Loss of control

It was all theirs for the taking.

First place in the ACC Coastal Division driver's seat to the conference's championship game in Tampa Fla. — it was at the fingertips of the then-No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels.

All they had to do was get past Maryland.

But instead of rising to the moment North Carolina stumbled. On Saturday at a rainy Byrd Stadium" UNC played its worst game of the season and lost 17-15 to the Terrapins.

""It eats at you" the fact that we had a great opportunity in front of us and we just couldn't capitalize linebacker Mark Paschal said.

We had three weeks left we knew that we were in the driver's seat" and we just let this opportunity get away from us.""

Against Maryland (7-3" 4-2 ACC) the Tar Heels forgot how to do much of what had made them such a formidable team the past several weeks.

The running tandem of Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston was uncharacteristically inconsistent and failed to establish a presence — combining for just 56 yards.

Without its ground game North Carolina (7-3 3-3 ACC) couldn't sustain a drive all game. Instead of churning out time-consuming possessions" the Tar Heels had the ball for flashes — three times giving it back to Maryland in less than a minute.

And the defensive unit that was so stout against Georgia Tech's running attack was gouged by Da'rel Scott and Davin Meggett throughout the first half. The Terp duo ran for nearly 150 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

The tailbacks were the driving force behind a Maryland offense that stayed on the field for what at times seemed like an eternity. The Terrapins possessed the ball for 40:29 minutes — the most by a UNC opponent since1992.

""They run a lot of different plays that we didn't see in practice" UNC defensive tackle Marvin Austin said. So we had to adjust to them" and we didn't adjust quick enough.""

Despite all those factors working against the Tar Heels" for most of the game they looked poised to return to Chapel Hill with the win.

Maryland never fully capitalized on UNC's offensive shortcomings and a couple of fluke plays gave the Tar Heels two early leads.

The first came in the game's opening minute when the ball was snapped well over Maryland punter Travis Baltz's head resulting in a safety.

The second came when UNC quarterback Cameron Sexton's first-quarter deep ball deflected off a Maryland defender and into Cooter Arnold's arms for a 59-yard touchdown to put UNC up 12-7.

Often a few friendly bounces snowball into an afternoon of good fortune but North Carolina quickly lost momentum through a series of gaffes and wasted opportunities.

Each time the Tar Heels threatened to score Sexton missed open targets or his receivers dropped the ball turning potential touchdowns into two field goals by freshman Casey Barth.

North Carolina's inability to find the end zone proved decisive in the second half once when Barth's third field goal try clanked off the left upright. Soon after" UNC punted from the Maryland 33-yard line — three plays after a fumble recovery.

""There were a lot of chances where we could have scored more points than just kicking field goals"" coach Butch Davis said.

All the points UNC left on the field kept the door open for a Maryland comeback.

The game-winning drive operated with the same methodical formula the Terrapins utilized all afternoon.

Maryland tailbacks churned out the drive's tough yards between the tackles, and quarterback Chris Turner nimbly avoided rushers before hitting open receivers downfield.

In 13 plays Maryland drove from its own 18-yard line to the North Carolina 32 and faced a fourth-and-five that would decide the game.

Stop Maryland there, and the Tar Heels survive and are set to march on to Tampa and possibly the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1.

But fittingly, UNC couldn't get a stop when it needed one most. Turner scrambled 9 yards for a first down. Six plays later Maryland kicked the go-ahead field goal.

We were there" played well the whole second half — just couldn't quite get them off the field that last drive Paschal said. It seems like I don't know what" last drives we haven't been great at this year.""

On a day when North Carolina just needed to take care of business to cement its claim as the elite team of the ACC" it crumbled.

Now the Tar Heels most likely will spend Dec. 6 watching another team compete for a title that could have been theirs.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.