University of North Carolina Athletics
Coach Bunting's Post-Game Quotes
August 26, 2001 | Football
Aug. 26, 2001
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Q: Did you think the game was out of hand when you put in Darian Durant?
Coach Bunting: "I wasn't sure at that point, really. I wanted to get our backup quarterback some work, I wanted to see if we could move the ball with a second quarterback.
"But, it was pretty incredible odds we were up against at that point."
Q: What is your overview of the way the team played?
Coach Bunting: "We don't have a chance to win many games if we don't secure the ball.
"I'm extremely proud of the defense. I'll be honest with you guys, in my 13 years of playing and 12 or 13 years of coaching, I've never been around as courageous an effort as I saw out of this defense. Never.
"I've never seen guys battle incredible field positions, you know, intercept for a touchdown, kickoff return for a touchdown. I've never seen a defense that battled as much as those guys battled tonight."
Q: Do you think nerves were the problem early in the game?
Coach Bunting: "That's one of the reasons why I wanted to play this game. We're a young team with a young offensive line and young backs that was trying to play against a great defense that's fast and blitzes well.
"We had too many second and longs. You can't do that because you know they're going to come after you.
"Do I think we were a little anxious? Yea, we were geeked to play this game. These guys were hungry to play this game. Sometimes, with a young team, that can work against you. That's why I wanted this game, so we could gain a little experience."
Q: Is there a chance that Durant will start against Maryland?
Coach Bunting: "Ronald Curry is my quarterback right now, but Darian's going to play some quarterback for us this year, there's no doubt about it. He's a gutty performer, he's a playmaker."
Q: Were you afraid in the first period that you might be looking at 70-0?
Coach Bunting: "(Laughing) It crossed my mind. It was the longest first quarter I've ever been involved with in my life. I didn't think it was going to end. I thought maybe they were adding time to the clock."
Q: What did you say to the team at halftime?
Coach Bunting: "I picked up on the fact that this football team has made a commitment to each other to lay it on the line, and I picked up on the fact that our defense was playing hard. We gathered everything that we could behind that.
"These guys may have thought about cruising because of the bad situations we were in, but they just kept playing. That's what we talked about at halftime. At one point, they had 38 points and 115 yards of offense. I've never been around that in my life. Obviously, it shows you the terrible positions these guys were put in.
"So, my comment to them was let's go out and play this thing like it's 0-0 and let's see what we can do. Let's keep battling this great football team we're playing and learn more about ourselves. Let's get some respect to take home on that plane."
Q: What did you see in the offensive line?
Coach Bunting: "I see that it got better. It's no doubt about it. They blocked some people, they pass protected some, we ran the ball a little bit better at times.
"I think they got better in this game. I think the team got better in this game."
Q: Can you quantify how much the team improved in the second half?
Coach Bunting: "I this team grew subtantially, I can't tell you how much. The only way we'll be able to answer that is with how well we play against Maryland next week."
