When Carolina takes the field against Richmond on Saturday, most fans will expect a lopsided win for the Tar Heels. Indeed, that’s been the case for most of their games against FCS teams, and it’s also what happened the last time Richmond came to Chapel Hill in 1977.
The last time these teams faced each other – when Carolina made the return trip to Richmond in 1978 – things went much differently.
The Tar Heels and Spiders were both in Division I-A that year, the first season Division I football split
into two subdivisions. Carolina was a member of the seven-team ACC, while Richmond was an independent. Both teams entered the game below .500, with Carolina at 3-4 and Richmond at 1-8. The Tar Heels, playing under first-year head coach Dick Crum, were coming off an upset win at South Carolina and were looking to build some momentum heading into a trip to Clemson the following week.
Instead, a litany of self-inflicted wounds allowed Richmond to pull off what Spiders head coach Jim Tait called “the biggest win” of his tenure.
It started on the game’s first drive, as UNC forced a three-and-out but was flagged for having 12 players on the field during the punt, giving Richmond a first down. The Spiders took advantage, capping off the revived drive with a touchdown. Trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, the Tar Heels only managed to put themselves in a deeper hole; freshman quarterback Chuck Sharpe threw two interceptions that led to Spiders touchdowns, including a 59-yard pick six.
Down 21-0, Carolina got on the board before the half with a 1-yard run by Sharpe, but the PAT failed–a miscue that loomed large as the Tar Heels tried to mount a comeback. Junior quarterback Matt Kupec replaced Sharpe and led UNC on a scoring drive that could have made it a one-possession game in the third quarter. With the score at 21-12 after the touchdown, the Tar Heels had to go for two. They didn’t get it, and the Spiders’ lead stayed at nine points.
Carolina never got closer than that. Richmond answered with another touchdown later in the quarter, and the Tar Heels failed to score on a first-and-goal opportunity with 11 minutes left in the game. They did find the end zone later in the fourth quarter, but another 2-point attempt failed, setting up a final score of 27-18.
Despite a 151-yard day from sophomore running back Amos Lawrence, Richmond outgained Carolina 263-200 on the ground. The Spiders won the turnover battle 5-1, with both UNC quarterbacks throwing two interceptions.
After the game, Crum admitted to the media that he could tell his players’ minds “weren’t on Richmond,” a sentiment shared by Richmond safety Jeff Nixon, who had the pick six plus another interception.
“They may have been a little flat, they may have been looking ahead to Clemson – but stuff like that’s no excuse,” he said.
It’s possible the Spiders had some motivation heading into the game beyond avenging the previous year’s 31-0 loss. Richmond’s student newspaper reported that a UNC spokesperson had said earlier in the season while discussing scheduling that the Tar Heels “would play only top-notch Division I teams but would schedule a team like Richmond every year.” We may never know if that statement found its way onto any bulletin boards in the Spiders’ facility, but the paper was correct in predicting that Carolina wouldn’t play Richmond again for a long time.
While Richmond was the better team that day, any positive energy the upset may have generated didn’t last. The Spiders lost 30-3 at Chattanooga the next week and were winless the following season. The program dropped to Division I-AA after the 1981 campaign.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels lost 13-9 at Clemson the next week but finished the season with back-to-back wins over Virginia and Duke. They finished 8-3-1 in 1979 and were ACC champions in 1980.
It’s interesting that what probably would have been considered one of the worst losses in program history at the time has become little more than a historical footnote–a forgettable game in a forgettable season. With the Tar Heels favored so heavily that major sportsbooks aren’t even listing it, let’s hope this game against Richmond will be forgettable too.
