Tar Heels' goal is a 'national-caliber' program

CHARLOTTE --

North Carolina will try to put six seasons of struggles in its rear-view mirror today when it plays West Virginia in the Meineke Car Care Bowl at Bank of America Stadium.

Both teams are 8-4 but appear to have different immediate futures. UNC, in its second season under Coach Butch Davis, has a team dominated by freshmen and sophomores. West Virginia, trying for its fourth consecutive bowl victory, has 19 seniors.

The Tar Heels are in a bowl for the first time since 2004, and quarterback T.J. Yates of UNC considers the game one of the most important of his two-season career, given WVU's 41-9 record during the last four seasons.

"It's definitely another step that this program's trying to take to become a national-caliber type team," Yates said.

"This is going to catapult us into next season with a lot of momentum. We're going to try and win this game and come out and make a statement."

Kickoff will be at 1 p.m., and the game will be the second between the programs. UNC won the first meeting 20-13, in the 1997 Gator Bowl.

Safety Trimane Goddard said that UNC took a serious approach to practices for the game and that no one in the program is simply happy to be in a bowl.

"Everyone's been focused," Goddard said. "We had a couple of days off, and I was kind of nervous when we got here. I thought the first practice would be a little rough, and we'd have to work our way into it, but we came out and had a great practice. And that set the tone for the week."

Still, a few Tar Heels have found time to amuse themselves, offensive tackle Garrett Reynolds said.

"It's mostly the defensive linemen starting big pillow fights at our hotel," Reynolds said. "They'll knock on another player's door and when somebody opens it, they just charge in and beat one of the guys up."

Davis has thrived in the postseason, with his Miami teams going 4-0 in his six seasons with the Hurricanes. Davis also had a 5-1 record against West Virginia in Big East games.

He considers West Virginia a formidable opponent because of quarterback Pat White's ability to run the spread-option offense, the play of running back Noel Devine and a defense with exceptional athletic ability. Davis thinks that the first quarter could be crucial as to how UNC handles White, Devine and the WVU offense.

"The speed and tempo of the game is something that's a major concern," Davis said. "The tempo is going to be faster than anything we can practice. It's a matter of getting our players and our defense up to that speed."

White has completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 1,510 yards and a career-high 18 touchdowns and needs 81 yards rushing for his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. Devine has 1,228 yards rushing on 193 carries and an average of 102 yards a game.

WVU has not scored fewer than 38 points in its three bowl games with White at quarterback. It scored 48 last season against Oklahoma, which was ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time.

UNC will be without Mark Paschal, a senior linebacker and the team's defensive leader. His career ended in late November because of a spinal injury. Otherwise UNC should be almost at full strength for the first time since mid-October.

Yates, who broke an ankle Sept. 20, returned late in the season and looked sharp in the regular-season finale at Duke. Receiver Hakeem Nicks will be playing in his hometown in what could be his last college game as he considers leaving school early for the NFL Draft.

West Virginia's defense features three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs but is young, with seven starters who are sophomores and another who is a freshman.

However, Yates said the unusual alignment can cause problems. He said WVU could drop eight defenders into pass coverage on one play and then send seven on a blitz on the next play.

"They're really good at disguising their coverages," Yates said. "They're kind of all over the place."

West Virginia allowed an average of 325.5 yards in the regular season and a 42-percent conversion rate on third down. The defense was solid when backed up, however, allowing 18 touchdowns in 42 possessions inside the 20.

Coach Bill Stewart of WVU said his defense, which had eight first-time starters, has exceeded almost all expectations.

"Nobody knew we'd be this good," Stewart said. "I didn't think we'd be this good. I thought we could have the ability down the road, maybe one more year, to be like we were last year, but boy, we really came on."

Reynolds, a battle-scarred senior, sometimes wondered if a day like this would come, when he would be able to run onto the field in front of a packed stadium for a bowl game.

"It'll be the best way to finish up my football career," Reynolds said. "To have a turnaround like we did meant a lot to me. And to finish with a win would be unbelievable."

■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.