My first impression of Butch Davis was not a good impression. Butch takes over a great Miami (Florida) program from Dennis Erickson, and within 3 years the Hurricanes had a losing season. They also lost to ECU in Miami, and ECU wasn't what I call a powerhouse that year.
But the more I got to know about Butch, the more I liked him. He really cleaned that program up, and he had the Hurricanes ready to win a National Championship. Although he went to the Cleveland Browns, he was a key reason why Larry Coker celebrated a National Championship in 2001.
A lot has been said about Butch's tenure with the Browns, but I was overall impressed. He built the team from the ground up, and he got them in the playoffs in his 2nd season. Not a bad job at all.
UNC football was in dire straits, and to many Butch looked like a prayer from above. I was horrified to find out he had been diagnosed with Oral Cancer...I thought he might turn out with the same fate as Jim Tatum. Butch was tough, and he dealt with chemo that first year. Tough man, and a darn good football coach.
2007--UNC starts out with a cream puff and wins (James Madison). The Heels then lose the next 4 games (ECU, UVA, South Florida, and VT). We then handle Miami at Kenan by a score of 33-27. Losses to South Carolina and Wake follow, but the Heels rebound and defeat the Terps by a score of 16-13. Two close loses to NCSU and GT have our record at 3-8, but we defeat the Blue Devils to end up with a 4-8 record. Only 2 games during the season were blowouts (Wake and South Florida, not to mention our victory against JMU). Our offense improved a bit (20 points a game) and our defense improved a lot (23 points a game...best since the Mack Brown era).
2008--arguably the best Heels team since the Mack Brown era. An 8-5 record is not shabby at all. After a sloppy victory against McNeese State (35-27), we travel to New Jersey as an underdog to play Rutgers. We win, 44-12. We lost TJ Yates during the VT game, a game we should have won but we didn't (20-17 Hokies victory). We then play 3 very solid teams, defeating UConn, Miami, and Notre Dame. Another victory escapes us against a Virginia team (this time UVA...losing 16-13 in OT), but we come back and defeat BC and GT. We follow up these victories with a sloppy game against the Terps, losing 17-15 in a game we should have won (again). NCSU killed us 41-10, but we bounce back with a victory against the Blue Devils. West Virginia defeats us in the Meineke Bowl 31-30. Overall, a good season that could have been great. Although our record was 8-5, it could have been 12-1. Not bad at all. We scored on average 28 points a game, and allowed 21.
The 2009 season will be coming soon, and I'm very excited about the Heels. I'm a bit concerned about our offense, but I think we have solid special teams and a good, strong Defense.
Here is my predictions for this next season:
Game 1: UNC 36, The Citadel 13 (anything less will be a disappointment).
Game 2: UNC 27, UCONN 20 (we can win away....)
Game 3: UNC 34, ECU 20 (payback time!)
Game 4: UNC 17, GT 10 (GT will play better this year against us, but our D will handle their offense)
Game 5: UNC 26, Virginia 14 (UVA football is not as strong as it used to be).
Game 6: UNC 31, Georgia Southern 12 (We should defeat this team easily).
Game 7: FSU 21, UNC 20 (a major disappointment for the Heels, but still a great game).
Game 8: VT 20, UNC 10 (hard to defeat VT in Blacksburg)
Game 9: UNC 28, Duke 17 (Duke is not as bad as many think...this game could be closer).
Game 10: UNC 31, Miami 24 (Good game, another victory against the Hurricanes).
Game 11: BC 28, UNC 21 (Hard game for the Heels...cold weather will not be our friend).
Game 12: NCSU 31, UNC 24 (NCSU has the best QB in the ACC, and a defense that is not bad).
I predict an 8-4 season and a 4-4 ACC record. We should get a decent Bowl game, hopefully the Peach. With a little luck, we could end up 10-2. Our hardest games will be at BC (because of the weather), VT (Hokie nation, Hokie D), and NCSU (Marcus Wilson). The FSU game is a tossup in my mind. I could see us struggle against GT and UConn, but I feel like we will come out victorious.
The season hasn't started, and things can change. I'll reforecast my numbers during the season.
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