 _ Grant Schallock _ _ _ _ _ _ p _ _ _ _ Jr.40 _ Hunter Furr _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Fr.42 _ robert Quinn _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ _ So.43 _ Curtis byrd _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Fb _ _ _ _ Jr.43 _ Curtis Campbell _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.44 _ trase Jones _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pK/Kr _ _ Jr.45 _ devon ramsay _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ So.45 _ Josh bridges _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ So.47 _ Zach brown _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ So.48 _ Kevin reddick _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Fr.49 _ ryan taylor _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Sr.51 _ trevor Stuart _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dS _ _ _ _ Jr.51 _ brandon roberts _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ So.52 _ Quan Sturdivant _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Jr.53 _ Hawatha bell _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Fr.54 _ bruce Carter _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Jr.55 _ linwan Euwell _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ So.55 _ trey Strickland _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ _ So.56 _ peyton Jenest _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C _ _ _ _ So.56 _ alex Crisp _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Sr.57 _ dion Guy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ Fr.*58 _ Ebele okakpu _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ _ So.61 _ mark House _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dS _ _ _ _ Jr.62 _ david Collins _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ _ Fr.63 _ Scott mincey _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C _ _ _ _ So.64 _ Jonathan Cooper _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ _ Fr.*65 _ Cam Holland _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C _ _ _ _ So.66 _ mike ingersoll _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ot _ _ _ _ Jr.67 _ Greg Elleby _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ _ Jr.68 _ mike dykes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ oG _ _ _ Fr.*69 _ lowell dyer _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C _ _ _ _ Sr.70 _ alan pelc _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ oG _ _ _ Jr.72 _ Kyle Jolly _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ot _ _ _ _ Sr.74 _ Sam Ellis _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ oG _ _ _ Jr.75 _ Jared mcadoo _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ _ Fr.76 _ travis bond _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ _ Fr.78 _ Jordan nix _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ _ So.79 _ brennan Williams _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ _ Fr.80 _ Ed barham _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ _ So.81 _ Quentin plair _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Jr.82 _ todd Harrelson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Fr.*83 _ dwight Jones _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ So.84 _ Vince Jacobs _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ _ Jr.86 _ randy White _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ _ Fr.*87 _ Jheranie boyd _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Fr.88 _ Erik Highsmith _ _ _ _ _ _ _ atl _ _ _ Fr.90 _ Quinton Coples _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dE _ _ _ So.91 _ tydreke powell _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dt _ _ _ _ So.92 _ E.J. Wilson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dE _ _ _ Sr.93 _ Cam thomas _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dt _ _ _ _ Sr.94 _ michael mcadoo _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ _ So.95 _ nelson Hurst _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ _ So.96 _ tavares brown _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dt _ _ _ _ Sr. 97 _ aleric mullins _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dt _ _ _ _ Sr.98 _ donte paige-moss _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ _ Fr.

* denotes redshirt freshman

SEpt. 5 vs. the Citadel SEpt. 12 at ConnecticutSEpt. 19 vs. East CarolinaSEpt. 26 at Georgia techoCt. 3 vs. VirginiaoCt. 10 vs. Ga. SouthernoCt. 22 vs. Florida StateoCt. 29 at Virginia technoV. 7 vs. dukeToday vs. MiaminoV. 21 at boston CollegenoV. 28 at nC State

SPECIal TEaMS

noRTH CaRolIna SCHEdUlE

KEEP In MIndin unC’s last four games, it has averaged 193.8 rushing yards. last weekend, ryan Houston ran for 164 yards by himself.

No. Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Pos. _ _ YR.1 _ _ brandon Harris _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ So.2 _ _ Graig Cooper _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Jr.3 _ _ travis benjamin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ So.4 _ _ aldarius Johnson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ So.5 _ _ Javarris James _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Sr.6 _ _ randy phillips _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Sr.7 _ _ Vaughn telemaque _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.*8 _ _ demarcus Van dyke _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Jr.9 _ _ Sam Shields _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Sr.11 _ arthur brown _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ So.12 _ Jacory Harris _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qb _ _ _ So.13 _ ryan Hill _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Sr.15 _ Jamal reid _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.17 _ matt perrelli _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qb _ _ _ Sr.18 _ dedrick Epps _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ Sr.19 _ a.J. Highsmith _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qb _ _ _ Fr.20 _ damien berry _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Jr.21 _ brandon mcGee _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.22 _ mike James _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Fr.23 _ tervaris Johnson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ Sr.24 _ Chavez Grant _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Sr.25 _ matt bosher _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pK/p _ _ Jr.26 _ ray ray armstrong _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Fr.27 _ lamar miller _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ Fr.28 _ thearon Collier _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ So.29 _ JoJo nicolas _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Jr.30 _ patrick Hill _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Fb _ _ _ Sr.31 _ Sean Spence _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ So.32 _ lee Chambers _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ rb _ _ _ So.33 _ alex uribe _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ K _ _ _ _ Sr.34 _ C.J. Holton _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ Fr.*35 _ olivier Vernon _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Fr.36 _ Kylan robinson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ Jr.37 _ Jared Campbell _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Jr.38 _ Corey nelms _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ Jr.40 _ Jake Wieclaw _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ K _ _ _ _ Fr.*43 _ John Calhoun _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Fb _ _ _ So.44 _ Colin mcCarthy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ Jr.*45 _ ramon buchanan _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ So.47 _ laron byrd _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ So.48 _ andrew Smith _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ So.49 _ dyron dye _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Fr.50 _ darryl Sharpton _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ Sr.51 _ Shayon Green _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ Fr.53 _ levi paalua _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Fr.*54 _ micanor regis _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ So.55 _ ben Jones _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Fr,*56 _ marcus robinson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ So.*57 _ allen bailey _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Jr.58 _ Jordan Futch _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ So.60 _ Chris ivory _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lS _ _ _ So.61 _ Joel Figueroa _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Jr.62 _ Eduardo lopez _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Fr.63 _ tyler Horn _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ So.64 _ Jason Fox _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ot _ _ _ Sr.65 _ matt pipho _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Sr.66 _ Harland Gunn _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ So.68 _ ian Symonette _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Jr.69 _ Sean Goldstein _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ lb _ _ _ Fr.*70 _ a.J. trump _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ oG _ _ _ Sr.71 _ Cory White _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Fr.72 _ brandon Washington _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Fr.74 _ orlando Franklin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Jr.75 _ Jared Wheeler _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Fr.78 _ Jermaine Johnson _ _ _ _ _ _ ol _ _ _ Fr.80 _ Jimmy Graham _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ Sr.81 _ davon Johnson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ So.82 _ Stephen plein _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ Fr.83 _ Kendal thompkins _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Fr.*84 _ richard Gordon _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ Sr.85 _ leonard Hankerson _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Jr.86 _ tommy Streeter _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Fr.*87 _ Jake byrne _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE/lS _ _ Sr.88 _ billy Sanders _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ tE _ _ _ Fr.90 _ Steven Wesley _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Jr.91 _ Joe Joseph _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Sr.92 _ Josh Holmes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Jr.93 _ luther robinson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Fr.94 _ Eric moncur _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Sr.95 _ Gavin Hardin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Fr.* 96 _ Curtis porter _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ Fr.97 _ adewale ojomo _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ So.98 _ Jeremy lewis _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ So.99 _ marcus Forston _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ dl _ _ _ So. _ _ Chris Hayes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Sr. _ _ Kris Kimball _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ Sr. _ _ nathan Gholston _ _ _ _ _ _ _ db _ _ _ So. _ _ ben bruneau _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wr _ _ _ So.

* denotes redshirt freshman

SPECIal TEaMSpuntEr: matt bosherKiCKEr: matt bosherpunt rtn: thearon CollierKiCK rtn: Graig Cooper

SERIES Info

SCHEdUlESEpt. 7 at Florida StateSEpt. 17 Georgia techSEpt. 26 at Virginia techoCt. 3 oklahomaoCt. 10 Florida a&moCt. 17 at uCFoCt. 24 ClemsonoCt. 31 at Wake ForestnoV. 7 VirginiaToday at north CarolinanoV. 21 dukenoV. 28 at uSF

north Carolina is 7-5 all-time against miami. unC won last season’s game 28-24 on a last-minute touchdown.

MIaMI

SCoUTIng REPoRT

J. HarriSHEiGHt: 6’4”WEiGHt: 190SopHomorE

QuartErbaCK

8 | Gameday Preview 11/14/09 | dTH SPOrTSaTUrday

David Mark Anna Powell Mike Chris Daniel Reynolds Thompson Kim Latimer Ehrlich Hempson ChenLast Week 5-3 5-3 5-3 4-4 5-3 6-2 7-1Record to date 23-17(.575) 25-15(.625) 26-14 (.650) 22-18 (.550) 29-11 (.725) 27-13 (.675) 27-13(.625)

Miami at UNC Miami UNC UNC UNC Miami UNC MiamiWest Virginia at Cincinnatti Cincy Cincy Cincy Cincy Cincy Cincy WVUVirginia Tech at Maryland VT VT VT VT VT VT VTUtah at TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCUIowa at Ohio St. OSU OSU OSU OSU OSU OSU OSUNotre Dame at Pittsburgh ND ND Pitt Pitt Pitt Pitt PittBoston College at Virginia BC BC BC BC BC BC BCGeorgia Tech at Duke GT GT GT GT GT GT GT

DTH PICKS OF THE WEEKThe DTH SportSaturday staff and one celebrity compete to pick the win-ners of the biggest ACC and national college football games each week.UNC’s game against Miami signals the

final home game of the season. It also signals the final Picks of the Week.

After exhibiting a season of his own stingy defense, Mike Ehrlich is poised to finish his career with back-to-back titles to his name.

While others remain in close contention, the field has been statistically eliminated.

But good news exists for others. For example, editors David Reynolds and Powell Latimer will finally be rid of the responsibility of making inaccurate picks week after week.

While the rest of the staff re-evaluates the leadership under which they operate, Ehrlich announced his official retirement.

“I’d like to thank the last two years’ worth of staff and celebrities for losing to me,” Ehrlich said. “My only request is to be the celebrity guest picker on opening weekend of next sea-son so I can whoop the next generation of SpoSat and DTH staff.”

This week’s celebrity picker is Daniel Chen, the president of the Chinese Undergraduate Student Association.

Daniel Chen

Austin checks in to discuss life at the bottom of the pileOUT Of BOUNDS

Defensive tackle Marvin Austin is one of the biggest personalities on North Carolina’s football team in addition to being one of the team’s biggest bodies.

The junior lineman, who already has been projected to be a force in the NFL by draft experts,

chatted with SportSaturday Editor David Reynolds about a variety of topics, including dancing, dread-locks and music.

David Reynolds: Every game you do a little dance on the field beforehand. Do you have a

name for that?

Marvin Austin It’s actu-ally called jiggin’. That’s the name of the dancing. Or swag surfing. D-Town Boogie. A couple differ-ent names for it.

DR: It looks like it’s just you right now. Has anybody else requested to get out there with you?

MA: G. Little — he can jig. You got a number of guys. KB (Kendric Burney) does a little jig every now and then before a game. It’s some-thing that’s a little fun. I love to dance. That’s why you always see me doing it. Getting me ready for the game.

DR: Has any lineman tried to grab you by the dreadlocks?

MA: Actually not this year, but last year in the Notre Dame game. Now that it’s in a ponytail it’s hard-er to get to. That’s why I put it in a ponytail.

DR: So how badly does it hurt to have your ponytail pulled?

MA: It hurts like hell. But it hasn’t happened this year, so it’s been fairly good.

DR: Imagine a fumble and a big pile. What sort of stuff goes down?

MA: It can get ugly. I don’t know if you’ve read my Facebook status,

but you might want to go check it out right now. It’ll be up for a little while. It gets ugly. I’m down there trying to get the ball. I’m going to do what I’ve got to do. I’m not going to disclose what goes on down there because I’d like to keep playing football. I don’t want to be like Brandon Spikes. It gets nasty. It’s not the nicest of things. For me it doesn’t really matter, for a ball carrier, it’s not the funnest place to be. It’s not Disneyland.

DR: I know you have to do a lot of running around the field. How hard is it to keep on the weight you have?

MA: It’s not hard for me. It’s actu-ally harder to keep the weight off. And the weight doesn’t matter. It’s about being quick and fast, playing with power. I’m just big by nature. Linemen, we’re big by nature. If I could be 280 pounds and still play, I would.

DR: How many meals do you eat per day?

MA: Probably three. I probably should be eating five, six small meals. Get lunch. Then you eat dinner here. Then I eat something before I lie down.

DR: I’ve heard defensive lineman go to Cluck-U on all-you-can-eat night. Does that still happen?

MA: We used to make moves to Cluck-U. We tried to tone that down to keep our weight down. We got a lot heavier than we needed to be to play the way coach wanted us to play.

DR: How else do you build up camaraderie? You guys seem like a tight unit.

MA: We love each other. We’re like brothers. We see someone doing something they shouldn’t be doing, we get on them. It’s just like they’re my brothers. We see each other. We’re always together. If you catch one of us, you might catch two or three of us. Like you said, a brother-hood.

DR: I see you have your head-phones on. What have you been listening to?

MA: I’ve been listening to “No Ceilings,” the mixed tape by Lil’ Wayne. I’ve got Jay-Z’s album “The Blueprint 3.” Got a little jazz in here. Of course, Rick Ross’ “In Cold Blood.” A little bit to get me going and get me ready for the task at hand.

DR: What’s one thing about Marvin Austin people wouldn’t expect to know?

MA: Probably that I enjoy music just as much as I enjoy football. Probably even more.

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GAMEDAY PREVIEW | 9DTH SPORTSATURDAY | 11/14/09

dth/phong dinh

Casey Barth, north Carolina’s sophomore kicker, began his season sluggishly, but has since made nine straight field goals. Barth’s career-long at UnC is 42 yards, but in high school, he made a 50-yarder.

Barth kicks into high gearBy Mark THoMpsonAssistAnt sportsAtUrdAy Editor

After missing a 32-yard field goal against Georgia Tech ear-lier this season, Casey Barth was searching for answers as much as his critics were.

The sophomore place-kicker had made a lackluster four of seven field goal attempts on the season, and he was already referencing advice his brother, Connor, had provided about his own slump.

“He told me to visualize the kicks, you know, even when you are in the shower before you go to bed, just to make your mind see you’ve done it before,” Barth said in the week following the team’s loss to Georgia Tech.

“I guess I’ve gotten away from that a little this year.”

In a press conference following that loss, North Carolina coach Butch Davis put even more pres-sure on Barth to perform.

“If it’s inside 42 yards, you’ve got to be 100 percent,” Davis said.

Barth listened.He spent the following week

focusing on visualizing his kicks and preparing himself mentally.

In the team’s next game against

Virginia, Barth was given a chance to boot one through the uprights from 39 yards away — a must-make by Davis’ standards.

“I feel like a lot of people com-ing into it didn’t trust me at the time,” Barth said. “I had missed a field goal in every game so far.”

Barth made the field goal, the only points in the 16-3 loss. It turned out to be the catalyst to the remainder of Barth’s season.

“You’re talking about a kid who has attention to detail in practice and really tries to focus and put himself in situations to have suc-cess,” special teams coach Allen Mogridge said. “Through simulat-ing those kinds of things in prac-tice, that’s what has helped him.”

In his next chance against ACC competition, Barth made two more field goals against Florida State — one from 26 yards and another from 34 yards.

But Barth’s biggest kick of the season — the one he made his Facebook profile picture in the following weeks — was his game-winner against Virginia Tech.

After North Carolina recovered a fumble late in the fourth quar-ter, the offense pounded the ball

downfield to set Barth up for a 21-yard potential game winner.

It was a short yet significant kick.

Barth drilled it.“I kicked it, and I looked up.

And I knew it went in,” he said. “It was awesome.”

In the Tar Heels’ latest outing against Duke, Barth accounted for 13 of the team’s 19 points. He con-nected on four field goals ranging from 29 to 41 yards — his longest of the season.

In the four games since the loss to Georgia Tech, Barth has attempted nine field goals, all within 42 yards in distance and therefore all expected by Davis to be made.

Barth has made them all. Since starting out 4-7 on field

goals, Barth has raised that total to 13-16.

“He’s really taken the challenge that we laid out for him and he’s accepted the challenge that he lays out for himself,” Mogridge sad. “Barth is a competitor and he wants to do the best he can every single time he goes out.”

Now, when Barth and his broth-er talk, Connor congratulates him on his success instead of offering his once-stuggling brother advice.

Casey figured it out.

UNC kicker has made his last nine

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10 | statistics 11/14/09 | DtH sPORtsatURDaY

north carolina 2009

scoringPLAYEr . . . . . td . . . 2 Pts . . xPm-xPA . fgm-fgA . Pts

casey Barth . . . . 0. . . . . 0 . . . . . 22-23 . . . 13-16. . . . 61Ryan Houston . . . 7. . . . . 0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 42Greg Little. . . . . 3. . . . . 0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 18Jheranie Boyd . . . 3. . . . . 0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 18Erik Highsmith. . . 2. . . . . 0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 12

scoringPLAYEr . . . . . td . . . 2 Pts . . xPm-xPA . fgm-fgA . Pts

Matt Bosher . . . . 0. . . . . 0 . . . . . 37-37 . . . . 10-12. . . . 67Damien Berry . . . 6. . . . . 0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 36Jimmy Graham . . 4. . . . . 0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 24Leonard Hankerson 4. . . . . 0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 24

kickoff rEturnsPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . td . . . . Lng

Graig cooper . . . 18 . . . . . 472 . . . . 26.2 . . . 0 . . . . . . 63Mike James . . . . 12 . . . . . 265 . . . . 22.1 . . . 0 . . . . . . 41

rEcEivingPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . td . . . . Lng

Leonard Hankerson 27 . . . . . 517 . . . . 19.1 . . . 4 . . . . . . 40 Laron Byrd . . . . 24 . . . . . 342 . . . . 14.2 . . . 1 . . . . . . 40travis Benjamin . . 23 . . . . . 428 . . . . 18.6 . . . 4 . . . . . . 69Dedrick Epps . . . 15 . . . . . 190 . . . . 12.7 . . . 2 . . . . . . 27

rushingPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . td . . . . Lng

Graig cooper . . . 84 . . . . . 478 . . . . 5.7 . . . . 2 . . . . . . 70Javarris James . . . 49 . . . . . 421 . . . . 5.3 . . . . 4 . . . . . . 50Damien Berry . . . 55 . . . . . 356 . . . . 6.5 . . . . 6 . . . . . . 49Lee chambers . . . 36 . . . . . 142 . . . . 3.9 . . . . 1 . . . . . . 20

MiaMi 2009PAssingPLAYEr . . . . . comP . Att . Pct . .Yds . td . . int . Lng

Jacory Harris. . . . 162 . . 263 . .61.6 . . 2336 . 18 . . 12 . . 69

dEfEnsEPLAYEr . . . . . tkL . . . . . Ast . . . . . tot . . . . . sck

Quan sturdivant . . 36 . . . . . . . 23 . . . . . . .59 . . . . . . . 1.0 charles Brown . . 40 . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . .47 . . . . . . . 0.0Robert Quinn . . . 26 . . . . . . . 15 . . . . . . .41 . . . . . . . 10.0Bruce carter. . . . 29 . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . .41 . . . . . . . 1.0Kendric Burney . . 27 . . . . . . . 13 . . . . . . .40 . . . . . . . 1.0

PuntingPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . bLk . . . Lng

Grant schallock . . 45 . . . . . 1866 . . . 41.5 . . . 0 . . . . . . 55

fiELd goALsPLAYEr . . . . . 0-29. . . 30-39. . . 40-49 . . tot . . . Lng

casey Barth . . . . 7-7. . . . . 3-5 . . . . 3-4 . . . . 13-16 . . . 41trase Jones . . . . 0-0. . . . . 0-0 . . . . 0-0 . . . . 0-0 . . . . . 0

kickoff rEturnsPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . td . . . . Lng

Johnny White . . . 13 . . . . . 269 . . . . 20.7 . . . 0 . . . . . . 31Greg Little. . . . . 8. . . . . . 158 . . . . 19.8 . . . 0 . . . . . . 26

Punt rEturnsPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . td . . . . Lng

Da’Norris searcy. . 20 . . . . . 300 . . . . 15.0 . . . 1 . . . . . . 77Kendric Burney . . 3. . . . . . 34 . . . . . 11.3 . . . 0 . . . . . . 21

rEcEivingPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . td . . . . Lng

Greg Little. . . . . 40 . . . . . 374 . . . . 9.2 . . . . 2 . . . . . . 34Erik Highsmith. . . 25 . . . . . 325 . . . . 13.0 . . . 2 . . . . . . 43shaun Draughn . . 21 . . . . . 125 . . . . 6.0 . . . . 0 . . . . . . 24Zach Pianalto . . . 19 . . . . . 188 . . . . 9.9 . . . . 1 . . . . . . 26Jheranie Boyd . . . 8. . . . . . 103 . . . . 12.9 . . . 2 . . . . . . 59

rushingPLAYEr . . . . . no . . . Yds . . . Avg . . . td . . . . Lng

shaun Draughn . . 124 . . . . 567 . . . . 4.6 . . . . 1 . . . . . . 44Ryan Houston . . . 108 . . . . 451 . . . . 4.2 . . . . 7 . . . . . . 20 Greg Little. . . . . 19 . . . . . 104 . . . . 5.5 . . . . 1 . . . . . . 27Jheranie Boyd . . . 12 . . . . . 97 . . . . . 8.1 . . . . 1 . . . . . . 21

PAssingPLAYEr . . . . . comP . Att . Pct . .Yds . td . . int . Lng

t.J. Yates. . . . . . 142 . . 239 . .59.4 . . 1278 . 9 . . . 10 . . 59B. Hanson . . . . . 2. . . . 6. . . .33.3 . . 7 . . . 0 . . . 2 . . . 4

2009 atlantic coaSt conFErEncE individual StatiSticS

schooL . . . . . cP/At. . .Yds . . . Pct. . . . td. . . YPg

Florida state. . . . . 228/334 . . 2721 . . . . 68.3. . . . . 14 . . . . .302.3Duke . . . . . . . . 233/375 . . 2714 . . . . 32.1. . . . . 19 . . . . .301.6N.c. state . . . . . . 196/326 . . 2532 . . . . 60.1. . . . . 24 . . . . .281.3Wake Forest . . . . . 220/339 . . 2660 . . . . 64.9. . . . . 20 . . . . .266.0Miami . . . . . . . . 166/270 . . 2389 . . . . 61.5. . . . . 19 . . . . .265.4Maryland . . . . . . 174/300 . . 1995 . . . . 58.0. . . . . 10 . . . . .221.7clemson. . . . . . . 148/272 . . 1810 . . . . 54.4. . . . . 16 . . . . .201.1Boston college . . . 125/239 . . 1738 . . . . 52.3. . . . . 17 . . . . .193.1Virginia tech . . . . 97/176 . . . 1532 . . . . 55.1. . . . . 10 . . . . .170.2Virginia . . . . . . . 143/281 . . 1510 . . . . 50.9. . . . . 6 . . . . .167.8north carolina 147/250 1374 58 8 9 152 7Georgia tech . . . . 54/117 . . . 1278 . . . . 46.2. . . . . 7 . . . . .127.8

PLAYEr, schooL . . . g . . . no . . . Yds . . . td . . Avg

1. Jerrard tarrant, Gt . . . 10 . . . 15 . . . 228 . . . . 2 . . . . 15.22. da’norris Searcy, nc 9 20 300 1 15 03. Greg Reid, Fs . . . . . . 9 . . . . 15 . . . 194 . . . . 0 . . . . 12.9

PLAYEr, schooL . . . g . . . no . . . Yds . . . td . . . Avg

1. Dyrell Roberts, Vt . . . . 9 . . . . 11. . . . 425 . . . 1 . . . . . 38.62. c.J. spiller, cU . . . . . 9 . . . . 15. . . . 530 . . . 3 . . . . . 35.33 torrey smith, MD . . . . 9 . . . . 42 . . . 1113 . . . 2 . . . . . 26.5

fiELd goALsPLAYEr, schooL . . g . . fgm . fgA . . Long . Pct . Pg

1. Richard Jackson, cU . 9 . . . 17 . . 25 . . . 53 . . . . 73.9. . 1.892. Robert Randolph, Va . 9 . . . 14 . . 15 . . . 49 . . . . 93.3. . 1.56 2. Nick Ferrara, MD . . . 9 . . . 14 . . 20 . . . 50 . . . . 70.0. . 1.564 casey Barth, nc 9 13 16 41 81 3 1 44

schooL . . . . . cP/At. . .Yds . . . Pct. . . . td. . . YPg

north carolina 155/264 1420 58 7 4 157 8clemson. . . . . . . 121/237 . . 1434 . . . . 51.1. . . . . 10 . . . . 159.3Virginia tech . . . . 119/257 . . 1468 . . . . 46.3. . . . . 7 . . . . 163.1Virginia . . . . . . . 158/284 . . 1649 . . . . 55.6. . . . . 7 . . . . 183.2Duke . . . . . . . . 137/249 . . 1656 . . . . 55.0. . . . . 9 . . . . 184.0Wake Foreset . . . . 166/299 . . 2018 . . . . 55.5. . . . . 17 . . . . 201.8Miami . . . . . . . . 146/270 . . 1842 . . . . 54.1. . . . . 11 . . . . 204.7N.c. state . . . . . . 175/280 . . 1947 . . . . 62.5. . . . . 14 . . . . 216.3Boston college . . . 186/304 . . 1949 . . . . 61.2. . . . . 9 . . . . 216.6Georgia tech . . . . 183/297 . . 2267 . . . . 61.6. . . . . 19 . . . . 226.7Florida st. . . . . . . 132/234 . . 2209 . . . . 56.4. . . . . 21 . . . . 245.4Maryland . . . . . . 174/285 . . 2245 . . . . 61.1. . . . . 17 . . . . 249.4

PAssing dEfEnsEPAssing offEnsE

rushing dEfEnsErushing offEnsEschooL . . . . . Att . . .Yds . . . Avg . . . td. . . YPg

Georgia tech . . . . 583 . . . . 3149 . . . . 5.4 . . . . . 36 . . . . .314.9Virginia tech . . . . 375 . . . . 1763 . . . . 4.7 . . . . . 18 . . . . .195.9clemson. . . . . . . 336 . . . . 1448 . . . . 4.3 . . . . . 12 . . . . .160.9Boston college . . . 320 . . . . 1307 . . . . 4.1 . . . . . 15 . . . . .145.2north carolina 344 1275 3 7 11 141 7Miami . . . . . . . . 324 . . . . 1229 . . . . 3.8 . . . . . 15 . . . . .136.6N.c. state . . . . . . 311 . . . . 1223 . . . . 3.9 . . . . . 15 . . . . .135.9Florida state. . . . . 285 . . . . 1220 . . . . 4.3 . . . . . 17 . . . . .135.6Wake Forest . . . . . 366 . . . . 1228 . . . . 3.4 . . . . . 10 . . . . .122.8Maryland . . . . . . 305 . . . . 880 . . . . . 2.9 . . . . . 10 . . . . . 97.8Virginia . . . . . . . 305 . . . . 859 . . . . . 2.8 . . . . . 13 . . . . . 95.4Duke . . . . . . . . 274 . . . . 614 . . . . . 2.2 . . . . . 5 . . . . . 68.2

2009 atlantic coaSt conFErEncE tEaM StatiSticS

schooL . . . . . PLY. . . .Yds . . . Avg . . . td. . . YPg

Georgia tech . . . . 700 . . . . 4427 . . . . 6.3 . . . . . 46 . . . .442.7 Florida state. . . . . 619 . . . . 3941 . . . . 6.4 . . . . . 35 . . . .437.9 N.c. state . . . . . . 637 . . . . 3755 . . . . 5.9 . . . . . 40 . . . .417.2 Miami . . . . . . . . 594 . . . . 3618 . . . . 6.1 . . . . . 37 . . . .402.0Wake Forest . . . . . 705 . . . . 3888 . . . . 5.5 . . . . . 30 . . . .388.8Duke . . . . . . . . 649 . . . . 3328 . . . . 5.1 . . . . . 29 . . . .369.8Virginia tech . . . . 551 . . . . 3295 . . . . 6.0 . . . . . 32 . . . .366.1clemson. . . . . . . 608 . . . . 3258 . . . . 5.4 . . . . . 34 . . . .362.0Boston college . . . 559 . . . . 3045 . . . . 5.5 . . . . . 34 . . . .338.3 Maryland . . . . . . 605 . . . . 2875 . . . . 4.8 . . . . . 23 . . . .319.4 north carolina 594 2649 4 5 23 294 3Virginia . . . . . . . 586 . . . . 2369 . . . . 4.0 . . . . . 21 . . . .263.2

totAL offEnsE totAL dEfEnsEschooL . . . . . PLY. . . .Yds . . . Avg . . . td. . . YPg

north carolina 571 2245 3 9 13 249 4 clemson. . . . . . . 597 . . . . 2616 . . . . 4.4 . . . . . 18 . . . 290.7Virginia tech . . . . 600 . . . . 2811 . . . . 4.7 . . . . . 15 . . . 312.3Duke . . . . . . . . 577 . . . . 2909 . . . . 5.0 . . . . . 25 . . . 323.2Miami . . . . . . . . 586 . . . . 2948 . . . . 5.0 . . . . . 24 . . . 327.6Boston college . . . 629 . . . . 2968 . . . . 4.7 . . . . . 18 . . . 329.8N.c. state . . . . . . 579 . . . . 3003 . . . . 5.2 . . . . . 35 . . . 333.7Virginia . . . . . . . 656 . . . . 3149 . . . . 4.8 . . . . . 24 . . . 349.9Georgia tech . . . . 588 . . . . 3531 . . . . 6.0 . . . . . 30 . . . 353.1Wake Forest . . . . . 670 . . . . 3705 . . . . 6.0 . . . . . 30 . . . 370.5Maryland . . . . . . 624 . . . . 3515 . . . . 5.6 . . . . . 37 . . . 390.6Florida state. . . . . 577 . . . . 3914 . . . . 6.8 . . . . . 38 . . . 434.9

PAssingPLAYEr, schooL . comP . Att . Pct . Yds . . td . int . YPg

1 christian Ponder, Fs 227 . . 330. . 68.8 . 2717 . . 14. . 7 . . 3022. thaddeus Lewis, DU 204 . . 329. . 62.0 . 2428 . . 15. . 5 . . 2703. Russell Wilson, st. . 177 . . 293. . 60.4 . 2351 . . 24. . 9 . . 2614. Jacory Harris, UM . . 162 . . 263 . . 61.6 . 2336 . . 18. . 12 . . 260

rushingPLAYEr, schooL . .g . . Att . Yds . .Avg . . td . . YPg

1. Ryan Williams, Vt . . 9 . . . .189 . . 1109. . 5.9 . . . . 10 . . 1232. J. Dwyer, Gt . . . 10 . . .169 . . 1093. . 6.5 . . . . 9. . . 109 3. Montel Harris, Bc . 9 . . . .183 . . 930 . . 5.1 . . . . 13 . . 1034. c.J. spiller . . . . . 9 . . . .135 . . 739 . . 5.5 . . . . 5. . . 82.1

rEcEivingPLAYEr, schooL . .g . . rEc. . Yds . .Avg . . td . . YPg

1. D. thomas, Gt . . . 10 . . .37 . . . 861 . . 23.2 . . . 5 . . . 86.12. Donovan Varner, DU 8 . . . .44 . . . 674 . . 15.3 . . . 5 . . . 74.93. conner Vernon, DU . 9 . . . .41 . . . 583 . . 14.2 . . . 3 . . . 72.94 Marshall Williams. . 10 . . .49 . . . 706 . . 14.4 . . . 5 . . . 70.6

ALL-PurPosE YArdAgEPLAYEr, schooL . g . .rush rEc . Pr . . kr . Yds . YPg

1. torrey smith, MD . . 9 . . . 63. . . 630. . 0 . . . . 1113 1806 . 2012. c.J. spiller, cU . . . 9 . . . 739 . . 334. . 191 . . 530 . 1794 . 1993. Ryan Williams, Vt . . 9 . . . 1109 . 176. . 0 . . . . 0 . . 1285 . 1434. Graig cooper . . . . 8 . . . 478 . . 71 . . 1 . . . . 472 . 1022 128

kickoff rEturn Avg

tAckLEsPLAYEr, schooL .g . Pos . soLo Ast . .sAck tot Avg/g

1. alex Wujciak, MD 9 . . LB . . . 43 . . 59 . . 1.0 . . 102 . 11.32. Luke Kuechly, Bc . 9 . . LB . . . 58 . . 36 . . 0.0 . . 94 . . 10.43 cody Grimm, Vt . 9 . . LB . . . 36 . . 43 . . 0.0 . . 79 . . 8.84 Barquell Rivers, Vt 9 . . LB . . . 23 . . 54 . . 1.0 . . 77 . . 8.6

quArtErbAck sAcksPLAYEr, schooL . . . . . . . . . g . . . . . . . . . . . no

1. Derrick Morgan, Gt. . . . . . . . . . 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.52 robert Quinn, nc 9 10 03. allen Bailey, UM . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.03. Willie Young, st . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.0

intErcEPtionsPLAYEr, schooL . . . g . . . . . no . . . . Yds . . . td

1. Deandre McDaniel, cU 9 . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . 182 . . . . 12. Leon Wright, DU . . . . 9 . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . 146 . . . . 22. Rashard Hall, cU . . . . 9 . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . 67 . . . . . 02. R. carmichael, Vt . . . . 9 . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . 62 . . . . . 1

PuntingPLAYEr, schooL . . . g . . . no . . . Yds . . . Long . Avg

1. Brent Bowden, Vt . . . 9 . . . . 45. . . . 1988 . . . 60 . . . 44.22. Matt Bosher, UM . . . . 9 . . . . 34. . . . 1438 . . . 59 . . . 42.33. Ryan Quigley, Bc . . . . 9 . . . . 55. . . . 2288 . . . 61 . . . 41.64 Grant Schallock, nc 9 45 1866 55 41 5

Punt rEturns

totAL offEnsEPLAYEr, schooL . . g . . .rush . PAss . .tot . .td. YPg

1 christian Ponder, Fs. . 9 . . . 179 . . . 2717 . . 2896 . . 16 . 3222. Russell Wilson, st. . . 9 . . . 294 . . . 2351 . . 2645 . . 28 . 2943 thaddeus Lewis, DU . 9 . . . 175 . . . 2428 . . 2491 . . 18 . 2774. Riley skinner, WF . . . 10 . . . 25. . . . 2561 . . 2586 . . 22 . 259

schooL . . . . . Att . . .Yds . . . Pc . . . . td. . . YPg

north carolina 307 825 2 7 9 91 7Boston college . . . 325 . . . . 1019 . . . . 3.1 . . . . . 7 . . . . .113.2 N.c. state . . . . . . 299 . . . . 1056 . . . . 3.5 . . . . . 18 . . . . 117.3Miami . . . . . . . 316 . . . . 1106 . . . . 3.5 . . . . . 8 . . . . 122.9Georgia tech . . . . 291 . . . . 1264 . . . . 4.3 . . . . . 9 . . . . .126.4clemson. . . . . . . 360 . . . . 1182 . . . . 3.3 . . . . . 4 . . . . .131.3 Duke . . . . . . . . 328 . . . . 1253 . . . . 3.8 . . . . . 12 . . . . .139.2Maryland . . . . . . 339 . . . . 1270 . . . . 3.8 . . . . . 15 . . . . 141.1Virginia tech . . . . 343 . . . . 1343 . . . . 3.9 . . . . . 8 . . . . 149.2Virginia . . . . . . . 372 . . . . 1500 . . . . 4.0 . . . . . 13 . . . . 166.7Wake Forest . . . . . 371 . . . . 1687 . . . . 4.5 . . . . . 13 . . . . 162.7Florida state. . . . . 343 . . . . 1705 . . . . 4.9 . . . . . 17 . . . . .189.4

gameday preview | 11dTH SpOrTSaTUrday | 11/14/09

NATIONAL POLLS

Seniors prepare for Kenan finale, last tests

dth/phong dinh

Senior Cam thomas hits duke quarterback thaddeus Lewis. thomas will be playing his last game at Kenan Stadium today.

By DaviD reynolDsSportSaturday Editor

As the saying goes, nobody quite does it like a senior.

But along with that phrase goes another word— temporary.

That’s one this year’s seniors on North Carolina’s football team learned quickly in the days leading up to their home finale against No. 12 Miami.

“I’ve been here so long, I never thought this day would come,” senior defensive tackle Cam Thomas said. “It seems like just the other day I was coming into Carmichael to get ready to register for classes.”

The class of 2009 has been through quite a transformation of UNC’s program during its four years.

Just one year after Thomas and his classmates joined the team, coach John Bunting resigned under pressure from the University.

In his place, athletic director Dick Baddour hired Butch Davis, who brought along with him a host of assistant coaches with NFL experience.

Senior defensive end E.J. Wilson said the culture around the team changed almost immediately upon Davis’ arrival.

Instead of players hoping they came out with a victory, Wilson and the rest of the team went into each game expecting to win.

“(Davis) brought a champion-

ship mentality to this program that wasn’t here when I got here.” Wilson said. “I didn’t expect guys that were here when I came in to buy in as fast as we did.”

But success under Davis hasn’t started as rapidly as the team bought into his message.

UNC went 4-8 in a humbling 2007 season. And despite finish-ing 8-5 in 2008, that season had a few perplexing losses as well (see Virginia, N.C. State).

So far, this season resembles much of those two. The Tar Heels didn’t live up to preseason expecta-tions in slumping to 4-3, but they rebounded to win their last two conference games to improve to 6-3.

Wilson said he and the rest of the seniors know what they need to do to cement their legacy — eliminate the inconsistency and firmly put North Carolina in one direction.

A winning one.And that starts with what games

they have left. “We wanted to be known as the

class that helped turn this thing around,” Wilson said. “The senior class that came in here for three years under coach Davis, we really want to go out of here winners.”

In terms of numbers, 2009’s senior class is small.

Forty-eight of UNC’s 81 schol-arship players are freshmen and sophomores, and there are just 13 seniors listed on UNC’s roster.

But while those underclassmen outnumber them, their impact is felt beyond just how many bodies they have in the locker room.

Davis said they’ve been invalu-able in helping UNC’s coaches train the team’s young players, particularly Kyle Jolly and Lowell Dyer on the offensive line.

“They’ve helped a lot of those young offensive linemen behind

the scenes. Watching film, talk-ing to them, meeting with them independently,” Davis said. “Reassuring them that they’re going to be OK because they’ve gone through some of those things.”

Davis also singled out Wilson and Thomas as integral role models for showing other UNC’s defense how to approach practice with a business-like attitude.

As for their Senior Day festivi-ties, Thomas and Wilson want to make sure they will remember for it for the rest of their lives.

But that’s not to say they’ll be too serious about it. Most of the ideas they have tossed around have been jocular in nature.

“Me and Cam were actually thinking about renting tuxedos for the Well Walk because it was going to be our last one,” Wilson said. “But we’ll see what happens. I’m pretty sure I’ll get something crazy planned.”

Whatever the two defensive linemen do, count on it to turn plenty of heads.

After all, nobody quite does it like a senior.

COACheS POLLTEAM RECORD PTS PVS1. Florida (48) 9-0 1460 12. texas (4) 9-0 1399 23. alabama (7) 9-0 1389 34. tCu 9-0 1262 45. Cincinnati 9-0 1224 76. Boise State 9-0 1200 57. Georgia Tech 9-1 1118 118. ohio State 8-2 944 129. pittsburgh 8-1 940 1410. uSC 7-2 847 1311. LSu 7-2 838 912. houston 8-1 766 1513. iowa 9-1 757 614. utah 8-1 688 1615. Miami (FL) 7-2 685 1716. oregon 7-2 665 817. penn State 8-2 552 1018. oklahoma State 7-2 530 1819. arizona 6-2 472 1920. Wisconsin 7-2 341 2221. Virginia Tech 6-3 268 2422. Brigham young 7-2 216 2523. West Virginia 7-2 121 nr24. South Florida 6-2 106 nr25. auburn 7-3 80 nrOthers receiving votes: Clemson 71, Stanford 54, Oregon State 39, Texas Tech 36, Nebraska 31, Navy 28, Temple 8, Central michigan 8, North Carolina 7, Boston College 7, others.

AP TOP 25TEAM RECORD PTS PVS1. Florida (39) 9-0 1467 12. texas (10) 9-0 1430 23. alabama (11) 9-0 1422 34. tCu 9-0 1271 65. Cincinnati 9-0 1263 46. Boise State 9-0 1228 57. Georgia Tech 9-1 1127 108. pittsburgh 8-1 945 149. LSu 7-2 904 910. ohio State 8-2 898 1511. uSC 7-2 834 1212. Miami (FL) 7-2 805 1613. houston 8-1 783 1314. oregon 7-2 752 715. iowa 9-1 741 816. utah 8-1 706 1717. oklahoma State 7-2 492 1818. arizona 6-2 476 2119. penn State 8-2 467 1120. Virginia Tech 6-3 275 2221. Wisconsin 7-2 274 2422. Brigham young 7-2 219 2523. South Florida 6-2 167 nr24. Clemson 6-3 149 NR25. Stanford 6-3 107 nrOthers receiving votes: Oregon State 95, west virginia 54, auburn 54, Texas Tech 24, Navy 19, Tennessee 12, rutgers 11, Nebraska 9, Temple 7, Kansas State 5, Notre dame 3, others.

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