Here is what coach Bunting had to say after the game.
"There were some familiar things that took place out there today, but
our team battled and played hard. There are some good things we can take from
this game. There were some things that in my mind hurt us. Sometimes, things
that just eat you up, because you know there are trying to make a play, and
they get out of position and don't make the play and it hurts us."
"It's a game we had a great chance to pull off something special for our
fans back home and our fans that came to the game, and I'm disappointed for
them. But I'm mostly disappointed for the staff and the players that worked
so hard this week."
"We executed very well in the first half. We got some things going and
we had a wrinkle in that fake field goal that helped us. But you have to play
two halves."
On whether any one play changed the game
"It's never one thing that changes a football game. Virginia returned
a kickoff for a touchdown, we fumbled at the one-yard line, and we had a penalty
on a two-point conversion. That's three things that jump out at you right there."
On the first half
"Darian at one point completed 10 straight passes. At times we ran the
ball well. Defensively we couldn't have played a better first half. It's just
too bad we couldn't play the same way in the second half."
If that was UNC's best first half, was it the worst second half?
"It would be hard for me to tell you exactly where that ranks because
we have a lot of bad second halves."
On why UNC's play goes from good to bad in one half so often.
"I'd say we find a different way to not play well. That happens with young
players, inexperienced players. Young players, inexperienced players sometimes
don't respond (to adversity). Hopefully in time we will learn how to heal those
things."
On Durant's injury
"He came out after the series it happened and he went back in and played.
And I think we felt in everybody's best interest to get him out. He went back
in. I'm not sure exactly when it (the injury) took place."
On the need to be resilient again going to Wake next week
"We'll be ready. We will be ready."
Senior writer Andrew Jones is in his seventh year with Inside
Carolina. He hosts a late afternoon radio show on ESPN Radio, WMFD AM630
in Wilmington and can be reached via e-mail at: AndrewJones@AM630.net.