University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Heels Win Third Straight
October 6, 2001 | Football
Oct. 6, 2001
By Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com
Go ahead, take a breath.
Other area schools always get to enjoy heart-pounding comebacks and thrilling victories. NC State had the "Cardiac Pack." ECU is well-known for pulling last-second upsets.
Meanwhile, there's Carolina, which never seems to do anything shocking in football. There's an occasional upset or explosion, but never three consecutive weekends.
When he was hired, fans might have worried that John Bunting wasn't "exciting" enough or wasn't going to open up the offense enough. But no one was asking for their money back after Saturday's 24-21 win.
After starting 0-3, it's ludicrous to complain about any win. But, hey fellas, there's no telling how much Carolina football fans can take. Already, these last-second games are ruining the postgame tailgate parties of folks who like to leave in the middle of the third quarter.
Each week, it's someone different for these Tar Heels. Before the season, very few casual fans knew the name of David Thornton, Darian Durant, or Derrick Johnson.
Thornton has developed into the team's big-play linebacker, Durant is stellar as the world's most famous middle reliever, and Johnson only made the game's biggest play against East Carolina by forcing a fumble on a long kickoff return.
There was a time this season, although it now seems like decades ago, when everything went against the Tar Heels. That buzzard's luck has now turned into leprechaun-like good fortune.
Ronald Curry has an open receiver in the end zone, waits too long, and then forces the ball into double coverage. But it miraculously snakes through two ECU defenders and into the waiting arms of Zach Hilton.
No matter what your opinion of Curry-and based on fan reaction to his presence, not everyone agrees-he is past due for some pleasant occurrences.
He's endured rotating coordinators, injuries, and mysterious game-plans that fail to take advantage of his talents. All through those tribulations, he's constantly shouldered the mantle of top quarterback on campus.
Maybe, just maybe, the solution was to provide him with some competition. Now that Darian Durant has burst onto the scene, Curry suddenly looks closer to the player everyone thought he was.
He'll still draw fire for bad reads or locking onto receivers. But when the Tar Heels needed a big third-down conversion against ECU, the senior from Hampton usually found a way to get it. After three years of putting forth a laid-back, almost casual attitude, Curry has developed a bit of a hard edge.
He showed it in the fourth quarter, converting a third-and-long with a spinning, diving run into the middle of the field that prolonged the drive that led to Jeff Reed's game-winning 49-yard field goal.
That one run won't propel him past Darian Durant in the quarterback popularity contest played by the fans. But if anyone is well-equipped to ignore public opinion, it's Curry.
It would be nice if the Tar Heels could spend this week patting themselves on the back and watching their own highlights. Or maybe the key to the turnaround has been the constant focus required by a ridiculously front-loaded schedule.
The problem with the past three weeks is that there hasn't been time to savor any of these wins. Beat Florida State, and then a matchup with loud-woofing NC State is next. Crack the Pack, and then it was time for a game that ECU had been awaiting for 20 years.
Even now, after coming through what looked like a murderous triumvirate of games at 3-0, there's no relaxing. Virginia is next, in Ronald Curry's last chance to beat his home state Cavaliers. It's also, all of a sudden, a very important game in the Atlantic Coast Conference race, and if Kenan Stadium isn't rocking then it will be a big disappointment.
The game even, and this should be whispered so as not to jinx anything, has bowl implications. Hey, if Maryland can be 5-0, then a formerly 0-3 Carolina team can surely talk about bowl games.
But first, they deserve at least a moment to breathe.
Previous Columns By Adam Lucas
Adam Lucas is the co-publisher of Basketball America. He is a lifelong observer of UNC sports and can be reached at JAdamLucas@aol.com.
