College football: UNC finding identity

By Aaron Beard

Associated Press

CHAPEL HILL — Deunta Williams has seen North Carolina turn in performances complete with tough defense and solid offense in wins against East Carolina and Virginia Tech. The safety has also seen days when the Tar Heels' offense did nothing or the defense couldn't protect a big second-half lead.

So which is the real UNC?

"I would hope that the real North Carolina is the team we're playing as right now," Williams said four days after the Tar Heels' road upset of the Hokies.

The Tar Heels (5-3, 1-3 ACC) return to action Saturday against Duke in the first matchup between the rivals in 15 years in which both teams have a winning record.

From there, North Carolina plays host to No. 16 Miami, then travels to Boston College and rival N.C. State to close the regular season. It's a demanding finish for a team still needing two victories to reach bowl eligibility.

UNC's 20-17 win against the Hokies coincided with the fact that starting center Lowell Dyer was back from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him for several weeks and tight end Zack Pianalto looked fully recovered from a dislocated ankle suffered in Week 2.

"Obviously, I think the real team is the one we showed out there on Thursday night," quarterback T.J. Yates said. "I think that's more of us than what we've showed in some of these times when we've struggled offensively and defensively. We've got to be more consistent, especially coming off a big win like that. Come back and being consistent in back-to-back weeks is something we're really trying to do."