BY BRIANA GORMAN

bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates hears the criticism.

He hears it on campus when he's going to class, and when he walks off the field after a loss. The Tar Heels are 4-3 overall, 0-3 in the ACC, and Yates is becoming the prime target of fans' discontent since his numbers are down from the past two years.

But the third-year starter said he also has learned how to block out all that noise and to not take any of it personal.

"You can get all the fame, but you've got to take all the blame, as well," Yates said Monday. "It's kind of one thing that you've got to know you're getting into playing quarterback, that you're going to get it on both sides -- you get too much credit, and you get too much blame."

He certainly felt the fans' ire after Thursday night's 30-27 loss to Florida State. Yates, who threw for 64 yards and one interception, said that besides obscene things being yelled, he got hit in the helmet with either a pin or coin as he walked off the field.

"It's hard not to hear about all that stuff, but I try my hardest just to block all that stuff out," Yates said.

The junior has thrown eight interceptions along with seven touchdown passes this season and has one of the lowest passer efficiency ratings in the ACC.

Yates admitted that he's played better in the past, but he's also working with a young and inexperienced offense this year. After the 2008 season, his top three receivers left for the NFL and the offensive line has been plagued with injuries all season.

Yates said he understands why the fans are frustrated since the Tar Heels aren't producing wins, but he's also disappointed in some of the results.

"[The criticism] is getting laid on a little bit more thicker than in year's past, but it's the kind of thing I've learned to deal with," Yates said.

There is no question Yates' interceptions have hurt the Tar Heels the past few games, but there have been other offensive and defensive breakdowns. His interception in the third quarter of Thursday's game -- which he called a stupid decision -- only gave the Seminoles the ball on their 3, but FSU turned it into a 98-yard touchdown that cut UNC's lead to four.

"When I threw that interception, ... it kind of turned the whole game around," Yates said. "I'm pretty hard on myself about things like that, so I took it pretty hard after the game and the day after.

"I've got to look at the situation and kind of see what I can do better."

Despite Yates' struggles, teammates said they still have full confidence in him. The team recently voted Yates -- along with Quan Sturdivant, E.J. Wilson, Kendric Burney and Kyle Jolly -- as permanent captains.

Junior wide receiver Greg Little said he still trusts Yates completely and that the offense needs to help him out more.

"I feel like he needs more guys around him to give him a place to go with the ball," Little said. "I feel like we need to work harder to get open, as well as our line needs to block to give more time for him to throw the ball. ...

"It's not T.J.'s fault, and I feel like there's some things that we can do as a whole offense to better his situation."

NOTE -- Kickoff for the UNC vs. Duke game, which is to be played as the Tar Heels' homecoming game on Nov. 7, has been set for 3 p.m. and will be shown online at ESPN360.com.