A Sad State of Affairs

DISCLAIMER: In case authorities report a seismic event in the Topsail Beach area about 2:30 Saturday, it wasn't an earthquake - it was a large man jumping off the John Bunting bandwagon.

Saturday may have been the first day of fall, but it was the beginning of the winter of discontent for fans of the University of North Carolina football team.

"Embarrassing" was how John Bunting described his team's performance against Clemson, and there is simply no more fitting word for it. Carolina was woeful on both sides of the football and was thoroughly and completely dominated by a team ranked #19 in the country and in second place in the ACC standings. There is no need to write a Good, Bad, and Ugly report, because it would simply the the "Occasionally Bad but Mostly Ugly" report.

I will allow that a bias may exist in the comments that follow, because I am simply disgusted with both the game at Clemson and the apparent lack of progress in Bunting's sixth season. But having been a rather ardent supporter of Bunting the past few years, I can make these comments with a clear conscience.

Four games into the season, there are so many deficiencies with this football team, it is hard to find a place to begin, but the primary issue is on defense. The defensive line play has been atrocious, and there appears to be a lack of quality depth on the line. Moreover, the D-line appears to be weak and gets blown up by even a I-AA offensive line like Furman's. Even worse at the beginning of the season was the horrid play at linebacker, so much so that the defensive staff moved some of the defensive backs to linebacker. The obvious result is a lack of depth at defensive back, but the play at that position has been the one bright spot on a horrific defense. The D-backs' tackle totals are soaring because the line is getting blown up so often, so maybe NFL scouts will be impressed by their numbers.

The story reads not quite as badly on the offensive side of the football. If the offensive coaches really feel Cam Sexton is their best option at QB, then they must really think Joe Dailey is awful. Sexton is supposed to have a great arm, but he threw more airballs and bricks Saturday than Shaq at the free throw line. Meanwhile, though Dailey has a higher completion rate than Sexton, the problem is that it is often to the other team. Carolina does appear to be solid at running back and receiver, but none of that is any good if the offensive line can't block air, which they cannot appear to do. Carolina's tackles were repeatedly smoked against Clemson, had 3 or 4 false starts, and the personal foul on Chacos was a nice touch - glad the compliance office spent that time and paperwork to get him a sixth year.

On special teams, at least our kickers have looked a little better, save for Wooldridge's blocked punt against VT. Other than Furman, however, our kick coverage team hasn't gotten a lot of work because we haven't scored.

So, once again, a third of the way through the season, we sit a miserable 1-3. Some might say, given our schedule, that we really couldn't expect to be more than 2-2, but I would be happier with a competitive 1-3 than the punked 1-3 we are currently showing. Again, Bunting sits in the post-game presser talking about being "competitive" at the highest levels. After six years, it's time to start being more than competitive.

As a side note, Saturday's game was Bunting's 39th loss at Carolina, and his 12th by more than 30 points. So that means that roughly every 3rd loss for us is by 4 TDs or more. In addition, his teams have set 9 records for defensive futility (worst loss, most yards surrendered, etc - and the latest addition on Saturday, most rushing TDs surrendered in one game). Even the 1-10 years weren't like that.

I don't think there is a single person affiliated with Carolina that doesn't want to see John Bunting to succeed. He is an alum, he runs a clean program, academic measures are way up, and this is a terminal stop for him - no Mack Brown to Texas worries here. But again, after six years, it is put up or shut up time - and to his credit, I think he'll be the first one to tell you that.

Someone who is a Carolina football insider and whose opinion I trust wholeheartedly told me that Bunting's biggest signing of the offseason was retaining defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders, but four games so far have not borne that out. While the Heels have been decent against the pass, their run defense is atrocious and the defensive unit has given up 500 yards of total offense in back-to-back games. Assignments are repeatedly missed and how about the SEVEN encroachment calls on Saturday. Moreover, the arm-tackling and shoulder-bumping of a few seasons ago seems to be back. There is no way you can look at this team through four games and call them a well-coached unit.

Then there was all of the hype about Frank Cignetti coming over from Fresno, but so far it appears as if he is using the playbook Gary Tranquill left in his desk as he cleared out the offensive coordinator's office. The flanker screens and QB options used against Rutgers appear to have been ditched for off-tackle right and drop-back passes (especially since Sexton has all the mobility of Bernie Kosar on downers).

But the most burning part is that, for the first time in the Bunting era, this team appeared to lay down against Clemson. Maybe giving up 35, 42, and 52 points in successive weeks will wear down a defense, but the offense has only managed four TDs against its 3 D-I opponents, and the running game is non-existent against a quality opponent. Or it may have to do with conditioning and strength - both our lines were simply man-handled by Clemson and our tacklers often bounced off ball carriers. It appears we are weak mentally and physically.

So at the end of the day, we are left with this - a team and a staff entirely of Bunting's creation that has absolutely failed its tests through the first third of the season - again, not so much record-wise, but just in the state of the program overall. But, as I have said before, the most consistent thing about Carolina football under John Bunting is its inconsistency. Carolina has been known to lay an egg and follow it up with a brilliant performance - most notably two years ago when, after being embarrassed at Utah, the Heels had an open date and responded with a win over Miami and a bowl trip. Well, guess what the scenario is now - an open date, and Miami.

Is it time to raise the flag of surrender and pull the rip cord on the Bunting era? Not yet, but you might want to pack the parachute. Some would argue the most challenging part of the season is past, but there are still trips to Miami and Notre Dame on the schedule. I think Bunting will be judged by performances against teams supposedly in the same situation - State, Wake, Duke, South Florida, and Virginia. I can tell you South Florida and Virginia are awful, but State and Wake look resurgent and could give us fits.

We would have to win five of our last eight to be bowl-eligible. A Herculean task, but not impossible. But to lose five of our last eight, far more likely, will force some hard choices in South Building. I hate to say this, but all Carolina fans have ever wanted out of football is to go to a bowl most years, win 6-7-8 games, with an occasional losing season thrown in, but mainly to take the field every Saturday knowing you are on a level playing field and have a chance to win if things go well. In other words, all we want is what Chuck Amato has produced at NCSU for the past seven years.

Now doesn't THAT get under your skin?