University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Questions At Quarterback
September 4, 2001 | Football
Sept. 4, 2001
By Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com
John Bunting already knows what he will be doing this week. He'll spend a good bit of his time explaining his quarterback situation to the media.
That's the bottom line after Carolina's 23-7 loss to Maryland. It had been hoped that Ronald Curry might play so phenomenally that Darian Durant's role as a backup would be clearly defined. After all, Oklahoma has made plenty of quarterbacks look mortal, so maybe the Hampton, Va., native had just had a bad day last week.
Unfortunately, he had another bad day on Saturday. Curry completed half his passes, hitting six of 12 for 61 yards. Durant entered the game in the third quarter and completed 10 of 14 passes for 95 yards, but he also threw two interceptions.
"I'll be inclined to stay with what I've been doing," Bunting said after the loss to the Terrapins.
What he's been doing has been starting Curry. The senior didn't play an especially inspiring game against Maryland. The Tar Heels sputtered mightily under his direction, and when he came off the field he simply didn't look like he was having much fun playing football.
Of course, it's generally not enjoyable to spend a Saturday afternoon running for your life. The Terps sent blitz after blitz up the gut, and Carolina's recognition was lacking.
"We didn't block very well up front," Bunting said. "We haven't picked up the inside blitz yet. That certainly hurts [Curry's] confidence and the whole team's confidence."
Blocking the blitz is one thing. Taking advantage of it is quite another, and the Heels continued a recent trend by staying away from the middle of the field on offense. Running backs and tight ends combined to catch one pass-a five-yard reception by Willie Parker that came on a third-and-17 play.
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen wasn't impressed with Carolina's effort.
"Take away that one play, and they didn't do anything," he said.
Big words from a coach with only one career win to his credit. But truthfully, he was correct. Minus Parker's 77-yard touchdown romp, the Heels rushed 36 times for 41 yards, with 199 yards of total offense.
Some of the blame lies with horrendous field position, and that's why Curry will get the start next week against Texas. Carolina spent the entire day in the shadow of their goal line, and presumably that limited what Gary Tranquill was able to pull out of his playbook.
"When you're pinned back inside your own 10-yard-line you are limited as to what you can do," Bunting said. "We just couldn't punch it out, couldn't get a first down and get some breathing room."
Even when fan favorite Durant entered the game, the offense didn't roll the same way that it did last week.
Carolina continued to struggle on third down, including one third-and-one when they set up in the shotgun. The somewhat unusual formation didn't work, as Durant's pass to possession receiver Sam Aiken bounced off Aiken's hands and was picked off for an interception.
"I thought Darian played pretty well today," Bunting said. "Can he play better? I think so. We had a couple of dropped balls, and they made some plays and the ball got tipped around and intercepted."
"When he's called upon, he can make great plays," wide receiver Chesley Borders said.
Will he be called upon this coming week at Texas? It promises to be a hot topic of conversation.
ALSO 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.
