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CHAPEL HILL -- It took three quarters of waiting, but North Carolina and South Carolina finally showed what all the fuss was about.

After a week of border state trash talk, debates about who the real Carolina was and endless references to the Duke-UNC game in 1989, the game between the Gamecocks and the Tar Heels looked like it would fall well short of the hype.

Then came a furious final 15 minutes that ended Saturday when South Carolina escaped with a 21-15 victory. The result left the Gamecocks (6-1) wondering what happened to them in the second half, while the Tar Heels (2-5) wondered what might have been had they made one more big play.

"The game was kind of a Tale of Two Cities," said UNC coach Butch Davis.

It was the worst of times in the first half for the Tar Heels. Thanks to turnovers, special-teams mistakes and an inability to protect quarterback T.J. Yates or defend the Gamecocks' tight ends, North Carolina went into the locker room trailing 21-3.

The list of wrongs committed by the Tar Heels in the first two quarters was a long one.

A botched zone coverage made South Carolina's first score look too easy. Connor Barth's streak of 19 straight field goals ended when he hooked a 49-yard attempt left. Brandon Tate got behind the entire Gamecocks defense, only to see Yates' pass go off his fingertips. Terrence Brown outpunted his coverage, leading to a 38-yard return that set up South Carolina's final score of the half.

"We were totally out of sync, out of rhythm," Davis said.

Two things helped turn the Tar Heels' fortunes around. UNC made adjustments in its blocking scheme that finally got its running game going and gave Yates room to breathe in the pocket.

And the Tar Heels got an unexpected assist from an old nemesis, Steve Spurrier.

After keeping UNC on its heels with a balanced attack in the first half, South Carolina seemed content to keep the ball on the ground and let the clock keep running.

Instead, the Gamecocks kept punting, and eventually the momentum swung in the Tar Heels' favor.

"I'm responsible for that putrid offense," Spurrier said. "We got to where we were ahead 21-3, and our defense was playing well, so I'm calling that run, run, crap."

That plan became a problem when North Carolina finally got its offense going late in the third quarter.

Playing without Tate, who left the game after taking a vicious hit late in the first half, the Tar Heels turned to his backup, true freshman Greg Little. His remarkable 18-yard catch, run and leap pulled UNC within 12 at 21-9.

Faced with having to come out of its offensive shell, South Carolina seemed to forget what it had done in the first half. Meanwhile, UNC had momentum and a reawakened crowd on its side.

"We just had to settle down," explained Tar Heels defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer. "In the second half, we decided we were going to play technique football, execute what the coaches were calling, and it paid off for us."

It might have paid off in a big upset, but UNC still kept getting nagged by costly mistakes.

On the Tar Heels' next possession, wideout Joe Dailey -- a former quarterback -- threw a wobbly attempt on an option pass that the Gamecocks intercepted at their 6. After responding with an interception of its own, UNC drove to the South Carolina 11, and with six minutes remaining, Yates threw what looked like a certain touchdown pass to Little on fourth down. But the ball went right through Little's hands and fell incomplete.

"I lost it in the lights, or whatever," Little said.

Almost as critical as Little's drop was the third timeout UNC used just before the play. Originally on fourth down, the Tar Heels lined up to try a field goal. But Davis eventually realized that three points wouldn't do much good and called the timeout to put the offense back on the field.

"We wasted a timeout," Davis said. "That's on me."

That proved costly later, after UNC had cut the deficit to six and got the ball back on its 31 with 41 seconds left. The Tar Heels moved to the South Carolina 31, but two last-gasp passes to the end zone were batted down.

Despite the loss, the UNC fans rewarded the Tar Heels with a standing ovation as the players left the field.

"One of these days they're going to be very, very proud of this football team," Davis said.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jyoung@news-record.com

South Carolina 14 7 0 0 -- 21

North Carolina 0 3 0 12 -- 15

SC--Lecorn 3 pass from Smelley (Succop kick)

SC--McKinley 30 pass from Smelley (Succop kick)

NC--FG Barth 45

SC--J.Cook 12 pass from Smelley (Succop kick)

NC--Little 18 pass from Yates (pass failed)

NC--Yates 3 run (pass failed)

A--61,000

South Carolina North Carolina

First downs 15 22

Rushes-yards 32-110 36-113

Passing 172 285

Comp-Att-Int 17-26-1 22-43-3

Return yards 74 30

Punts-Avg. 8-43.4 6-41.8

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-0

Penalties-Yards 6-40 8-67

Time of possession 25:56 34:04

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--South Carolina, C.Boyd 20-95, Mi.Davis 5-28, Smelley 7-(minus 13). North Carolina, J.White 6-37, Little 4-29, Elzy 11-23, Houston 5-18, Dailey 1-5, Yates 9-1.

PASSING--South Carolina, Smelley 17-26-1-172. North Carolina, Yates 22-42-2-285, Dailey 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING--South Carolina, McKinley 5-64, J.Cook 3-55, Lecorn 3-9, C.Boyd 2-19, Mi.Davis 2-14, Stafford 1-13, Saunders 1-(minus 2). North Carolina, Nicks 8-114, Little 4-50, Foster 4-24, Rome 2-27, J.White 1-36, Tate 1-18, Thornton 1-11, Pianalto 1-5.