University of North Carolina Athletics
John Bunting Postgame Quotes
September 25, 2004 | Football
Sept. 25, 2004
Postgame Quotes vs. Louisville
Sept. 25, 2004
That was a very disappointing loss to a team that is a very fine football team, something that we all acknowledged going in, but a team we hoped to play a heck of a lot better than we did. The first half I thought we still had a shot to play with these guys despite the fact we had been in their territory three times and got no points. I still thought we would go back out and play a lot better in the second half and we actually played awful, particularly on offense. They had no energy. That's very, very disappointing. Defensively, as difficult as it was, initially in the first drive I thought the kids played hard, did some good things, to keep that game to 10. That's exactly what we talked about at halftime. It's time for the offense to step up and we didn't. We had opportunities to make plays and we just didn't come up with them. We had way too many dropped balls and you can't do that in a game like this.
I know the kids are disappointed and all our great fans are disappointed and yours truly don't feel very good about it at all. After this, we're now 2-2, round four is over. Once again, we have a very difficult schedule from here on out. We have to find a way to play a heck of a lot better than that and when we have opportunities we have to make those plays.
(on players saying that that some players had their head down in the second
half)
It's not something I've addressed at this point. I know I've heard a couple
of players talking about that and I'll talk to the team again on Monday and
I will address that. I'm not sure how you were raised, I know how I was
raised and I'll never put my head down. Never have, never will. There's no
reason to do that. If you put your head down, you are not going to be very
good.
This is a wonderful game to play, college football, and are allowed to
coach. It takes energy to play, you have to be upbeat, you have to look
forward to the next play. And that's precisely what our coaching staff
talked with our team about at halftime. Let's go back out there and get
started in the second half and let's get going. Because this is a heck of a
team we are playing but guess what -- we are right there. We're right there.
Instead of going out and playing well, we just didn't play well at all.
(did the team give up in the second half)
No, absolutely not.
(do you think the team felt too good about itself after hearing so many good
things after Georgia Tech)
I don't how Louisville is going to hand anything to you except a big
spanking. Took us out behind the shed, took our pants down, belted us. What
I mean by that is, it's hard for me to believe that our football team after
beating W and M and getting smoked by Virginia and then going out and
beating Georgia Tech on a real exciting evening here would then all of a
sudden believe that they have got it made. I don't believe that at all.
(Matt Baker)
I certainly don't like playing him in that situation, but he certainly needs
to play and I thought he did very well, except for the interception and he
put the ball on the ground.
(Terry Hunter)
He got on the field and got his feet wet a little bit. I can't tell you
exactly how he played, but it was a good to get him in the game. He's a real
talented kid. We have got a lot of talented kids on this defense , they are
going to be really good players in time. They are very young, but they are
going to be really good players. I like them a lot.
