Stopped Early, Tigers Rally Against UNC Defense

For the rest of the game, it once again resembled the all-familiar 2000 unit that ranks a pedestrian 44th in the nation.

Early on, the defense contained Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler, who, before Saturday, was the No. 11 rusher and ninth most efficient quarterback in the nation.

The defensive line got to the scrambling Dantzler and sacked him three times. Running back Travis Zachery had only 27 yards in nearly a half of football.

The Tiger wide receivers were nowhere to be found, and Clemson was forced to punt on each of its first four possessions - only half a punt less than its per-game average.

Most importantly, more than half-way through the second quarter, the Tar Heels led 17-0.

"You can't ask for much more," defensive tackle Ryan Sims said. "We didn't come in and roll over, which they probably thought we were gong to do. We just let it slip through our fingers."

With 6:33 left in the second quarter, quarterback Willie Simmons replaced Dantzler, who bruised his left foot. After filling in for Clemson's Heisman Trophy candidate, all Simmons did was throw four touchdown passes to rally the troops from a 17-point deficit to a 14-point win.

The aggressive UNC defense seemed to leave the game when Dantzler did. Simmons wasn't pressured like his predecessor was. He was sacked only once and had plenty of time to find wide receiver Rod Gardner, who finished with three touchdowns and a school-record 182 yards.

Zachery found more room to run, piling up 61 yards after halftime to finish with 89. According to Tar Heel linebacker Brandon Spoon, UNC lost some aggressiveness when forced to defend its big lead.

"You play not to lose sometimes; you play not to lose your lead," Spoon said. "You go out there and try not to mess up. If you're playing a little tight, you're going to stay back a little bit so you don't give up a big play.

"We saw the position we were in, and we didn't want to lose it. We gave up a little bit (of ground), but Clemson - they're a great offense. We knew they were going to come back."

To their credit, the Tar Heels accepted the blame for the defensive collapse equally, refusing to point fingers at one another's performances.

"I'm going to go back to the drawing board and realize that I had a bad game," said cornerback Errol Hood, who was victimized for each of Gardner's touchdowns. "He made the big plays. I didn't; they scored. I can't play any worse than I did tonight."

Defensive end Julius Peppers, however, exonerated his teammate in the secondary.

"That's frustrating, but it's all one team," Peppers said. "I look at it as, if I would have got to (the QB) and hit him, he wouldn't have time to throw the ball.

"I don't look at it as (the secondary) messing up. I think its my fault when something like that happens."

Spoon said the Tar Heels didn't think that they could shut out Clemson for an entire game. But he was clearly frustrated about the Tigers' ability to make big plays when they needed to.

Four of Clemson's touchdowns were plays of 20 yards or more. The Tigers were also able to convert a fourth-and-15 situation that led to the game-tying score.

"We were this close to winning," Sims said. "The No. 3 team in the nation came in, and we're up 17-0. You've got to find a way to win. They did; that's why they're No. 3."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.