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Matt Kupec still
amazed by quarterbacldng assent
DTHATTen Jernlgan
Tar Heel junior quarterback Matt Kupec
...'It's a lot more fun this year'
By LEE PACE
Sports Editor
Four Carolina quarterbacks sat around an
Ehringhaus dormitory room one morning two years
ago explaining to a reporter why eachpf them was any
good or any bad and why Bill Dooley should consider
each of them the best to spend the fall handing the ball
off to Mike Voight, and, if they ate all of their peas and
carrots, throw an occassional pass.
John Stratton, at the moment, was the best of the
four. A broken wrist would have something to say
about that, though, later in the week.
Clyde Christensen was just in from Fresno City,
(Calif.) Junior College, and was new to the Carolina
system. He didn't play all year.
P.J. Gay would have been there, only it was difficult
for him to get around with his knee mashed up arid all.
Bernie Menapace hadn't played any the year before
because of a foot injury, and had only been moved to
quarterback from defensive back a few days earlier.
He would start five games at quarterback in 1976
before being moved to the bench and then back to -defense.
The other quarterback was Matt Kupec, a freshman
in eligibility. The brother of former Tar Heel Chris
Kupec, Matt injured his -knee after two weeks of
preseason work in 1975, took a medical drop and
seriously considered not coming back to Chapel Hill.
But when it became his chance to speak that morning,
he squelched any rumors that Carolina was rid of the
Kupec family.
"Yeah, I'm here, here to stay for four years," Kupec
said. "I hope to play some jayvee ball this year and just
learn the system."
He learned the system, all right. Two months later
he started his first game against N.C. State, and has
been No. 1 ever since.
Today Matt Kupec looks at the situation with an
expected amount of wonder.
"It's incredible," he said last weekend. "Stratton was
a junior then, so 1 figured I'd be fighting for the
I Wb&'riz F3r- n
Sports
starting spot this year, my junior year. But I've already
started now for almost two years."
.
Kupec could start for two more years. He and Clyde
Christensen currently are fighting for-the Io. 1
position, but Kupec feels that no matter who starts,
the UNC quarterback will be much more active ths fall
than he has been in the past.
In Dooley's I-formation, the quarterback had much
less responsibility than most quarterbacks. Kupec
threw 105 passes last fall, most of them on sprint-outs,
and completed 59 of them. Wake Forest's Mike
McGlamry threw 252 times. State's Johnny Evans
threw 203 passes. Mike Dunn of Duke threw 191
times, and Steve Fuller of Clemson threw 205 times.
"It really got frustrating last year," Kupec said. "I
had some injuries, 1 wasn't passing any and wasn't
contributing."
But with the veer offense that coach Dick Crum has
installed, Kupec sees the quarterback playing a much
more important role.
"It's a lot more fun this year," he said. "It's a better
opportunity to be productive. As. a quarterback you
love to throw the ball. Coach Crum has said we'll
throw the ball maybe 20 or 25 times a game.
The switch from a sprint-out passer to a drop-back
thrower is a big adjustment for Kupec, but one he's
happy to make.
"Drop-back passing is totally different," Kupec
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132 E. Franklin St.
next to Mad Hatter
967-5400
Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.-3 a.m.
B
ear cautious in assessing Alabama victory
said. "We usually have Jive people out on patterns. If
you can't find someone open, you can hit a back in the
flat. A five-yard pass to a running back can turn into a
long touchdown run. It really puts pressure on the
defensive secondary."
Last season Kupec was bothered off and on by a
bruised shoulder and knee and missed one game a 10
7 loss to Texas Tech. And although those injuries have
healed, Kupec feels the dangerous nature of the veer
-will allow at least two quarterbacks to get plenty of
playing time.
"In the veer the quarterback gets hit a lot more. I
think you'll see two quarterbacks play a lot. Clyde will
see a lot more action. In the veer the quarterback takes
a beating. And we're not the strongest people in the
world. But you can't do to much about injuries. If you
start thinking about getting injured you may as well
hang up your cleats."
Kupec was almost ready to hang his cleats up three
years ago after he fell to the practice field with torn
ligaments. One of seven children of a high school
principal m Syosset, N.Y., Kupec found the distance
from home and the pain in his knee too much for a
freshman to handle.
"I was a long way from home, I was new here, it was
the first time I was away from home," Kupec said.
"That fall when I was home I looked at some schools
closer to home and thought about transferring. But in
January, 1 decided to come back here."
Kupec still has frequent contact with brother Chris,
who set several school passing records in 1974, his
senior year. The two 'brothers have spent many hours
over the years running pass patterns for each other.
"Hes good to talk to," the younger brother said.
"He's in law school here. I talk to him a lot on the
phone. He's got a really good ear. He's sympathetic.
He's been through it also. He knows the right things to
say."
In 1978, though, Matt Kupec hopes he won't need
any nelp trom anybody.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Even after an
impressive 20-3 triumph over lOth-ranked
Nebraska, Alabama coach Bear Bryant still isn't
convinced that the Crimson Tide is the No, I
college football team in the nation.
"We're still nowhere near where we were at the
end of last year," Bryant said in the wake of the
season-opening victory. Saturday night. "We're
much better on defense but we're just as far behind
on offense."
That might seem like an unusual assessment.
True, top-rated Alabama's stingy defense limited
the dangerous Cornhuskers to 110 yards rushing
and 64 passing, but the Crimson Tide's offense
rolled up 264 yards on the ground and 54 through
the air.
However, 55 yards of the 3 18-yard total came on
a first-period drive that ended in a missed field goal
attempt and 99 more were reeled off in a seven
minute, 1 6-play second-quarter march capped by a
four-yard scoring pass from Jeff Rutledge to
Major Ogilvie.
"We had the ball more but didn't score that
much, which speaks highly of their defense,"
Bryant said. "Our defense gave us the ball enough
to win a lot of games."
Rutledge, the goat of the 3 1-24 loss to Nebraska
last year when he suffered his only five
interceptions of the season, completed only five of.
13 attempts, but his touchdown pass gave
"Alabama a 7-3 lead. Tony Nathan 'scored from the
two in the. third period after Don McNeal
intercepted a pass at the Nebraska 39 and a three
yard run' by Rutledge with 2:17 left sealed the
victory after Jeff Quinn, Nebraska's second-string
quarterback, fumbled.
The 'Bama defense was keyed by tackle Marty
Lyons, nose guard Curtis-McG riff, ends E.J.
Junior and Wayne Hamilton, and linebackers
Barry Krauss, Rich Wingo and Rickey Gilliland.
Meanwhile, Temple almost upset third-ranked
Penn State Friday night. The Nittany Lions
needed a 23-yard field goal by Matt Bahr, a
professional soccer player with one year of college
football eligibility remaining, with. 10 seconds
remaining to win 10-7.
"We were lucky," said Penn State coach Joe
Paterno. "Temple defensed us well."
In other results Saturday: North Texas State
49, Texas-El Pase 0; Tulsa 21, Arkansas State 20;
Mississippi State 28, West Texas State 0; East
Carolina 14, Western Carolina 6; Northern
Michigan 30, Eastern Michigan 3; Southern
Mississippi 10, Richmond 7; Drake 25, Texas
Arlington 23; South Carolina State 47, Virginia
State 0; East New Mexico 42, Sul Ross State 0;
Morgan State 13, Maryland-Eastern Shore 10;
Northern Iowa 15, Wisconsin-Whitewater 12;
Tennessee State 13, Middle Tennessee 6; Nicholls
State 20, Tennessee Tech 10.
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Alabama's Bear Bryant
...his team won opener
9
D veJ IPiFat win a 'comedy ?of errors
V-- - - - - "-"V -ri effort vinintivo ilrAu
Wednesday Nite, Sept. 6
TALL DOGS
TIGHT FUSION JAZZ ROCK
Coming September 12
MOSE ALLISON
From Wire Reports
GREENVILLE More than 31,000
East Carolina fans, the largest home
crowd in Pirate history, cheered their
team to a 14-6 victory over Western
Carolina Saturday, but ECU coach Pat
Dye, who must ready his team for N.C.
State this Saturday -and Carolina the
next, wasn't cheering. -
"Oh me, you don't have to be an
Einstein to figure this one out," he said.
"It was a very frustrating night, a comedy
the
A week of UNION sponsored activities for your involvement.
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SEPT. 8
Bluerass Experience
Connor' lawn 8:00-11:00
Super Friday Movie: "Sound
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in Carroll Hall. Admission $1.00
now6h sale at Union desk.
WED.
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and peanut butter for your
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"Jugglers and Bellydancer" in
Pit 1:00 Square Dance in the Pit.
Beaver Valley Boys.
Refreshments.
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t!f.li.l! IJCfs
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of errors from a football team that lacked
a killer instinct."
Western Carolina and coach Bob
Waters were the winners. Dye said. "He
got more out of their players than we got
out of ours," he said.
"We were just not a polished football
team. It was a comedy of errors. We
played like we didn't know each other."
It was a difficult night for the Pirate
offense, plagued by fumbles, dropped
passes, penalties and interference, not to
mention a tougher-than-expected
Catamount defense.
ECU quarterback Leander Green,
usually a slippery runner, ended up with
nine yards on 13 carries.
"Normally, you play like you
practice,"Dye grumbled, "and that's the
way it was. We were terrible Monday,
salvaged something Tuesday and were
terrible again Wednesday and Thursday
offensively."
After grabbing an early 7-0 lead, the
Pirates could have buried the
Catamounts, who fumbled inside their
24-yard line three times in the first half
and had two passes intercepted.
But the offense could not cash in.
Instead, two field goal attempts were
blocked and ECU couldn't score again
until Green hit Ray Washington for a 60
yard touchdown pass in the fourth
quarter.
Ummh.m$l till! itUiHm twill IMifl
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