The evening before, the Tar Heels had blown a 24-6 lead with one bad quarter on ESPN's Thursday-night game.

Just when it looked as if Carolina would overcome a season's worth of uncanny injuries with its very best game against the Seminoles on national TV, everything slipped away.

Words such as "devastated" and "crushed" were used commonly to describe Carolina's spirit after that game.

The more appropriate word would have been "disappointed."

Yes, it hurt. Yes, the defense in particular, was embarrassed, one would imagine. But this team was not devastated; nor was it crushed, by any means.

Chalk up the misconception to diminished expectations in Chapel Hill following the decade of futility after Mack Brown left. Many of the Tar Heel faithful still required deprogramming by Coach Butch Davis, his staff and this collection of players.

What has happened instead of devastation has been a show of remarkable determination. UNC has overcome whatever obstacles fell in its way after the Florida State loss to improve and salvage a difficult season. Actually, this team has now put itself in position to do far more than save the season.

UNC pulled itself together one week after FSU and defeated nationally ranked Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., and then returned to Chapel Hill this past Saturday to defeat the Duke's best football team since 1994, by a 19-6 score.

"I told the players in the locker room when the game was over with that I felt like [beating Duke] was an enormous test of perseverance, character and courage," Davis said. "The ability to handle the types of things that this team has gone through over the last three weeks kind of speaks volumes."

Now, another challenge for Carolina arises from Florida. UNC (6-3, 2-3 in the ACC) will play fast and talented Miami (7-2, 4-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Kenan Stadium.

Last Saturday's game against Duke marked the only time this season the Blue Devils have failed to score a touchdown. The Duke offense has been prolific, particularly throwing the football, and the Blue Devils had a three-game ACC winning streak entering last weekend.

But Carolina jammed the receivers at the line of scrimmage by playing man-to-man, and the defensive line took care of the rest.

Thaddeus Lewis, Duke's QB, had nowhere to hide, run or throw for much of the afternoon. Beyond of a run for 19 yards and another for 14 by Lewis, Duke finished with minus-21 yards rushing.

So, at 6-3, with three games left on the schedule, eight or nine wins in the regular season remains statistically possible for Carolina.

Probable? Who the heck knows?

UNC's offensive line continues to be a car wreck. The Tar Heels seemingly cannot get through four quarters without helping at least one injured offensive lineman off the field, if everyone's life depended on it.

And starting tailback Shaun Draughn, who had far and away played his best football in the previous three games, is out for the rest of the season with a fractured shoulder blade.

But, sometimes, even the best performers need a nudge to break from old thinking and to do the right thing. The right thing for this team, the offensive line especially, is to run Ryan Houston. Listed at 6-2, 245 pounds, and possibly weighing more, Houston runs like a raging bull.

He does not have breakaway speed, but his constant pounding on defenses breaks tackles and eventually breaks many defenders' will. He's a four-quarter back, not a 10-rushes-per-game guy.

Houston carried a career-high 37 times for a career-high 164 yards against Duke, and he was at his best in the fourth quarter, when he started cutting against the defensive backs who had moved up in run-support but then slapped at him rather than tackle him.

With Draughn out, Houston will have some excellent help from Anthony Elzy.

Elzy has already proven he can run against the Hurricanes. He ran for 95 yards on 25 carries in 2007.

The combination of Houston and Elzy could be perfect for this game. Miami, as usual, is built for speed, and the only way to effectively run against the Hurricanes is quick dives right at them.

Straight ahead. East-to-west will get your runners on top of defenders close to immediately.

Elzy is nearly as powerful as Houston, but Elzy has much more speed. With Houston pounding on the Hurricanes, forcing the defensive backs to help in run support, that should be enough to eventually soften the defense for Elzy to break a run or two, given his combination of speed and power.

UNC's defense will need to continue its improvement and build on what it's done in 11 of the last 12 quarters, and the offense cannot get cute.

Run the ball, even when the run does not produce 1 yard. That is going to happen. As Houston showed in 37 carries, he will get his, eventually. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry against Duke.

And everyone knows the best defense for a potent offense such as Miami's is to keep it on the sideline. UNC needs some long, time-consuming drives to keep its defense rested and ready and to keep the Hurricanes' offense standing next to their coach, watching the game.

Beating Miami is a challenge of the first order. But Carolina has already proven it is resilient and capable.