During John Bunting’s first season as North Carolina’s coach in 2001, he led the team to an 8-5 record overall and a 5-3 record in the conference.
His team won the Peach Bowl 16-10 against Auburn on New Year’s Eve. The team’s leading rusher, now Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back Willie Parker, rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown.
Things sure have changed since then.
The Tar Heels have only won 17 games over the past five seasons — an average of less than four games a year. North Carolina hasn’t had a winning season and they’ve only been to one bowl game — the Continental Tire Bowl in 2004, a game it lost to Boston College 37-24.
But this season has been the worst during Bunting’s tenure. His team is currently 1-9 with its only victory being a come-from-behind win against Furman, 45-42. In five of the Tar Heels 10 games, they have scored 10 or fewer points — shutout twice.
However, throughout the years, one thing has remained constant with Bunting — his ability to compete against coach Chuck Amato.
In Bunting’s first season, he led North Carolina to a 17-9 win at N.C. State. While Amato would take the next two, 34-17 in 2002 and 47-34 in 2003, Bunting has won the last two games in dramatic fashion.
The last time the Wolfpack played at Kenan Stadium, in 2004, the Tar Heels won 30-24. With State on the goal line, the Pack had a chance to win the game. Former running back T.A. McLendon lunged forward — reaching for the end zone, one referee ran toward the end zone and called a touchdown.
Another disagreed. After a short get together, the referees ruled no touchdown. But, State would get one last play. However, McLendon was stuffed at the line and fumbled the ball.
One reporter mentioned the idea of the game bothering the seventh-year coach, and Amato didn’t want to talk about it.
“You said it, I didn’t,” Amato said. “It’s history — yesterday is history. It’s gone, it’s gone, it’s gone.”
The following year, North Carolina won by a similar score, 31-24. Bunting said the two teams have played extremely competitive throughout his tenure.
“I don’t think there’s one thing to be said about the way we’ve won or the way they’ve won,” Bunting said. “It’s a matter of execution and a matter of making a few more plays than the other team.”
With losses the past two years against North Carolina, Amato said all of his losses against the Tar Heels during his time have bothered him.
“If you’re an N.C. State graduate, they bother you,” Amato said.
But this will be Amato’s last chance to square off against Bunting. Earlier in the week, North Carolina officially named Butch Davis as its next coach.
Amato said “nobody likes it” when a coach is fired and that Bunting is still “a good man” and “a good coach.”
Before Saturday’s game will be Amato’s last chance to talk on the field with Bunting as coaches of their respective schools.
Amato acknowledged not knowing what coaches should talk about when they meet before the game on the field, but he said he was sure that he and Bunting would “strike up some conversation.”
However, this is Bunting’s chance to go out with a win during his final home game and also get a three-game winning streak against his rival. But Amato has not forgotten the past two years. He said he knows the importance a rival.
“I think about it every day of the year,” Amato said. “I went to school here. I was fortunate enough, and I hate to use the word ‘I’ to see what it’s like to compete against a rival — if you played any high school football, forget about college, there’s always a rival. It’s with you 365 days a year and it needs to be with everybody that long.”
Senior Staff Writer Dennis Burton contributed to this article
