Once again the ACC failed to win a national championship, as Wake Forest continues to hold that torch, dating back to 1956. It's tough to argue, though, that head coach Mike Fox has assembled a couple of the best teams in the nation the last two years, that were good enough to win the title. The only problem is, they just haven't gotten the job done.

Perhaps they've just run into a team of destiny in each of the last two years. OSU had everything going for them when they won all of those elimination games here in Omaha in 2006, and in 2007 they were just unstoppable, winning their final ten ballgames.

When teams get ousted from the postseason, it's never an easy press conference. But for some reason, this one seemed particulary tough. There sat juniors Josh Horton and Andrew Carignan, who will forgo their final year of eligibility and turn pro, and also freshman phenom Dustin Ackley, with head coach Mike Fox.

It's those two juniors that Fox had such a hard time trying to talk about. Visibily upset, Fox talked about what type of relationships have been formed during the last couple of years.

"We have a core of players on our team that have put our program where it is today," Fox said. "The four freshmen that came in 2005 put our program on the map. They have a great desire to win and they are a very special group.

"You try to hold it together. We've been together since August. I've seen these guys more than my wife and children. You become attached. You care for them. I can't show how much I care for them right now because they'll think I'm a wimp. The wonderful thing about coaching is the relationships."

No one could have blamed Fox if he did want to show ho much he loved his guys. Every team will tell you that they are a tight team and many use the word "family," and on a day like this, an outsider just can't understand what these guys are going to feel. The realization that months of work and preparation have led to them falling a game or two short for the second straight year, may also take a toll.

The Tar Heels set a record for number of victories of any UNC team in the past, with 57. Horton said after the game that he wouldn't trade anything for the relationships that he's made.

"My goal was to get back here to play for the national championship," Horton said. "I wouldn't say the same result though. I wouldn't trade a national championship for the relationships I've built this year with this team. I couldn't ask for a better year. All I wanted to do was get back here (Omaha) again."

Coach Fox has built the North Carolina program into one of the biggest contenders in college baseball, year in, and year out. They won the ACC Championship in 2007, something to be proud of. And they got right back to where they were in 2006, they just couldn't get a big hit, going 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position in the Finals.

That just won't get the job done.

Fox will have his team ready to go in 2008, with new guys to fill the roles of Horton and Carignan and the others that will be out of there like Robert Woodard.

Becoming the first team to lose in the Finals for the second straight season since Stanford did so in 2000 and 2001 is still an accomplishment, and is something these guys and coach Fox will remember for a long time to come.

The Tar Heels will be back, and who knows, maybe 2008 will see them finally get over the hump against Oregon State, their new nemesis.