University of North Carolina Athletics
Droschak: Running Out Of Chances
October 14, 2006 | Football
Oct. 14, 2006
by David Droschak, TarHeelBlue.com
CHAPEL HILL - Cam Sexton rubbed his hands together faster and faster as if the UNC quarterback wanted to start a fire, answering questions from reporters in the bows of the Kenan Football Center.
But once again, there was no spark, no real flicker of life coming from the Tar Heels on Saturday.
And now, North Carolina is running out of chances to turn its season around following a 37-20 loss to South Florida.
At 1-5, the Tar Heels are no longer thinking about a winning record or a bowl trip. One win, any win, will do at the halfway point of the season for John Bunting and Co.
Jesse Holley said the team began 2006 with high aspirations. When asked if some of the team's goals were still attainable, Holley shot back: "We came in to the season wanting to be ACC champs. Do you think that's still reachable? All right then."
The senior wide receiver has never been one to mince words, but on this day his answers were short and to the point as the air is slowly being sucked out of the Tar Heels week by week, loss by loss.
"Disappointed -- period," Holley said. "We've let a lot of people down -- the fans, ourselves, the coaches. The fans came out here to support us again and we disappointed them."
When asked if he believed the season is slipping away, he quickly responded: "A little bit. We are what our record is. That's it -- period. We'll try to get to 2-5 and go from there."
Bunting is correct when he says a lot of football is still left to be played. But why isn't North Carolina improving, why did a middle of the road Big East team in South Florida come in to Chapel Hill this weekend a slight favorite, and leave a convincing winner?
The further the Tar Heels fall into the abyss the cloudier the answers become. But the feeling among the players and staff is quite clear and rather painful.
"We're tired of standing around in the locker room after games talking about these things," Sexton said. "We needed a win. Once again, we've got to move on, but coach Bunting hasn't lost this team and none of us have lost confidence. Sooner or later we're going to stop talking about it and actually go out there and do it."
Not this time.
What hurt most was the Tar Heels pointed to the South Florida game as a turning point in the season, considering Virginia, Wake Forest, N.C. State and Duke are still left on the schedule - all winnable games.
"My emotions are that I play with a bunch of winners, a bunch of competitors and we HATE losing, we HATE losing," Sexton said. "When you're 1-5 it's not easy walking around campus. I know the fans are upset and we're upset. But we can't be upset any more. We've got to go out and do something about it and that's what is going to make this team."
The Heels got off to a good start this time, scoring the game's first TD. But UNC couldn't maintain any sort of momentum at a high level. This 10-point first-half deficit came because of a pair of Sexton interceptions that allowed South Florida short fields and a series of bad penalties that halted potential UNC scoring drives.
"You guys saw it, penalties kill you," Holley said. "They are momentum killers and it cost us a lot today."
Sexton wasn't really effective, completing just nine of 26 passes for a measly 117 yards. It was clearly his worst game in just his fourth career start as he was sacked five times and making several more poor throws that also could have been picked off.
"I gave them field position and the points. That's on me," Sexton said. "I can't make those throws. They were terrible.
"I've got play better than that. I felt like I was making progress, but those two interceptions gave them 14 points. I've got to play better than that."
Despite his mediocre play, Bunting didn't replace his freshman with Joe Dailey, who won the starting job in the preseason but lost it after the club started 0-2. The coach said the though crossed his mind several times, but that Sexton gives the Tar Heels the best opportunity to win - and move forward.
There was plenty of blame to go around. The defense allowed 417 yards, including a 71-yard drive to open the second half when the Tar Heels needed a stop to get back in the game.
The Tar Heels were also flagged for a season-high 10 penalties for 87 yards. For whatever reason, this club can't seem to minimize mistakes and maximize opportunities. On one occasion, North Carolina executed a perfect fake field goal, only to be flagged 15 yards for a personal foul penalty away from the play.
And time is running out to fix things.
The players and coaching staff will return Sunday because of a quick turnaround. The Tar Heels play again Thursday night game at Virginia, another team that is struggling as much as North Carolina.
"It doesn't look good now, but we will not lose our confidence," Sexton said. "We will not lose our poise. We're going back to work."
Ah, the C word, something Bunting spoke about as being fragile at best with this bunch.
"We're struggling with that right now," the coach said. "We need to pump some air into these guys."
And soon.
David Droschak is the former sports editor for the North Carolina bureaus of the Associated Press, the largest news-gathering organization in the world. In 2003, Droschak was named the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year. He currently works in public relations at Robbins & Associates International, based in Cary.
