At Chapel Hill the regular season for the football team is over, but there is plenty still to do when it comes to the gridiron. The team, who a lot had slated to end up in the Military Bowl (Washington D.C), will be playing in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl on December 26, kick off being at 5:00 pm EST (ESPN2). North Carolina (7-5, 3-5 in the ACC) will be going up against Missouri (7-5, 5-1 in the Big 12) in the game that will take place in Shreveport, LA. Staying away from the game itself for now, as it is still almost three weeks away, I have a couple of thoughts on this bowl game for interim head coach Everett Withers and his squad.
On one side you have to admit that while this squad underachieved when it came to the season itself, in which they should have won at least two more games during the conference part of the schedule, the fact is that with a win on the day after Christmas it will give this program a fourth 8 wins season in a row. If you have followed this program you know that is a major improvement over the last decade and regimes before Davis’. On the other hand, since neither of the bowl games that UNC could have gone to were of any importance in the overall scheme of things, I would have to believe that the fan base would have prefered going to the nation’s capital than going to Louisiana. Adding to that last point, playing on the 28th probably draws more people traveling than the day after the biggest holiday of the year.
Reading around the boards the cost to head to this bowl game by airplane is in the neighborhood of $ 800, which is definitely something that in this economy can not be overlooked. Coach Withers told the media that the team will be spending the holiday away from home as the Heels will leave for the bowl game on the 22nd.
On another note when it comes to the program it seems that the search for a new head coach is going well, while not much is being ushered about it. Many candidates have been mentioned, including interim coach Withers, who did say that he had been interviewed, it’s likely he will not be the next one to run the program at Chapel Hill. In all four or fives names have been put out there, but a rumor today from an ex player’s tweet makes it sound like Larry Fedora, who lead Southern Miss to an 11-2 record and a Conference USA title, could be announced as soon as today as the new man on campus. I have learned, being a passionate follower of recruiting, that nothing is done until the official word comes down, and anything before that time is speculation, selfishly I will say, it’s a lot of fun blogging about it.
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