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CHAPEL HILL — At first glance, the Meineke Car Care Bowl looks like a defensive matchup.

Seventeenth-ranked Pitt (9-3) heads to Charlotte with a dominant defensive line and leads the nation with 44 sacks. North Carolina (8-4) goes into the Dec. 26 game with the ACC’s No. 1 total defense, a unit ranked No. 6 in the nation.

Even so, Robert Quinn isn’t sure.

“They might be a mirror image of us, but I just don’t know,” North Carolina’s All-ACC defensive end said Thursday after the Tar Heels the first of 10 scheduled postseason practices. Then he grinned, sheepishly. “To tell you the truth, I’ve watched a lot of film on (Pitt) already, but I only watch the offense. I’ve never seen their defense.”
It’s pretty good, especially up front.

Pitt senior defensive tackles Mick Williams and Gus Mustakas and junior ends Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard are a half-ton of veteran experience. The four average 6-foot-3 and 274 pounds, and they have combined for 19½ sacks this year.

Backup linemen Myles Caragein and Chas Alecxih have nine sacks between them.

With so much production from its down linemen, Pitt doesn’t need to blitz much to put pressure on the opposing quarterback.

“They’re definitely a great defense, very athletic up front,” said Kyle Jolly, North Carolina’s 6-6, 310-pound senior left offensive tackle. “They’re one of the best defensive lines we’ll face all year. ... We haven’t studied them too much yet. Today was our first practice since the State game, so we’re more focused on us than them, working on fundamentals.”

The fundamentals of North Carolina’s defense are similar to those of Pitt: Play an aggressive 4-3 with the emphasis up front, pressure the quarterback and force turnovers.

That’s not a coincidence. North Carolina coach Butch Davis and Pitt’s Dave Wannstedt are close friends who were assistant coaches on Jimmy Johnson’s staff for 11 seasons with Oklahoma State, Miami and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Both are defensive specialists, and Wannstedt was Davis’ boss for seven of those 11 years.

“Dave’s an outstanding football coach,” Davis said. “His teams are extraordinarily well-coached. He’s got an excellent assistant coaching staff, guys who have got a lot of experience and have been with him for many years ...

“Dave’s fingerprints are all over this football team. They’re very sound in special teams. They play very physical defensively, which is certainly Dave’s background. You can tell just how stingy they are by watching how aggressive their front seven are.”

Sound familiar? That description could just as easily apply to the Tar Heels.

Quinn, a sophomore, has 11 of North Carolina’s 31 sacks. Senior end E.J. Wilson has 11 tackles for losses and three sacks, and 305-pound junior tackle Marvin Austin has four sacks.

Linebackers Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter are the Heels’ leading tacklers, and the secondary has 19 interceptions.
And now they’re going to their second straight bowl game.

“We’re a better defense than last year,” said cornerback Kendric Burney, who has five interceptions. “We’re veterans and know exactly what to do. Going down to the bowl game last year definitely was fun, but we came back with a loss (31-30 to West Virginia). That hurt a little bit, going home for the holidays with a loss.

“We just feel like (winning) will put our program right back playing for high stakes,” Burney added. “We win, it’ll put us in the Top 25, maybe a little bit higher. This time it’s more about winning the football game instead of being happy to be in a bowl game.”

And this time, it could be all about defense.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com