Sept. 8, 2002

By Woody Durham, The Voice of the Tar Heels

It's important to every football coach that his team make progress from its first game to the second game. Some believe that's when a team makes its biggest improvement. Coming off their opening loss (27-21) to Miami (Ohio), John Bunting felt the Tar Heels improved in just about every facet of their play in Saturday night's win (30-22) at Syracuse.

"We certainly progressed offensively," Bunting laughed, "because we had only one turnover. Defensively, we really played hard, just like we did the first week, but we played a little smarter. Our special teams got a lot better, and I hope that will carry over for the rest of the season. That was the pleasing thing for me."

After grabbing a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, Carolina saw Syracuse move ahead 14-10 in the second period, and then grab a 22-16 advantage in the third quarter. But each time the Tar Heels came back.

Dan Orner's third field goal, the 55-yarder which set a UNC record, pushed Carolina back in front by a 16-14 margin in the third period. Then in the final stanza, Darin Durant drove the Tar Heels 87 and 77 yards to pull out the 30-22 victory.

"That was the big thing this weekend," said Bunting. "We found a way to win. And, we found more than a couple of ways to win."

The offensive line was much better, even though Jason Brown didn't play as well as he would have liked in his second start at center. But the head coach liked the toughness the sophomore center showed when he came back from his injury problems in the first half. He also thought Skip Seagraves played his best game as a Tar Heel at right tackle. Overall, the offensive line showed considerable improvement in pass protection along with some aggressive run blocking.

Quarterback Darian Durant found his groove in the second half behind his offensive line and made some plays. "I told him at halftime 'Don't worry, we're going to go right back out there and play. You're the guy. You've been there before so let's just play the next play.' And, that's what he did in the second half as we converted 8-of-12 third downs and dominated the time of possession."

Jacque Lewis complimented Durant with 64 yards rushing in the last 30 minutes. He was tough enough with the ball to earn one of Bunting's three Chip Awards on Sunday. The NCAA doesn't allow the head coach to give out awards which cost anything. But recently when a lot of trees were cut down behind the Kenan Fieldhouse to make way for a parking deck in the Rams' parking lot, Bunting had some 14-to-15 inch chips gathered up and painted Carolina blue. He will give out at least two after every game, if certain players can earn them.

"I want our players to act and play like they have a chip on their shoulder," Bunting explained. "I want to play like tough guys, and do something physical or show leadership which inspires other players."

This week's awards, presented in a team meeting, went to Lewis, defensive end Jocques Dumas, who had his best game as a Tar Heel, and Wallace Wright, who made a tremendous impact on kickoff coverage. Bunting felt the kickoff coverage was as good as he's seen since he returned to his alma mater.

In addition to Dumas, the coach felt Isaac Morring played better, Carl Smalls and Donti Coats made some plays, and Chase Page grew even more against the Orangemen. He hopes Kendall High and Jonas Seawright will continue to show improvement.

Dan Orner didn't get a Chip Award, but Bunting created a Rock Award for the Michigan State transfer who tied an NCAA record with field goals of 52, 51 and 55 yards. That's a Carolina blue painted rock which weighs about 50 pounds, and Bunting said it was all Orner could do to pick it up and carry it off.

"I had gone into the game thinking we would kick field goals from the 31 or 32-yard-line, but after talking with Jim Fleming (who coordinates the special teams) I went back to the 34 or 35. When he made a couple of kicks I decided to give him a chance to kick one from the 37." That's when he set the record, and if Orner continues to show consistency he might earn himself a scholarship.

Now comes the game against #3 Texas which most Carolina fans have been anticipating for five years, but Bunting won't discuss Mack Brown with the Tar Heels. "We have only four players on our current roster who were recruited by Mack Brown," Bunting pointed out. "A lot of people will be talking about him, but as I said last year when we went to Austin, neither myself or Mack Brown will suit up. It's Texas versus North Carolina, and I'm not going to let it be a distraction for our football program."

That's because he wants the Tar Heels to continue improving.