2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl Preview (UNC vs Pitt)

For the first time since 1997-1998, UNC is bowl eligible in back-to-back seasons. The Tar Heels return to Charlotte this year for their 2nd straight appearance in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. After falling to West Virginia 31-30 last year, Carolina's opponent in 2009 will be #17 Pittsburgh (9-3), who was mere seconds away from pulling off an upset against Cincinnatti on the final weekend of the regular season. A win in that game would have clinched the Big East title for the Panthers and sent them to a BCS game.

It has been a season of ups and downs for UNC, as they overcame a rough 4-3 start to win four of their last five games, finishing up the regular season with an 8-4 record for the second straight year. They have notched huge wins against the likes of Virginia Tech and Miami, but have also experienced frustrating losses against inferior teams such as NC State and Virginia.

All in all, given the injuries the Tar Heels suffered on the offensive line and the fact that they lost 3 key receivers to the NFL after the 2008 season (Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate, and Brooks Foster), the season has been a relatively successful one for Carolina under 3rd year coach Butch Davis. Progress is clearly being made with the football program in Chapel Hill, and Tar Heel fans are optimistic about what the future holds for UNC football.

With a season-opening primetime game already scheduled for next September against SEC powerhouse LSU, a win in the Meineke Car Care Bowl would be very important for the Heels and provide them with much needed momentum heading into Spring practice. A win over Pittsburgh would send the message that UNC has what it takes to join the conversation as one of college football's elite programs. Long referred to as a "sleeping giant" in the college football world, UNC has made a commitment to bringing big time football to Chapel Hill by hiring Butch Davis and pouring money into upgrading the facilities.


The key to UNC's success this season has undoubtedly been it's stellar defense. The Tar Heels have been ranked in the top-10 in total defense all season long, and a majority of the key players on the defensive unit are juniors. Although they have another year of college eligibility remaining, a handful of the players have caught the eyes of the professional scouts as well. At the end of this season, one or more of the members of UNC's defense may elect to forego their senior seasons and fulfill their dreams of playing in the NFL.

For this reason, there has been a lot of chatter this week about whether the Meineke Car Care Bowl could be the last time playing together for standout juniors Marvin Austin, Quan Sturdivant, Bruce Carter, Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams. There are no definitive answers as to who will be back next year at this point, but if UNC is able to hang on to a majority of these players they will certainly have an elite defense again in 2010 and be in great position to compete for an ACC Championship.

For the time being, the Tar Heels must focus on trying to beat a very tough Pittsburgh team. The Panthers were picked as the preseason favorites to win the Big East, and they fell just short of doing so as they blew a 31-10 lead in the final game of the regular season against undefeated Cincinnati, losing a heartbreaker by a score of 45-44.

Pittsburgh's electric running back Dion Lewis (pictured left) will certainly test the talented UNC defense. The 5'8 freshman has rushed for 1,640 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, and has topped the 100-yard mark in seven straight games. In the aforementioned season finale against Cincinnati, he carried the ball 47 times for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns.

One advantage it appears the Tar Heels will have in this game is fan support. In last year's bowl game against West Virginia, the Mountaineer fans traveled in large numbers to Charlotte and created a relatively neutral atmosphere for the sold out contest in Bank of America Stadium.

However, this year's game hasn't been quite as hot of a ticket, mostly due to the fact that Pittsburgh has reportedly only sold about 5,000 tickets. Estimated attendance for this year's game is about 45,000 according to bowl officials, way down from the 75,000 who attended last year. Although it is always disappointing when there are empty seats in the stands, the silver lining from a UNC perspective is that the crowd will be overwhelmingly pro-Carolina.

All in all, the Meineke Car Care Bowl is one of the most intriguing matchups of the bowl season. Both teams have showed flashes of brilliance this year and appear to be fairly evenly matched. Carolina fans are hoping that 2009 goes down in history right alongside 1982 and 1993, as years where their beloved Tar Heels bring home a national championship on the hardwood and a victory in a bowl game all during the same calendar year.