My first memory of UNC football was in 1978, the first year Dick Crum was the coach. In that first year, UNC lost to NC State, Clemson, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Miami of Ohio, and Richmond, while defeating East Carolina, Duke, Wake, South Carolina and Virginia. a 5-6 season was a disappointment, especially since the Heels won a share of the ACC championship the year before. Of the six losses, Richmond was a complete disaster. Losing to Miami hurt, especially since Crum coached Miami the year before, but Miami was a solid program. Pittsburgh was still a powerhouse, and NC State, Clemson and Maryland were the forces that led the ACC during this time.
The next year was much better. UNC went 8-3-1, including a victory against Michigan in the Gator Bowl. The losses were against WFU (24-19), Clemson (19-10), and Maryland (17-14). UNC tied ECU 24 all. UNC was a rolling.
Next year was the best year under Crum. The Heels had a 11-1 record, with it's only loss to Oklahoma (41-6). In the Heels first 7 games, the opponents scored a collective 39 points. Solid Defense was the key.
In 1981, the Heels again played solid football, going 10-2. The offense was providing a lot of points (56, 49, 56, 28, 48) in the first 5 games, but slowed down after Tyrone Anthony's injury (21,13,17, 8, 17) the next 5 games. The Heels only allowed 2 opponents to score more than 14 points all season (South Carolina, Arkansas). UNC lost to the eventual National Champions, Clemson, by a score of 10-8. Great season.
1982 was not as successful as the previous 3 years, but solid nonetheless. UNC lost to #1 Pittsburgh, at Pittsburgh, by a score of 7-6. Some kid named Marino was the QB. After that game, the Heels destroyed Vanderbilt, Army, GT, WFU and NC State by a collective score of 202-34. After the NC State game, the Heels suffered back-to-back defeats to Maryland (31-24) and Clemson (16-13). A victory over Virginia (27-14) was offset by a defeat by Duke (23-17). The Heels defeated Bowling Green (33-14), and in the Sun Bowl, defeated Texas (26-10). Not a bad season at all.
In 1983, UNC started out of the gates on fire, defeating South Carolina, Memphis, Miami-Ohio, William & Mary, GT, WFU and NC State by a collective score of 257-100. The offense was among the best in the NCAA, and the Heels were ranked #3 in the Nation. however, the Heels' defense was a bit suspect. The next 3 games were against quality opponents, and they resulted in 3 losses to Maryland (28-26), Clemson (16-3), and Virginia (17-14). The Heels barely escaped Duke with a win (34-27), but were destroyed by Florida State in the Peach Bowl (28-3). A turning point had happened to the Heels that year, but a turn in the wrong direction.
I remember hearing Dick Crum tell the alumni in 1984 that the Heels would be rebuilding and not to expect a great season. He was, unfortunately, correct. The talent pool had dried up. The Heels started out with losses against Navy (33-30) and Boston College (52-20), but was able to defeat Kansas (23-17, also the first live game I saw at Kenan Stadium). The Heels went to 1-4 with losses against Clemson (20-12) and WFU (14-3), but then won 2 games against mediocre NC State (28-21) and Memphis (30-27). UNC then lost to Maryland (34-23) beat GT (24-17), tied Virginia (24 all) and lucked out against Duke (17-15). Dick Crum was not going to lose his job based on this 1 season, especially after he guided the Heels to 5 straight winning seasons. A 5-5-1 season is the definition of mediocrity, however.
1985 was a mix year...the Defense was better and the Offense was worse. The Heels had only 1 impressive victory (Clemson, 21-20), and several unimpressive defeats (GT 31-0, Duke 23-21). Dick Crum was put on notice that the Heels would have to improve if he wanted to retire in good ole Chapel Hill. 5-6 was not acceptable.
And the Heels did improve in 1986. The Heels started off 4-0-1, defeating Citidal, Kansas, GT and WFU, along with a tie against FSU in Tallahassee. And then the worse case scenario happened: UNC lost for the first time since 1978 to the Wolfpack, 35-34. Great game, but the Heels came up one 2 point conversion short of a victory. The Heels ended the season with a record of 7-4-1. The executioner had to wait for one more year.
1987 was Crum's Waterloo. UNC started the season 5-3, with losses against Oklahoma, Auburn, and WFU, but an impressive come from behind victory against GT (30-23). The season didn't end, however, until 3 consecutive losses against Clemson (13-10), Virginia (20-17), and Duke (25-10). Losing to Clemson and Virginia was understandable, but losing to the Blue Devils for the third time in 6 years was not. Before the Duke-UNC game, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity bought a big U-Haul truck and placed it on Crum's front yard. A cruel joke, but symbolic of their feelings towards Crum.
In a nutshell, Crum was the right man at the right time during the late 70's and early 80's. However, his game was very conservative and he couldn't attract a load of talent to Chapel Hill based on his system. He couldn't change, and when he did try to open up his offense, it was too late. As far as successful tenures at UNC go, I would rank him behind Carl Snavely and Bill Dooley, but only slightly ahead of Mack Brown and Jim Tatum. If he had changed his offense after the 1982 season, who knows, he may have coached the Heels for over 20 years.
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