State Up Next Not A Factor In Cutting The Cord To FSU

CHAPEL HILL – Conventional wisdom suggests North Carolina shouldn’t have much trouble cutting the cord to what transpired in Tallahassee this past Saturday night because of the opponent visiting Kenan Stadium this weekend.

But the party line doesn't always apply, so say the Tar Heels. Yes, NC State is a major rival and the players fully recognize the importance of this game regardless of the the teams' records records or what kinds of performances that decorated their more recent outings.

When working toward something much bigger, however, partitioning the importance of each game is a weekly mandate inside the Kenan Football Center.

NC State is big, but the long-term mission is bigger.

“Every opponent we play is very important, so we try to take it week-by-week,” said senior outside linebacker Tomon Fox. “We learn from the previous game and then we move on after that and we don’t stay focused on a team that we played the week before whether we win or lose. We just try to focus on the upcoming opponent.”

Now, this isn’t to say the players don’t embrace the rivalry aspect of this game, but their fortification as a program must adhere to that weekly mindset or else more self-inflicted trouble could ensue.

“I think when you lose you’ve got to have amnesia pretty much and just forget about it, because you can’t let Florida State or any team beat you twice,” junior running back Javonte Williams said, referring to UNC's 31-28 loss this past Saturdya at FSU. “If you continue to think about it, they’ll creep up on (and) you’ll lose both games and then we’ll be 3-2.”

So, that raises the question,: When did the Tar Heels cut that cord Sunday?

“I think after the film session, because every Sunday we watch the game, correct the mistakes, then we go out and have practice,” Williams said. “But since we got back so late, we didn’t have practice on Sunday, so after the film session Coach G (Robert Gillespie) was like he didn’t want to hear us talk about Florida State again or watch the film, ‘That’s past us, now we’re moving on to NC State.’”

And this will be the 110th meeting with the rivals from Raleigh, who happen to be a pretty good team. The Wolfpack has won three consecutive games, stand at 4-1 and are ranked No. 23 in the nation. It’s also won three straight in Chapel Hill and is 7-3 versus the Tar Heels at Kenan this century.

There’s plenty of motivation fueling the No. 14 Heels in this one, but once again, the grounded nature of the team’s disposition may be the biggest storyline this week. This is the process in full mode.

“I think at the end of the day it’s a pride game,” said junior center Brian Anderson, who hails from Alabama. “It comes down to two teams that are 30 minutes down the road from each other. If you want to have the pride of the state and earn the respect of the nation, you’ve got to win the in-state games first.

“So, that’s what it means to me: an in-state opponent and an opportunity to get an advantage on them to help earn a name for yourself.”

And a chance at another win, to get better, to restore some of the mojo lost at Florida State, to move up in the polls and take another step in achieving the big-picture mission the program ahs set in place.

That, more than anything else, has helped the Tar Heels cut the cord this week.