University of North Carolina Athletics
Quotes From John Bunting And Jonas Seawright On The Tire Bowl Bid
November 23, 2004 | Football
Nov. 23, 2004
HEAD COACH John Bunting
We just got some good news down in Charlotte Today. We were issued an invitation by the Continental Tire Bowl people. What a great 72 hours this has been. Not only to finish off our season the way we did, to have a winning season for these seniors, to know that we are bowl eligible and then be able to play the game right here in our home state. It's great for our fans, great for the families of the student-athletes and great for all the other people who love North Carolina. It couldn't be any better.
Have you been able to tell the team?
I have not been able to tell the team. We made an announcement down there (Charlotte) and we're making an announcement here (Chapel Hill) so most of them will know. We will be seeing them on Sunday night at 9 p.m. and we will inform them and show them a video tape of the Continental Tire Bowl and all the exciting things that will happen down there in that game. We'll probably get our first practice a week from this Friday.
How does it feel to improve from where you were earlier in the season?
I always felt that we had a chance. I knew that our schedule wasn't going to get much easier as the season progressed because of the teams that we were playing. But I always felt like we would get better and we would have a chance to win a couple of big ball games, which is in fact what we did.
What was the message after the Utah game and how did the players respond?
We had a decision to make. That was a beating out there on the scoreboard. That was a beating on the field. A lot of players got hurt. And we had a four game schedule left in which I told them I thought we could win every one of those games. It was going to be hard, but we've come a long ways. Despite that game, I knew we had played well at times. We needed to continue to emphasize that we had been playing better together. That has been the motto of this senior group 'Now...Together' and that's what we needed to do. We emphasized that part of it, play better together.
What will you be thankful for the Thanksgiving
Having a football team that might be as unique as any I've ever been around because of the roller coaster ride that we had, tough losses playing against great football teams and then responding the next week back at practice. As I've mentioned several times, Monday night football here in Chapel Hill has been remarkable. Each week regardless of win or loss those guys came back to work and they really brought me back to life after some devastating losses. They responded every single Monday night in a manner that gave you tremendous hope that we would get better each and every week.
Have you ever been around a team that was able to have this kind of turnaround?
In one season, I don't think so. I talked to the team about that. I pointed out some teams that had made big turnarounds from 2003 to 2004 or 2002 to 2003. I said now we've got to do it in one season. We've got four games to get it done. And that's what is so special about this team.
SENIOR CAPTAIN Jonas Seawright
It's a great honor. I've been here almost five years. It wasn't an easy road the whole way, but I couldn't ask for it to end any better. It's my fifth year, senior year, going to a bowl game. Just as long as I get to spend it with people I care about and people who care about me.
What made you believe you could earn a bowl bid with just four games left
I think one of the most important things that gave us confidence was the speech Coach Bunting gave us in the locker room after the game at Utah. I think a lot of guys had to dig deep and realize that we could do this and we are capable of being a good team. We're doing something that nobody gave us credit for at the beginning of the season. One of Coach Bunting's mottos is 'Keep Sawing Wood' and I think a lot of players came together and did that and finally realized what we were here for and what we were capable of doing. We're pretty happy right now.
What have you seen this team do on the field over the last month?
One of the things that I don't think people realize is that for you to give yourself a chance to win you have to practice well. We finally realized that. We realized we had to practice hard to give ourselves a chance. We did that those last four games.
