North Carolina is banned from playing in a bowl game this season and it's not eligible for the ACC championship, either, courtesy of NCAA violations. But there's still plenty of excitement in Chapel Hill about its football team and its new duds for this coming weekend.
The Tar Heels are coming off a 66-0 rout of Idaho, which followed a 27-6 home win over East Carolina. In fact, UNC hasn't allowed a touchdown at home this season -- the Tar Heels defeated Elon 62-0 in its opener -- nor has it given up a touchdown in its last 10 quarters, since the first half of a heartbreaking loss at Louisville.
An element of the fan base is intrigued, but the players are dripping with confidence. Couple that with a rare move to alternative uniforms for this Saturday's home game versus Virginia Tech in what is being dubbed as Carolina's first ever "White Out" and the players are downright stoked.
"It's probably the biggest thing of the week, honestly," said UNC quarterback Bryn Renner. "As kids growing up, we always saw the jerseys that we wanted to wear. Just going into the locker room and seeing something new is a big energy booster. I don't think the fans really know how much it means for us to wear a different helmet. We wear it with pride. For that to happen for us, it's huge."
The Tar Heels will don white helmets for the first time since the 1960s. It will essentially be the reverse of what UNC normally wears: White helmet with a Carolina blue interlocking "NC" on the side. The face masks will remain white. UNC will also wear white jerseys and white pants.
UNC's administration hasn't been too keen on changing the looks of its sports teams over the years because Carolina understands it has a rare brand in college athletics that isn't relegated to just the men's basketball program. So the decision to move forward sends a message that excites many fans.
The players wore the new helmets, which will be used for just this game, during Sunday's walk-thru. Special teams star Pete Mangum said the new look will energize everyone associated with the program.
"I think it's always exciting to wear something new that stands out," he said. "And it just brings another level of excitement and energy to the games."
UNC is calling for a "White Out, meaning it's asking fans to wear white shirts to Kenan Stadium on Saturday. So this isn't just a football team thing, but it's a way to incorporate the fan base into the team's psyche as well. And given what this program has been through in recent years, and even this season, where two of the home games have been affected by extremely hot temperatures in the opener and last Saturday's monsoon that kept Kenan half-empty for the opening kickoff, this offers everyone a chance to celebrate UNC football together. It's been a while since that has happened.
The other drawing card is an interesting team that few observers yet have a handle on.
At 3-2, Carolina is two plays from owning a 5-0 record. It lost by a point at Wake Forest and 39-34 to Louisville, the game ending with UNC at the Cardinals' 4-yard-line after a controversial no-call on an incomplete pass in the end zone that would have given UNC a stunning come-from-behind victory.
UNC didn't have the services of electric tailback Gio Bernard in either contest, and sure could have used him in some red zone mishaps in those games.
That said, the blowout victories have gotten the attention of a fan base that in large part has viewed this season as sort of an exhibition and a bridge to next season. But new coach Larry Fedora's fast-break offense is taking shape, hence the record-setting victories, and a new look with a disliked nemesis coming to town is already creating a buzz.
"Just looking forward to a lot of energy, we're going to need it, it's a 12:30 game," Renner said. "It's a big game for us, we're going to start a stretch of ACC play here and we really want to start it off on a good note.
"We're on our home field and we haven't lost this year on our home field, so we're looking forward to them bringing the energy and excitement."
It will be different, but a positive change of pace in Chapel Hill will serve as needed tonic.
