Tar Heel Thoughts from the Game: NCSU 28-27

Lawrence Jordan: I was in Raleigh this weekend enjoying a few beverages on the town Saturday night. As a Raleigh native, I ran into several of my friends from the Red side of The ONH. After congratulating them on the win, they couldn't help but lob a few good-natured jabs my way:

• "Well at least this closes out a bad season on a positive note."
• "Butch just can't get it done versus Tom O'Brien."
• "All that talent and you still can't beat us..."

The bar also erupted into several rounds of "N-C-State...NCSTATE! N-C-State...NCSTATE!"

At first I was jealous. I wanted to be the one on the victorious side of the rivalry...I still do. But then I realized something...I had been in their situation before. I had been stuck in bad football seasons and the only thing I had to celebrate at the end of the year was a victory over the Wolfpack; the years were 1998-2000.

Coach Carl Torbush was leading the mediocre Tar Heel football program to an overall record of 17-18, 1 Bowl Victory, and a 2-1 record versus the rival Wolpack football program.

Compare that to the past three years, 2007-2009, when Coach Tom O'Brien lead the Wolfpack football program to an overall record of 16-21, 1 Bowl appearance, and a 3-0 record against the rival Tar Heel program.

Now while I would love a victory over my peers' Alma Mater NCSU, I realized that I would not want to change places with them after all. I would not want to pass on Bowl Appearances, winning records, and the cusp of a national ranking.

Carl Torbush was fired after his third season with more wins and more Bowl appearances than Tom O'Brien has currently produced in Raleigh. Herb Sendek offered them post season appearances but no victories over their rivals, and they unceremoniously let another school hire him away. How does the flip side of the coin look to the 'Pack? How long will the Wolfpack fan-base accept losing records from their head coach and settle for wins against the Heels?

Game Notes:

• Amassing almost 100 yards in penalties in the first half is unacceptable. On one drive alone the Heels kept the Pack driving with 2 pass interference calls and a personal foul totaling 45 yards. Where is the discipline?
• The Heels' offense is not good enough to let scoring opportunities pass. Johnny White's goal line fumble and Casey Barth's missed FG were extremely costly.
• Deflating the offense because of a lack of confidence also takes aggressiveness out of the defense. Butch needs to read Roy Williams' new book about staying aggressive until the opponent concedes. Playing to win is different than playing not to lose.