Sept. 5, 2006

By Lauren Brownlow

Every Tuesday, check TarHeelBlue.com for the latest edition of the Game Guide, which provides all the information you need to get ready for gameday.

The Basics

Carolina opens their ACC schedule against 17th-ranked Virginia Tech this Saturday. The Hokies won their opening game 38-0 against Northeastern. The Tar Heels look to bounce back from a tough 21-16 loss to Rutgers last week, and they will need all the help they can get from the Carolina faithful. Virginia Tech's fan base travels well, so, Carolina fans, remember to get loud, and stay loud.

Game Time: Virginia Tech at North Carolina, 12:00 PM, ESPN

Carolina's game notes can be found here and the Virginia Tech official football site is here

Last Time: Needing a victory to be bowl-eligible, Carolina went into the locker room at halftime down only 6-3, but proceeded to get blown out in the second half. The final score was 30-3, with the only Carolina points coming on a 25-yard Connor Barth field goal as the first half wound down. Tailback Cedric Humes had a career-high 134 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Gameday Weather: Check the local weather forecast before heading for the game.

Injury Report: Backup tight end Richard Quinn broke his shoulder blade in practice the Tuesday before the Rutgers game and will be out 8-12 weeks. Trimane Goddard re-fractured his surgically repaired foot in the fall and was lost for the season. Durell Mapp is on the mend and should have an increased role unless he gets banged up in practice this week.

Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 11:00. The radio broadcast is also available on XM Channel 191 at 12:00. Since it's a home game, the Tar Heel Sports Network broadcast can be heard on XM.

TV Coverage: The game will be shown on ESPN and ESPNHD, where available.

Game week TV/radio coverage: John Bunting Live airs Thursday night at 6 and the John Bunting TV show airs Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on FOX Sports.

Special Halftime Guests: Carolina's 2006 baseball team, which came one win from a national championship, will make an appearance to be honored at halftime on Saturday. So try to stay in - or get to - your seats to let them know how much Carolina fans enjoyed their success this season.

Storylines
Special Teams
Carolina's 2005 kickoff team was the only one in the ACC and one of only six nationally to score two touchdowns on kickoff returns. Brandon Tate ranked 22nd in the nation last year in return yards, and is already leading the ACC with a 29-yard average. Though punter David Wooldridge managed only a 31-yard average last week, both were pooch punts and one was successfully downed inside the 15-yard line.

The Virginia Tech special teams unit had a down year last season (for them), blocking only three kicks and not getting a single touchdown return. But in their opener against Northeastern, they got out to a quick start, blocking a punt and a field goal. Carolina's kickoff and punt coverage units must continue to play well and not be intimidated by the stifling Hokie special teams.

Stopping the Run
Missed assignments, missed tackles and general confusion amongst the Carolina defense resulted in huge holes for the Rutgers offense to plow through.

"It was 95 percent missed assignments, not turning the ball carrier where you want him to be turned, not executing proper run sets," John Bunting said. "Very seldom were we overcome by what was a very good offensive line. But we were not out-physicaled, we just did not execute."

"We didn't fit the runs up," defensive tackle Shelton Bynum said. "Sometimes we were out of gap, or we had two players in the gap, we didn't get outside containment, and then when we had all that fit up, sometimes we just didn't make the tackle, and they exploited that."

After allowing tailback Ray Rice to rush for 201 yards, the Heels now have to face a team that saw a tailback reach a career high in rushing yards (134) against them last year. Cedric Humes has graduated, but his then-backup and now-starter, Brandon Ore, is still around and managed 104 yards of his own against the Heels in Blacksburg last year.

Second-Half (And Second Game) Woes
Carolina has struggled in season openers recently, and there is not any reason to feel better about the second game. Carolina has won their second game of the season only once since 2001 (a 2002 win over Syracuse). With road games coming up against Miami, Clemson and Notre Dame, the Heels could use an early win to boost confidence.

But Carolina must get out to a quick start in the second half. Though the Heels did a better job overall in the second half last week, allowing only 7 points, the defensive unit came right out of the locker room, relatively rested and fresh, and allowed Rutgers to, as Bunting said, execute an opening drive that was "right down our throat."

In Blacksburg last year, the Heels were down only 3-0 at halftime but were shut out in the second half as Virginia Tech scored 30 points.

Jesse Holley thinks the key to avoiding this second-half stagnation is to maintain progress.

"We would have a drive or two that was dominant or a series or two that was dominant, and then they would come back and we would get a third and a little long. We weren't consistently dominant against that team (Rutgers)," Holley said.

The Tar Heels haven't won their ACC opener since 2000 (and have been outscored 164-65 in those games) and have dropped seven of their last eight league openers.

At The Game

Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: WCHL 1360 is the local affiliate. They will once again broadcast without a delay for the benefit of fans inside Kenan Stadium. Speaking of listening inside Kenan, you probably noticed audio problems with the video board during the Rutgers game. Those were caused by last-second speaker malfunctions, and it's a little more complicated to solve than just turning the volume up like on your television at home. Everything should be back in working order this Saturday.

Parking/construction update: Plan to arrive early at Kenan Stadium this Saturday, and take note of parking and pedestrian route changes. The changes are significant and all fans should plan to add some time to their pregame routine in order to arrive in time for kickoff.

Pregame activities: Tar Heel Town opens Saturday at 9:00, and the 2006 Tar Heels will make the Old Well Walk at 9:45.

Postgame activities: To avoid dealing with the inevitable traffic jam that comes with 60,000 people trying to leave Chapel Hill at the same time, consider taking part in some of the expanded postgame activities at Kenan Stadium. Fans who stay at Kenan after the game is over will enjoy live coverage of John Bunting's postgame press conference and the complete Tar Heel Sports Network postgame show.

Watching At Home

Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.

A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.

ESPN coverage: The game will be available nationwide on ESPN, and will also be available in high definition on ESPNHD.

Names To Know

Hilee Taylor
The junior made his first start at defensive end on Saturday, and had six tackles, all primary, including a sack for a six-yard loss. Before this season, his playing time has mainly come as a pass-rush specialist, and almost a quarter of his career tackles (6.5 out of 31) were sacks. His emergence along with the leadership of Shelton Bynum at the other end position could potentially help the Carolina defensive line recover against Virginia Tech.

"I think Hilee Taylor played quite well," Bunting said. "I think he has the makings of being an all-star defensive end. He was one of the bright spots out there on defense."

Victor Worsley
Mark Paschal, without playing a snap at the position until the spring, beat out Victor Worsley for the starting MIKE linebacker spot, and the linebackers as a group (except Larry Edwards) struggled on Saturday. Though Paschal will likely still start this week, Worsley could see increased playing time.

Barrington Edwards
Ronnie McGill managed only 14 carries against Rutgers, due partly to cramps and partly to the running back rotation. Edwards had 10 attempts for 43 yards and one reception for 10 yards. If his carries come this close to McGill's total carries next week, Edwards needs to keep gaining positive yardage so that McGill can rest without it stopping the running game.

Brandon Ore
Ore emerged as a backup running back last year when Mike Imoh was injured, and managed 647 yards for Virginia Tech, including 104 against Carolina in Blacksburg. He started off well in Virginia Tech's season-opener against Northeastern with 135 all-purpose yards (54 yards rushing and 81 yards receiving).If Carolina's run defense is as shabby as it was against Rutgers, the more-than-capable Ore could have the kind of career day against Carolina that his former counterpart Humes had.

Vince Hall/Xavier Adibi
This linebacker duo will be waiting to lay a heavy hit on whoever emerges from the middle of the Carolina offense on Saturday. Vince Hall was second-team All-ACC as a sophomore last year and was the ACC's third-leading returning tackler with 112. Hall also managed three solo tackles (including one tackle for loss), seven assists, an interception and two passes defended against Carolina last year. Adibi is preseason second-team All-ACC as a junior and had six solo tackles, including one for a loss, against Carolina last year.

Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.