Sept. 25, 2001

By Mick Mixon

At the public schools I grew up in, the kids you didn't want to mess with were the ones that had brothers at home.

They might not look like much, but they knew how to fight.

One day out behind Guy B. Phillips Junior High School, Bill Morgan started shouting at Preston Mooney. Bill was big, tall, broad-shouldered and loud. Preston was much smaller and much quieter but he was stocky, low to the ground and not afraid. Quite a crowd had gathered.

"I'M GONNA BEAT YOU SILLY," Bill hollered at Preston. "I'M GONNA HIT YOU SO HARD YOUR FAMILY WILL FEEL IT! WHEN I GET THROUGH WITH YOU YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO TRANSFER TO A GIRL'S SCHOOL!"

With a hint of a smile and with a wonderful, unforgettable calmness in his voice, Preston looked up at Bill and said the following:

"Bring it on."

That was Carolina on Saturday against Florida State. Just like the older brother battle-royals of home build character, toughness and survival skills, football games at Oklahoma, at Texas and at Maryland, even though they were all losses, hardened the Tar Heels in a way that enabled them to view the Seminoles as beatable.

After all, what's so intimidating about playing 6th ranked Florida State in Chapel Hill when you have already played #3 Oklahoma in Norman and #4 Texas in Austin?

Let's say that the Tar Heels were 3-0 coming in to the Florida State game, but with wins over Kent, Houston and Furman. Do you think that Carolina would have had the confidence and the psychological resiliency to defeat FSU?

Maybe. Coaches Bunting, Tenuta, Huxtable, Webster, Connors and all the rest are a group of serious, intense, competitive alpha males and their fire is highly contagious. Perhaps the Heels still could have done it.

But it is more likely that those three difficult road trips to open the season helped add a layer or two of iron plate to the Tar Heel's psyche.

So, what next? NC State has a future Sunday player at quarterback, the home field advantage and one of America's most energetic punt block teams. Will Carolina be able to carry the emotion from last Saturday to the practice field this week and then to Raleigh this weekend? Can the offensive line build on its success and continue to improve? Will Ronald Curry and Darian Durant play well? Will the kick coverage units do their jobs? Are the team's problems now fixed?

The future holds those answers and she doesn't like to show her cards, but it does seem clear that a corner has been turned.

John Bunting's first win as head coach was UNC's biggest victory in more than half a century. A culture of winning is being created, the players' faith in the coaches is growing, and, most significantly, the Tar Heels are learning how to fight.