... step up if they're going to make a run for the ACC Conference Football Championship.

For too long we've seen late season collapses—mostly by the defense—that turned good seasons into bad ones and great seaons into good ones.

It goes back to 2004 when the Larry Coker-coached Hurricanes started out winning their first six games only to go 3-3 in their last six.

In 2005, with Coker still at the helm, the Canes went 8-1 in their first nine games and allowed just 11 pts/gm on defense.  They lost their last two out of three, giving up 24 pts/gm.  This was the year of the infamous 40-3 Peach Bowl loss to LSU.

In 2006, the Canes started out 5-2 and the defense held opponents to 13 pts/gm.  In their l...

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