UNC has a chance to ‘flip its season’

An open date last Saturday gave Kendric Burney time to think about North Carolina’s season, about what was accomplished in the first six games and what was left to do.

Burney, a junior cornerback, came to one conclusion, built on tonight’s home game against Florida State.

“This is definitely a game that could flip our season totally around to get back on the right track to contend, and to get back into any kind of races that we want to get into,“ Burney said.

It will be the first Thursday night home game in UNC history, and both teams had open dates last week and extra time to prepare. UNC is 4-2 (0-2 ACC). FSU is 2-4 (0-3 ACC) and fighting through its worst season since Bobby Bowden’s first year as coach, 1976. The programs last meet in 2004, and FSU won to run its series record to 14-1-1.

Burney said that UNC will not be deceived by FSU’s record, its struggles and calls by angry fans for Bowden to retire or be fired.

“They’re still Florida State,“ he said. “Florida State’s always had talent. They’ve always got one of the fastest teams in America. They’re a team that knows what they’re doing. We know their capability.“

Both teams have statistical extremes in ACC play - UNC is No. 1 in total defense and No. 12 in total offense; FSU is No. 1 in total offense and No. 12 in total defense.

“That’s going to be interesting, isn’t it,“ Bowden said. “Can their offense improve enough or can our defense improve enough? Whichever one of those happens could determine who wins this game.“

UNC’s defense, led by end Robert Quinn, allows an ACC-low 14.2 points and 237.7 yards. It will match wits with Christian Ponder, a junior quarterback who leads the ACC in passing (296.8 ypg) and total offense (317.3 ypg). Ponder has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 1,781 yards and nine touchdowns, with only one interception on 217 attempts, and FSU averages 426 yards a game.

Coach Butch Davis of UNC said that Ponder is the best quarterback his team will have faced so far. He’s wary of Ponder’s scrambling ability and has told his defensive backs that Ponder will find any open receiver if they miss an assignment.

“We haven’t seen a quarterback like that since we played Notre Dame and Jimmy Clausen,“ Burney said. “He’s able to throw the ball wherever he wants and put it in spots that no other quarterback can put it in.“

FSU can be nearly unstoppable if Ponder gets hot. FSU scored on its first seven possessions and generated 512 yards in a road win against BYU. It scored on its first five possessions in a home loss to Georgia Tech. But FSU can also struggle, as it did in scoring only seven points in the first 59:25 of a 19-9 home win over Jacksonville State.

A high-scoring game would most likely favor FSU. UNC hasn’t shown the ability to generate a lot of points or a rushing game in ACC play.

Quarterback T.J. Yates could find openings, however. The FSU defense was once the most feared in the ACC but is struggling to make plays this season, allowing an average of 426.7 yards.

“We’ve tried everything,“ Bowden said. “We’ve taken linebackers and moved them to the rush end on both sides. We’ve blitzed from inside-out. We’ve tried it all.

“Our big problem is that we haven’t been strong enough to get people in enough third and longs. Our biggest breakdown this year is giving up the big plays.“

UNC spent its extra time in practice working on running the ball. Davis is hoping that several injured offensive linemen have recovered enough to play. Tight end Zack Pianalto, Yates’ favorite target, could be back after missing the last four games (foot).

UNC’s only win over FSU was in 2001 - 41-9 in Chapel Hill. Defense was the strength of that team, and students and fans stormed the field after the game to bring down a supposedly unbreakable goal post.

“We need another one of those moments,“ Burney said.

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