Bunting disproves doubters

As soon as the final whistle sounded, the North Carolina football team sprang into action.

Across Wallace Wade Stadium sat the object of the team’s quest — the Victory Bell. All the Tar Heels rushed to claim the Bell, taken from their possession a year earlier by a pesky Duke squad. And they came armed with spray paint.

The Tar Heels painted the Bell powder blue on Nov. 20, just as they had painted the town blue all season, inspiring what had been an apathetic fanbase and earning support for much-maligned Coach John Bunting, who minutes later was toasting a contract extension.

Never has 6-6 looked so good.

That record was far better than any prognosticator not wearing an N.C. on his shirt could have predicted, and the six victories included two of the most memorable wins in school history.

The Tar Heels started 2-2, but the wins against Division 1-AA William & Mary and a mediocre Georgia Tech team were offset by embarrassing blowouts against Virginia and Louisville.

The Cardinals especially humiliated UNC, handing the Tar Heels a 34-0 loss at Kenan Stadium that put Bunting’s job in jeopardy.

But a last-second victory against hated rival N.C. State on Oct. 9 was a sign of things to come for the Tar Heels. Their defense, which had been woeful for much of the season, stopped Wolfpack running back T.A. McLendon on the one-yard line in the waning seconds to secure the win.

McLendon had seemingly scored on the previous play, but the points were taken off the scoreboard after the referees conferred and overruled the initial call, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Freshman defensive lineman Khalif Mitchell forced McLendon to fumble on the next play, preserving the 30-24 win.

“I wanted (McLendon) all night, and I didn’t get a chance to hit him all night,” Mitchell said. “And I was like, ‘If I get my hands on him, I’m going to go get him.’”

But the Tar Heels were on the road to improvement, and the dramatic win proved to be only a stepping stone.

“(The players) are a very resilient group,” Bunting said after the N.C. State game. “Are we the best football team? Are we even an average football team right now? Probably not. But we certainly try hard, and we might get better. We might surprise some people.”

UNC certainly surprised the college football world three weeks later when it humbled then-No. 4 Miami. Freshman Connor Barth’s game-winning field goal soared through goalposts that fell seconds later as the jubilant crowd stormed the field.

The surprise win was the result of a North Carolina team that refused to be intimidated from the opening kickoff. On the first series of the game, quarterback Darian Durant delivered a strike to wide receiver Mike Mason, who out-lept Miami’s All-American cornerback Antrel Rolle for a touchdown.

“Our guys are as equally or better than their guys, bottom line,” said sophomore wide receiver Jesse Holley. “We had to come out there and show them, ‘We’re not afraid of you.’”

And though the season ended with a disappointing loss to Boston College in the Continental Tire Bowl, the fact that UNC was still playing at the end of December was a victory in itself.

And a victory for Bunting.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.