Bosley Allen and the Tar Heel special teams could play at big role in the Oct. 14 game against NC State. In what many people still regard as the most exciting football game ever played between North Carolina and N.C. State, the Tar Heels edged the Wolfpack, 34-33, in a frantic 1972 duel at Kenan Stadium. A mistake in the kicking game. The name of the sport is football, but for some reason many fans pay little attention to the kicking aspect of the game.
Coaches seem to be the only people who worry about the kicking game and they do it incessantly.
But, they do it with good reason. There's no question that a strong kicking game can be the difference between an average team and a good one or a good team and a great one. Plus, a great play or an error in the kicking department can completely change a game around. It can alter field position and shift momentum as quickly as anything. That proved to be the case last week when a mishandled snap by a punter on one possession and a blocked punt on another led to two Georgia Tech touchdowns in a 42-28 victory by the Yellow Jackets over the Tar Heels.