North Carolina Without Yates

The injury to TJ Yates who was outstanding last year and in the first two and half games this season could not have come at a worse time for Butch Davis' team. The Tar Heels looked great two Thursday night's ago against Rutgers and was in control of the massive ACC clash with Virginia Tech this past Saturday when Yates went down.

Mike Paulus was a highly touted recruit at the QB position and many believed he could start in front of Yates. However, Paulus looked unsure of himself having to make critical throws against Bud Foster's Hokie defense. This was similar to the disastrous debut Ken Dorsey had in 1999 versus the Hokies when Kenny Kelly was knocked out of the game with the Canes up 10-0. The Hokies feasted on Dorsey's mistakes and lack of confidence and scored 41 consecutive points. Dorsey turned out alright as we all know, and the same could happen with Paulus.

Cam Sexton who beat out Nebraska transfer Joe Dailey for the starting job two years ago in John Bunting's final season as coach and the Tar Heels offense though shaky did okay. Sexton could be an option if Paulus falters on Saturday. Or Coach Butch Davis could opt to use both to keep Miami off balance. Either way it should be interesting.