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“Tar Heel Tribune Podcast,” Episode 12: ETSU postgame reaction
Sep 13, 2026
Britt Whitmire, R.L. Bynum and Doc Kennedy analyze UNC's win over ETSU in the home opener and look ahead to Clemson. #UNC
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0:02
All right, this is the postgame reaction
0:05
for the East Tennessee State game. My
0:07
name is Brent Whitmire. I've got RL
0:08
Binham, the founder and publisher of
0:10
Tarheel Tribune at tarhilltribune.com
0:12
with me. Also Doc Kennedy, who is the
0:14
author of The Good, the Bad, and the
0:15
Ugly. Uh that column you can find right
0:18
now at tarheeltribion.com. Another great
0:20
job this week, Doc. And we are talking
0:22
about the East Tennessee State game, a
0:24
win for the North Carolina Tarheelss in
0:26
[clears throat] their home opener. RL,
0:28
you were there. Tell us overall your
0:31
reaction to what you saw as the North
0:32
Carolina Tower Heels were able to take
0:34
care of business against East Tennessee
0:35
State.
0:38
>> Well, I mean, this is the kind of game
0:41
we expected when Bill Pelich took over
0:43
the program. A clean game, no turnovers,
0:46
not many penalties. I mean, they had two
0:49
fumbles against TCU, but no turnovers
0:51
yesterday. I mean, I'd still like to see
0:53
more from the running game, maybe some
0:56
more deep passes.
0:57
But um I'm telling you that the offense
1:00
is just a lot more versatile this season
1:03
and given opponents so many different
1:06
looks. Patrino's really changed changed
1:09
things a lot and I like it. I mean
1:12
sometimes you got two tight ends,
1:14
sometimes you got two running backs,
1:15
sometimes you got five wide. I mean
1:18
Shelani Thurman has been a stud, but
1:22
there's a reason he's wide open so many
1:24
times. It's probably the good scheming
1:26
about Patrino.
1:29
>> I uh I I noticed I thought Doc and you
1:33
could kind of help me out here a little
1:34
bit. Despite all of the excitement over
1:36
the opening uh Saturday and Shaq Diesel
1:39
in the house have some great pictures of
1:42
uh Shaquille O'Neal DJing with Roy
1:44
Williams, the Hall of Fame coach from
1:46
University of North Carolina. I thought
1:48
there was a little bit of flatness when
1:51
the team came out immediately a little
1:52
bit on on defense, but immediately
1:55
things started to kick in and I thought
1:56
the team started to hum well there after
1:58
that initial kind of flatness.
2:05
Yeah, you're absolutely right, Brit. It
2:08
there was kind of a little dead coming
2:11
out. You know, it's noon on a Saturday.
2:13
It's hot. It's been raining. it'll start
2:16
raining later. So, there was a little
2:19
bit of concern with some of the ease at
2:21
which East Tennessee moved the ball
2:24
early on. They picked up a number of of
2:26
first downs early on, but you know, a
2:29
lot of times, and I mentioned this in
2:30
the column yesterday, when you're
2:32
playing an FCS team, uh, and you're
2:35
playing at home, it's not as much about
2:38
what it shows you on the positive side
2:42
as much as it what it shows you on the
2:43
negative side. if you're struggling in
2:45
some of those situations, uh, that can
2:47
kind of be a harbinger of things to
2:49
come. We saw that in game two last year
2:52
against Charlotte where you're like,
2:53
"Okay, this there really may be some
2:56
challenges with this team this year."
2:57
Uh, the good news is you didn't see a
2:59
lot of that yesterday once things
3:00
settled in. Uh, and Brit, you had a
3:04
great point yesterday. At one point in
3:06
the game, East Tennessee State had more
3:08
punting yards than they did passing
3:10
yards, and so that's always a good sign.
3:12
So yeah, the the defense really did
3:15
settle down and um really clamp things
3:18
down and put you in that situation where
3:20
you can be up five scores and have the
3:22
kind of game that keeps mamas happy and
3:25
get a look at some of your twos and
3:27
threes and and get those guys some
3:29
meaningful snaps and help build that
3:31
depth because we know that quality depth
3:33
is a concern for the Tar Hills this
3:34
year. So every chance they get to get
3:36
snaps is important.
3:39
>> Yeah, that's our new favorite useless
3:40
statistic. I'll give you a little
3:42
preview too as we go into next week's
3:44
opponent, the Clemson Tigers. I think
3:46
the Clemson Tigers only had about a 67
3:48
or 69 point uh difference in punting
3:51
yards and overall offensive yards. To
3:52
give you an idea about that, East
3:54
Tennessee State, which didn't have a
3:56
good uh day yesterday, had about a 105
3:59
yard difference in total offense and
4:02
punting. And it was, by the way, it was
4:03
both to the the positive side in each of
4:05
those situations. We'll get to Clemson
4:07
in just a little bit because they had a
4:09
pretty interesting game against Max
4:11
Johnson's Georgia Southern Eagles as
4:13
well, but uh you you talked a little bit
4:15
about the offense. We talked a little
4:17
bit about the defense as well. I thought
4:19
the coaching situation was perfectly
4:20
fine. Doc always had a had a great
4:23
point. Again, I think the only part of
4:26
the game that UNCC did not excel in
4:28
yesterday was that kicking game. And I
4:31
think if it gets down to a field goal
4:33
contest against anybody, including
4:35
Clemson next week, I think that's where
4:37
UNCC might be in a little trouble. What
4:39
do you think about that, RL?
4:42
>> Well, uh, the the field goal range is a
4:46
concern, but otherwise the kicking game
4:48
was really good. The the punt punting,
4:51
uh, by by Aaron was very good. The, uh,
4:55
I I think uh, every kickoff has been a
4:58
touchback except one. But yeah, you make
5:00
a good point. If you need a big long
5:02
field goal, that that could be an issue
5:05
for sure.
5:06
>> It's interesting. We talked about, you
5:08
know, the the all of the distractions
5:10
because during the Bill Bich era, it's
5:12
all been distraction. There's been no
5:14
non-distractions and the girlfriend was
5:16
back on the sideline again yesterday as
5:18
we talked about, but everybody seemed to
5:20
be very, very focused. I thought there
5:22
was that that old I I guess there's a a
5:24
new phrase that's come about in in
5:26
football in the past few years. is
5:28
called complimentary football. And I
5:30
think they did a good job of playing
5:33
complimentary football with the offense
5:34
and the defense. And I thought the
5:36
coaching staff, as RL was pointing out,
5:39
Bobby Petrino kind of has sitting sit
5:41
the hit the ground running for the North
5:43
Carolina Tar Heels. I thought
5:45
defensively there was a good game plan.
5:47
I think this coaching staff seems to be
5:48
locked in pretty well too. Doc, what do
5:50
you think?
5:53
Yeah, I would agree 100% given and we
5:57
talked about this before and after TCU
6:01
and the swirl continued uh at the
6:04
beginning of the week with uh a lot of
6:07
the stuff that had come out.
6:10
It it does not seem to be distracting on
6:13
the field and of course that's what
6:15
coaches worry about all the time is
6:17
distractions. Uh the team seem pretty
6:19
locked in. It has seen now two games
6:22
that it may take a series or two or
6:25
maybe even the first quarter to get
6:28
their legs under them particularly on
6:29
the defensive side of the ball. But uh
6:31
and something to remember too about
6:35
yesterday's game is uh that uh Melker
6:39
Abujotti was out
6:42
injured uh and so that was certainly a
6:44
piece that was missing on that defensive
6:45
line and but the adjustments that we've
6:48
seen on both sides of the ball but
6:52
particularly on the defensive side as
6:54
the the defense has tightened up has
6:59
really in both games that we've seen so
7:01
far has it it really has shown uh that
7:04
that staff does seem to be adjusting
7:08
well and that the players are responding
7:10
to those adjustments
7:12
>> and as you mentioned earlier that some
7:14
of those drives in the first half were a
7:15
little bit concerning. I mean there were
7:18
some long first after odds and without
7:20
some of those ETSU penalties they
7:23
probably maybe scored once or twice. So,
7:26
uh, but but the defense did come around,
7:28
but, uh,
7:31
I would point out that TCU scored 63
7:35
points this week. It was against
7:36
Gramling, but 63 points. So, that's a
7:41
team that has a lot of offensive
7:43
potential and, uh, they were basically
7:46
shut down for three quarters.
7:49
>> Um, we talk about the quarterback of the
7:51
Tar Hills, Billy Edwards Jr., you're not
7:52
a spectacular as far as the statistics
7:55
go if you look at what he did. Um and
7:57
then O'Neal was able to get in and take
7:59
a few snaps as well. But again, I
8:01
thought we saw Billy Edwards make a lot
8:03
of good decisions that one uh touchdown
8:05
that they had um I think that was to
8:08
Hall when they had the blitz and he read
8:10
that very nicely was kind of able to
8:12
dump the ball over the flat at the goal
8:13
line and get that touchdown. I thought
8:15
another good day for Billy Edwards and
8:17
he made some really good decisions.
8:18
Again, we're seeing a game manager who's
8:20
not going to have a huge arm. He's not
8:22
going to kill you with his legs or
8:24
anything, but he's going to make the
8:25
proper decisions. And I think that's
8:27
really key for the North Carolina
8:29
Tarheelss is they're going to be a team
8:30
that's not going to beat themselves. And
8:33
that that's a huge situation for them.
8:35
What you think of Billy Edwards day uh
8:37
yesterday, RL?
8:41
>> I I liked his day. Obviously, as as
8:44
you've as mentioned, a couple of passes
8:47
you he'd like to have back, but I like
8:50
how he connected with eight receivers. I
8:54
mean, that's given uh defenses a lot to
8:57
think about. You don't know where he's
8:59
going to go. Uh and not a lot of long
9:03
passes. A lot of the big gainers were on
9:05
the short catch and run variety, but
9:09
that's working really well. And again,
9:12
that's probably a product of Bobby
9:14
Patrino's scheming. Uh but yeah, I I
9:18
think he's doing what he needs to do.
9:20
He's not making mistakes. Uh and uh
9:23
Belich postgame credited him with uh I
9:28
guess changing plays at the line of
9:30
scrimmage to to uh exploit what the
9:34
defense was doing. And that's a product
9:36
of a veteran guy who's been around and
9:38
and is poised and and uh does that kind
9:42
of stuff seamlessly.
9:45
>> Uh Doc,
9:45
>> you said it, RL. He he just makes
9:48
veteran decisions. I was just going to
9:50
say he makes veteran decisions. He um
9:54
he's not forced throws and and we talked
9:58
both after TCU and yesterday that
10:00
receivers are getting open. They're
10:02
getting separation. he's not having to
10:04
force balls into bad situations. He did
10:08
have the luxury yesterday of not facing
10:10
a lot of pressure. So, I think as the
10:13
competition ramps up a little bit and uh
10:17
we'll have to see what his decision-
10:19
making looks like when he's hearing
10:21
footsteps. But, uh yeah, there we know
10:25
that he's limited downfield. Uh, and we
10:28
know that
10:30
one out of every four or five passes is
10:32
is not going to be on target, but when
10:35
he's working through his progressions,
10:37
he's making good throws, he's finding
10:39
open receivers. That's exactly what you
10:42
want to see out of out of that uh
10:44
veteran guy that that's back there. And
10:47
he seems to have the the respect of the
10:50
offense and and leading that team.
10:52
Exactly what you would hope for in that
10:54
situation.
10:56
My fear after the TCU game was that he
10:58
was targeting Thurman and Ship too much
11:00
and that if teams were able to kind of
11:01
shut those guys down, they'd really
11:03
limit him. But it looks like he
11:04
distributed the ball to one, two, three.
11:06
I'm looking a lot of different players.
11:08
So, he's figuring out a way to do that.
11:10
>> Eight different players were able to do
11:12
that. And Ship was targeted three times.
11:14
He caught two passes. So, he's able to
11:16
kind of spread things out. Again, you
11:18
talk about the Bobby Patrino scheme that
11:20
seems to be able to The thing I like
11:22
about Patrino is it looks like he's able
11:23
to kind of tailor the game plan to the
11:25
talents of the specific players. A lot
11:27
of guys cannot do that. So, I I think
11:29
that that's a good thing as well. Tell
11:32
me about the the running game and how
11:33
the running game struck you, Doc,
11:35
because I thought the offensive line did
11:37
pretty well and but I think there's
11:39
still some improvement to be made in
11:40
rushing the football.
11:44
>> Yeah, absolutely. We I think going into
11:47
the season we talked a lot about how the
11:49
running back room would be a strength of
11:51
the team and um it it really took Hall
11:56
couple of plays to to get on
11:59
uh kind of on track. It really looks
12:02
like that they're settling in on June as
12:04
being kind of the big back, the short
12:06
yardage back. Of course, he puts the
12:08
ball in the end zone three times
12:09
yesterday.
12:11
um didn't see McGill as much maybe
12:13
yesterday as I thought we would. Um so I
12:17
I think that some guys are going to have
12:19
roles, but there really needs to be sort
12:22
of an every down back and it it looks
12:25
like they're giving Hall the opportunity
12:27
to do that. Uh but I haven't seen the
12:31
growth in Hall over the first two games
12:33
that I I think we really would have
12:34
hoped. Uh, and with June still there, we
12:40
know that June's speed is not what some
12:42
of the other guys have. Uh, I'm I'm just
12:45
wondering how long it's going to be
12:46
before we start seeing McGill taking
12:48
more snaps or June taking more snaps in
12:52
the middle of the field and and in less
12:54
short yardage situations if if Hall
12:56
can't get there. I I think if you're
12:58
looking at anything that might be behind
13:01
schedule in the offensive development
13:03
this year, it is the running backs
13:05
through two games.
13:07
>> And what I I'm not seeing is a lot of
13:10
broken tackles and that that's got to
13:12
change. Um but June, wow, what peak
13:17
efficiency
13:18
with low usage and high prod high
13:21
productivity.
13:23
And you might say, why isn't he getting
13:26
more carries, why isn't he playing more?
13:30
A good hint may be, you look at his uh
13:33
PFF pass blocking grade, 50.6.
13:39
And Bobby Patino said before the season,
13:42
if you don't pass block, you're not
13:43
going to play.
13:45
That may not be it, but that could be a
13:48
factor as to why he's not playing more.
13:51
Um, and you know, if he could improve on
13:54
that, uh, he might be getting more
13:57
carries. You know, that last drive
13:59
against, uh, TCU, there wasn't all any
14:02
pass blocking really to speak of other
14:04
than one play and he was in there the
14:07
whole time. So, uh, so
14:10
once he improves in that area,
14:14
you might really have something going.
14:18
Uh the defense for UNCC, I know Greg
14:20
Ship came up with the first uh he came
14:22
up with the first interception of the
14:24
year for the Tar Heels and I I thought
14:25
the defensive line played pretty well.
14:28
Put a lot of pressure on Mims. Mason
14:29
Mims 23 of 32, 178 yards in passing, of
14:34
course, no touchdowns and the one
14:35
interception that we talked about. To
14:37
me, the defensive line is playing a
14:40
little bit better than the secondary is.
14:42
secondary did a pretty good job
14:43
yesterday, but I still think that
14:44
there's a chance for some more
14:46
playmaking and some more I don't know
14:48
aggressiveness in the secondary. What do
14:50
you think, RL?
14:54
>> Oh, for sure. And and you know, playing
14:57
without uh Cardabo
15:00
uh obviously at FCS opponent Grant, you
15:03
have to state that they were great. I
15:07
mean, uh, defensive end Jaylen Harvey,
15:10
boy, he had a lot of thunder on the edge
15:12
with two sacks and then Xavier Lewis
15:16
continue what we saw in the first game
15:18
with two sacks. So, that's great to be
15:21
able to get pressure from different
15:23
parts of the line and you get hopefully
15:26
uh Abuja's hand issues.
15:31
Uh hopefully he was just they figured
15:33
let's rest him, no reason to play him
15:35
and he'll play in Clemson. So you have
15:37
all those three at the line. That'll be
15:39
huge. Um I think the linebacker play was
15:42
solid, but yeah, you you would like to
15:45
see a little bit more from the
15:46
secondary.
15:49
>> You were there, so you saw this
15:51
firsthand, the whole weather delay
15:53
situation, uh and how everybody handled
15:55
that and all of that stuff. Hopefully,
15:57
that's something that you won't have to
15:59
deal with a lot, but it seems like it's
16:00
happening a lot in college football, at
16:01
least in the early going, because of
16:02
some severe [clears throat] weather,
16:04
whether it's in the South, whether it's
16:05
in the Midwest, whether it's whatever.
16:08
Uh, exactly what was your observation as
16:10
far as the team trying to be able to
16:12
keep itself pumped and all that stuff
16:14
during the weather delay?
16:18
Well, what what you notice is uh I think
16:20
the uh I don't know about uh ETSU, but
16:24
the Carolina coaches basically
16:27
seem to make the decision to we don't
16:29
want to have our regulars who have
16:32
played three quarters. We want don't
16:36
want them to go out and warm up again.
16:38
And he basically emptied the bench. It
16:40
was all reserves in the fourth quarter.
16:43
So that that's how they handled it. And
16:45
you know, and uh Billy Edwards Jr. was
16:48
telling us postgame that it was really
16:51
weird for him and he didn't even play
16:54
when they resumed and um it was like a
16:57
COVID crowd. There were very few the the
17:00
uh marching band members to fan ratio
17:03
was interesting uh because there there
17:06
weren't many fans there. I know Doc's
17:08
son left, my son left, and a lot of
17:11
other people did, but uh I think they
17:14
handled it well. I mean, they got you
17:16
didn't want to just end the game without
17:19
the fourth quarter, but the fourth
17:21
quarter went pretty pretty quickly and
17:23
went fine.
17:25
>> I uh based on the schedule, let's talk
17:28
about next week's opponent, the Clemson
17:30
Tigers. Carolina is going down to
17:32
upstate South Carolina to take on the
17:34
Clemson Tigers. had a horrible week one
17:37
obviously against LSU. They didn't seem
17:39
prepared at all. Barely got off the bus,
17:40
if you will. Uh I happen to see a lot of
17:44
this game between Clemson and Max
17:46
Johnson's Georgia Southern Eagles uh at
17:49
Death Valley and not the one that's in
17:51
Baton Rouge, but the one that's in
17:52
Pickicket County. Uh and I saw a Clemson
17:55
team, this will be shocking. I think
17:57
Clemson may be worse than they were last
17:59
year. I saw a Clemson team that didn't
18:01
to me have much of an identity. I I
18:04
think if you put the games side by side
18:07
and you watched UNCC against East
18:09
Tennessee State and you watched Clemson
18:11
against Georgia Southern, I think you
18:13
might come to the conclusion that North
18:15
Carolina is the better football team and
18:16
I think UNCC should come into this game
18:19
with some confidence. Obviously, you
18:21
don't want to be overconfident and
18:22
Clemson is always a tough place to play,
18:24
but I think I think North Carolina has
18:27
their act together more than Clemson
18:28
does right now. Doc, do you agree with
18:30
that statement?
18:34
Well, it, you know, it it sure is uh
18:37
looking like some struggles going on
18:42
in Clemson and uh we'd heard some
18:45
possibility that Clemson might be back
18:46
this year. I'm not so sure about that.
18:49
The the early line is Clemson by five
18:52
and a half. Um
18:56
I think it goes back to a lot of what
18:57
we've talked about already, which is
19:00
Yes. Carolina's offense is better. Uh,
19:05
this should be the best defense that
19:07
they've played in so far in three games.
19:10
Uh, you went from 15 points to 35
19:13
points. How many points you're going to
19:15
be able to put up against the Tigers?
19:17
And then is the defense going to be deep
19:20
enough to stop Clemson for 60 minutes?
19:24
So, uh, I'm I'm sort of expecting a
19:27
little bit of a slog fest maybe. I uh I
19:31
didn't catch what the overunder was, but
19:34
uh overunder is 44 and a half. So, uh I
19:38
it's probably right on on time. I would
19:41
not be surprised to see a 1710 17 1510
19:45
kind of game like we saw in week one.
19:48
But, uh, if the Tarheelss could go to
19:52
Clemson and pick up a win, man, will the
19:56
script flip about what the potential is
20:01
out there for the Tarheelss, as well as
20:04
the pressure that that's going to fall
20:06
on Davos Sweeney and the Tigers.
20:09
>> And, uh, I didn't see much of that game
20:12
because it was so late, but in reading
20:14
about it, they may have some quarterback
20:16
issues. They started Christopher Visena
20:20
pulled him for a true freshman Kate
20:23
Reynolds after three uh possessions and
20:27
then Vzena got hurt late and his status
20:30
for next week is questionable. So uh
20:33
from a Carolina's perspective, it's nice
20:35
to be secure at quarterback while your
20:38
opponent's really up in the air. Um, but
20:43
you know, a after TCU, I was thinking,
20:45
okay, Carolina at least be competitive
20:48
at Clemson. But after what's transpired,
20:52
I think Carolina does have a shot at
20:54
winning. Winning there is never easy.
20:58
But, uh, I if I was betting, I would
21:00
still bet Clemson to win, but I think
21:03
Carolina's got a decent shot.
21:06
>> Well, and the Tigers were two for 14 on
21:08
fourth down. I mean, excuse me, on third
21:10
down and uh 10 penalties for 100 yards
21:14
against Georgia Southern. So, um you
21:18
know, it it's going to be
21:22
I if North Carolina can keep up the
21:24
discipline play that they've had and get
21:27
some key stops, hang around. Um
21:33
there there's no telling what what could
21:35
happen. And I just I hope that next week
21:37
is not Clemson's get-right game.
21:41
>> My main takeaway from watching Clemson
21:44
and Georgia Southern is the Tigers
21:45
simply don't have an identity. That that
21:47
was what was shocking to me. And they
21:48
usually have some sort of identity
21:50
whether it's they've got some
21:51
gunslingers as as far as quarterback.
21:53
Deshawn was a great quarterback and they
21:56
did very well or it was being
21:57
hard-hitting on defense and leading with
21:58
that. To me, the North Carolina game
22:01
plan going against Clemson is going to
22:02
be leading with defense. To me, that's
22:04
going to be it is try to punch those
22:05
guys in the mouth up front and then play
22:08
the complimentary football. RL, do you
22:10
think that might be the game plan for
22:11
this North Carolina coaching staff going
22:13
down to Tiger Town,
22:16
>> right? Especi especially if they're
22:18
starting a true freshman quarterback.
22:20
Get him rattled.
22:22
They they've got some nice edge rushers.
22:25
Uh Carolina's been able to find gaps and
22:27
get through the line. if they can force
22:30
him to throw under pressure, maybe you
22:33
force a turnover, force an interception,
22:37
uh that the defense definitely could set
22:40
the tone early.
22:43
This may be one of those games that's
22:44
kind of sneaky to us that we may not
22:46
we'd be be thinking of like offense, so
22:48
maybe thinking of defense, and then
22:49
special teams would be the thing that
22:50
wins it. It's not just a kicking game
22:51
though, but it's also punt returns. It's
22:53
also uh kick returns and all of that
22:56
stuff. So, you have to you have to look
22:57
at the entire thing. you talked about it
22:59
for just a moment because it was kind of
23:00
cool, Doc. Uh the throwback uniforms
23:02
which both of us men of a certain age
23:04
were familiar with the stair what
23:06
they're calling the stairstep logo on
23:08
the helmets and it had the cool Carolina
23:10
script across the the front of it and it
23:12
was Dickr and it's famous Amos Lawrence
23:15
and it's Lawrence Taylor and it's Scott
23:17
Stan Cavage. It was awesome to see those
23:19
uniforms yesterday in Chapel Hill.
23:24
It was uh that's of course my freshman
23:28
year at Carolina was Dickr's last year.
23:30
So that's what the Tar Hills wore when I
23:33
got there. And uh it it was really neat
23:36
to see that. It it it's kind of hard. I'
23:39
I've tweeted about this a lot. The
23:42
jerseys that they wore yesterday are not
23:45
officially throwbacks. They Carolina
23:47
never wore those jerseys. Uh they were
23:50
the jerseys that for whatever reason
23:52
they were used in pictures or in media
23:55
appearances. Uh so it was probably the
23:58
first time yesterday that Carolina ever
24:00
wore uniforms. It said Carolina across
24:03
the chest. Um I I really like the the
24:07
stripes of the helmet of the Stairstep
24:10
UNCC helmet. the jerseys of that era
24:13
used to have corresponding sleeve
24:14
stripes, but we were talking about
24:16
yesterday that guys these days don't
24:18
wear sleeves like they used to. You
24:19
know, I played football in the era with
24:21
pads that were this big and um you know,
24:24
guys don't do that anymore. So, uh, it
24:27
it's really neat and and I saw a comment
24:30
somewhere that said that how great is
24:33
Carolina's logo and colors and brand and
24:37
identity that you can put, uh, almost
24:40
anything out on that field, uh, and it
24:42
looks good. So, uh, it it was a nice
24:45
throwback. Of course, it's an
24:46
unfortunate reminder that it's been 46
24:48
years since UNCC won an ACC
24:50
championship. Um, but uh, yeah, it it
24:55
was neat to see. And between that and
24:57
the 90s throwbacks, uh, Carolina's got a
25:00
lot of alternate looks that they can put
25:02
out without having to go to a lot of the
25:04
gimmick stuff that they did in the
25:07
2010s.
25:08
>> And then you had the stairstep uh, UNCC
25:11
at midfield.
25:13
And then another part I liked is last
25:17
season you had a company's logo on the
25:20
field in two places. That wasn't there.
25:23
Instead you had a a uh
25:28
a decal or whatever you call it in
25:30
memory of James Sperling. So uh in this
25:34
era where you're trying to make money
25:36
left and right that was surprising but
25:38
uh that's good to see. RL.
25:40
>> And to that point, RL, the the the I was
25:43
just going to say the painted end zones,
25:45
you know, the full painted endzones uh
25:48
that that used to be emblematic of of
25:52
how the Keenan Stadium setup was back in
25:54
the days when uh we had the the
25:57
fieldhouse at the Blue Zone End and the
26:00
the mission style fieldhouse that was
26:02
there. Uh the old ones, the real ones
26:05
know, you know. So, it it was a neat a
26:08
neat journey down memory lane yesterday.
26:12
>> Is there a specific game, RL, that you
26:15
think of when you think of the Stairstep
26:16
logo on those helmets? Because I I'll
26:18
tell you, I'll go first. Mine was a rare
26:22
prime time college football game from
26:24
back in the day. And it was Carolina
26:25
visiting Pittsburgh and and a coach
26:27
named Foge Fazio or Fazio, I can't
26:29
remember his name. And Carolina was that
26:32
this was a year when there was hopes
26:33
were up for the Tarheelss. And as you
26:35
were talking about earlier, it was a
26:37
slog fest. I think it was maybe a nine
26:39
to7 game and Carolina ends up losing.
26:41
Just a really ugly football game. So
26:43
that's what I think of when I think of
26:44
the StairStep logo. RL, what do you
26:46
think of?
26:50
>> I I don't remember the opponent, but I
26:52
remember uh Kelvin Bryant scoring a
26:55
touchdown and handing the ball to Steve
26:58
Streer behind the end zone. That that
27:01
was really a exciting and touching
27:03
moment. Uh, but when I think of the
27:06
stairstep, I think of LT. He's the first
27:08
guy I think of.
27:11
>> Is you as well, Doc? Was that the
27:14
Carolina?
27:15
>> Was that the game you were thinking of
27:16
as well, Doc?
27:17
>> Yeah, the this Yeah, the Steve Streer um
27:22
game obviously, but uh I think of my
27:26
freshman year. Speaking of Clemson, uh
27:30
fans don't remember or many fans don't
27:32
remember the time when Kenan Stadium
27:34
didn't have lights. And uh my freshman
27:38
year, the fall of 1987,
27:40
Carolina played Clemson. They brought in
27:44
uh lights, temporary lights to play a
27:46
3:30 kickoff game. And um that was
27:50
Crumbs last year. Ended up getting fired
27:52
after a five and six year that year. But
27:54
uh Carolina led Clemson most of the
27:57
game. Clemson took a late lead. Um Mark
28:01
May was the quarterback and May uh had a
28:05
streaking receiver down the sidelines
28:07
wide open late in the game that might
28:10
have given Carolina the win and he
28:13
dropped it. and uh that that game in and
28:19
of itself may have changed the
28:21
trajectory of Dickr's tenure because
28:26
that would have been the difference
28:27
between a winning season, losing season,
28:28
and
28:29
>> two more losses that followed after
28:31
that. And uh who knows, but that's the
28:36
Steve Peter game obviously, but that
28:38
unfortunate uh dropped wide open pass
28:41
that uh might have upset Clemson.
28:44
Carolina's Carolina's history with
28:47
Clemson has not always been fabulous as
28:50
we think back to the 2015 ACC
28:53
championship game and just lots of
28:55
breaks have not gone Carolina's way when
28:57
it comes to Clemson. And go talking
29:00
about throwback, uh, back in those days
29:03
there was the the the upper deck didn't
29:06
go all the way around on each side and
29:08
in between you had an old open air press
29:11
box. Uh, I've covered some games there.
29:15
I wanted to point out that they
29:17
refurbished the press box and nobody
29:20
cares that it's nicer for us. What's
29:22
interesting is they put all kinds of
29:26
memorabilia photos remembering first
29:29
round draft picks, remembering great
29:31
players, remembering great uh games. Uh
29:34
I did a video of that that on the uh
29:37
Toriel Tribune um YouTube page. That's
29:40
that's worth looking at at it. Uh they
29:42
they did a fabulous job. There's a lot
29:44
of history there. It's too bad fans
29:47
can't go through there and see all that,
29:48
but uh they did an outstanding job
29:50
there. Yeah, you've got that embedded at
29:53
tarhillshtribing.com along with all your
29:55
coverage. It's worth a look for sure.
29:56
And thanks for bringing up the name
29:57
Kelvin Bryant. I haven't thought about
29:58
Kelvin Bryant in a long time. Rocking
30:00
and rolling for the Philadelphia Stars
30:01
in the United States Football League.
30:03
Great job, boys. Another win for the Tar
30:06
Hills as they head into Clemson. And
30:08
again, you can check out the good, the
30:09
bad, and the ugly at tarhilltribune.com
30:11
along with all all of RL's coverage and
30:13
that video that we just talked about of
30:14
the tour of the new press box. Uh going
30:16
up against Clemson on Saturday. And then
30:18
after that, it's the University of Notre
30:20
Dame. Another Tarheel Tribune podcast
30:22
coming up this week. Thanks for joining
30:24
us again. And for everything Carolina,
30:25
go check out tarheeltribune.com.
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