UNC puts bowl loss behind it, looks to 2010

Coach says limited time for practice hurt team against Pitt

By: By Bill Cole | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: December 28, 2009

CHARLOTTE

Coach Butch Davis said that North Carolina wasn't as prepared for Saturday's Meineke Car Care Bowl as he wanted because of an interrupted practice schedule.

UNC had to practice around first-semester final exams and didn't practice on consecutive days until after arriving in Charlotte on Dec. 21, five days before the game that Pittsburgh won 19-17 at Bank of America Stadium.

"I didn't think (preparation) was all that good, to be honest with you," Davis said. "I thought that when we had our kids at practice, it was outstanding. We got 100 percent commitment."

The NCAA allows bowl teams to practice 15 times before playing. UNC was able to use 10 practices, six in Chapel Hill while players took exams.

The final four practices took place in Charlotte. Davis said that UNC also had two "walk-through" practices, in which the players assembled and walked through specific situations with no contact.

"It was extraordinarily disruptive because of the (academic) calendar this year, the way that it fell," Davis said. "Finals lasted a lot longer. So a lot of teams who had their finals over, they pretty much had their kids with undivided attention all day long.

"The 20-hour rule (limiting weekly practice time) was out. You didn't have to worry about finals or reading days or exams. I would have liked for it to be better, but it was what it was, and we had to make the best of it."

T.J. Yates, UNC's quarterback, did not think the limited practice time was a severe handicap.

"I thought we did a pretty good job," Yates said. "We had a lot of off time but I think guys on the team really studied film.

"We didn't get as many practices in as we liked, but we had a whole bunch of walk-throughs. I think everybody was ready mentally going into this game."

Davis said he was proud of his third UNC team for coming back from mid-season problems to win eight games but bemoaned crucial mistakes that helped Pitt. He said that the mistakes were not the same that UNC made during the regular season, most specifically in a 28-27 loss at N.C. State.

About 30 minutes after the game ended, he declared that UNC's 2010 season had already begun.

"We're already over (the loss)," Davis said. "We already talked about the direction this program's headed, and the people that are going to be here to help this program continue to grow in the right direction.

"We've got to play better. And we will play better in the future."

bcole@wsjournal.com.