Bunting Stymies Controversy; Durant Will Start Next Week

Darian Durant would start, and C. J. Stephens would see some playing time.

But Durant's debut was surprisingly disappointing, and Stephens entered the game in the fourth quarter and almost pulled off a UNC comeback.

And so the QB conflict rose out of its short-lived slumber.

Would this season mirror 2001, when then-backup quarterback Durant came in against Oklahoma in the latter part of the game, outperformed starter Ronald Curry and caused the creation of UNC's rotating QB system?

After his weekly meeting with offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill on Sunday morning, UNC coach John Bunting said no.

"Let me just say this: We didn't give Darian the (starting job)," Bunting said. "He earned the job. He most definitely will be our starting quarterback against Syracuse."

The speculation surrounding the Tar Heel quarterback is silenced.

But with a poor performance like Durant had Saturday, some doubts are expected. The sophomore threw a career-high three interceptions and fumbled three times -- quite a contribution to the Tar Heels' ACC-record tying nine turnovers. But the constant showers made for a slippery ball, and Durant was working with a new center, Jason Brown. The two had trouble communicating, which contributed to at least three of the nine turnovers. That problem is something UNC will work on this week in practice.

"Darian certainly is a guy who we have high expectations of, just like we do of C.J.," Bunting said. "But I'm sure he's very disappointed in some of the decisions that he made, and that is his strength."

However, adding to Durant's detriments was a surprise comeback attempt spurred by Stephens. Bunting called in the reserve with 1:39 left in the game. He threw only 4 of 9 passes for 74 yards, but one converted to a 37-yard touchdown pass to receiver Sam Aiken to bring the Tar Heels within six.

Although he couldn't pull out a win for North Carolina, that was enough to make an impression.

"C.J. -- we didn't see much of him," said Miami coach Terry Hoeppner. "He came in with everything to gain and nothing to lose at that point. A credit to him, he made some shots and did a good job. ... If he'd have started the game, things may have been different."

It will take more than that to rock Bunting's faith in his original starter. He also saw the good things Durant did in Saturday's game -- tying career highs for completions and attempts -- and was strident in saying Durant will take the first snap in Saturday's game against Syracuse and putting the quarterback questions back to sleep.

"To be honest with you, controversy is not something that we deal with within our football team and within our family, I guess," Stephens said. "Controversy is kind of for the people on the outside to talk about, and we're not worried about it at all."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.