ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9609030155
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
THE TAR HEELS GET OFF on the right foot with a stunning 45-0 victory in a rare August showdown in the ACC.
Maybe North Carolina should play Clemson in August every year.
Or, maybe the Tar Heels should play defense the way they did Saturday at Kenan Stadium every year.
Either way, two decades worth of frustration were released as Carolina held Clemson to six first downs and 91 yards and routed the Tigers 45-0.
``I thought this was by far the best defense we've ever played against a good football team,'' said Mack Brown, the Tar Heels' coach since 1988. ``I didn't think the game would turn out like this. If we played tomorrow, I know it would be closer.
``More than anything, it was our day and not many good things happened for Clemson.''
North Carolina, which was 3-15-1 against Clemson since 1976, made the Tigers look like one of the Mid-American Conference teams many of its ACC brethren have scheduled for the early season.
It was the first time since 1964 that Clemson had been shut out in successive games. The Tigers had been hoping to wash the taste of a 41-0 Gator Bowl loss to Syracuse from their mouths.
``We didn't get it washed out,'' said Tommy West, Clemson's coach. ``I'm disappointed. I'm down. We've just got to approach it as, we've lost one and we've still got 10 to play.''
Clemson and Carolina were picked third and fourth, respectively, in the coaches' preseason poll at the ACC's Football Kickoff in Hot Springs, Va., and both coaches expressed reservations about such an early showdown.
The game was moved to August for television purposes, and Saturday's meeting marked only the second time since 1961 the Tar Heels and Tigers have not played in November.
``There's a lot of risk playing a game like this and a team like this in August, especially when you have as many question marks as we did,'' said Brown, who takes his team to Syracuse on Sept.7.
``If you lose this one and get ready to go on the road, you're looking at 0-2 possibly again. We've tried that [the Tar Heels started 0-2 last year] and the fans weren't real happy about that.''
The Tigers won five games in a row before the Gator Bowl debacle and welcomed back the most experienced quarterback in the ACC, junior Nealon Greene. Carolina's starting quarterback, Chris Keldorf, was at Palomar (Calif.) Junior College at this time a year ago.
Keldorf, who did not learn he would start until Thursday, shrugged off an early interception to complete 15 of 22 passes for 182 yards, including touchdown passes of 14 and 45 yards to sophomore L.C. Stevens.
``Look at me,'' said the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Keldorf, who praised his offensive line and the defense. ``I'm not dirty. I don't even need a shower.''
It was apparent from the start that Clemson would have trouble moving the ball, but the Tar Heels led only 10-0 after a first half in which two plays, basically, prevented a scoreless tie.
UNC's first touchdown was set up when the Tar Heels caught Clemson in a blitz and Leon Johnson dashed 67 yards to the Clemson 1. Johnson scored on the next play to make it 7-0 with four seconds left in the first quarter.
The Tar Heels added to their lead when Josh McGee kicked a 37-yard field goal with 5:31 left in the half. Carolina had taken possession at the Clemson 20 following a fumble by punt-returner Antwan Edwards.
``I thought both teams looked a little sluggish in the first half,'' West said. ``Other than those two plays [Johnson's run and the fumble], not a whole lot happened.''
Carolina took command of the game with three third-quarter touchdowns, but the difference was the Tar Heels' defense, which held Clemson to a pair of first downs in the second half, one on a penalty.
Greene, who finished second in the conference in passing efficiency last year, was 8-of-19 for 41 yards. His longest completion went for 12 yards, and Clemson did not have a rushing play go for more than 8 yards.
``I don't think [Greene] had one of his better games, but Nealon wasn't by himself,'' West said. ``I said that Carolina might have the best defensive team in the conference, and I think they do.''
The Tigers' Raymond Priester, the 1995 ACC rushing champion, gained 34 yards in 15 carries. Clemson did a good job of containing Johnson, except for a 67-yard run, but he still finished with 160 all-purpose yards - 109 rushing and 51 receiving.
Johnson's team made few of the preseason Top 25 lists despite a Carquest Bowl victory over Arkansas and a sixth consecutive winning season in 1995.
``You want people to consider your football team as one of the Top 25 and we weren't there,'' Johnson said. ``Hopefully, they'll consider what we did today and take a look at us.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. North Carolina's Maurice McGregor bulls overby CNBClemson's Chris Jones for a touchdown during the Tar Heels' 45-0
victory Saturday. color.