Darian Durant is a gamer and will bounce back.
Game Stats

Chapel Hill _  Would you look at that score!  The Longhorns came to town and literally spanked the Tar Heels.

But Ram Man, we competed tonight.  Remember when we fought back and were only down by 10 points twice?  Yes, it was 24 - 14, and then later 31 - 21.  From my view, the Horns were getting a little disinterested in the game at the times we got within 10 points.

With around 13 minutes remaining in the game, Mack Brown got their attention.  Superior talent with focus and resolve blitzed the Heels for 21 points.  By games' end, it was a collective light blue thought of "what tha' hell was that"!

That, my fellow Carolina fans, was a Texas team that deserves a Top 5 billing.  That was an extremely talented team that is well coached.  That was a team that is really good when just executing at less than 100% effort.  That was a team that can drop a sledge hammer on you about anytime they want.

I left the game extremely impressed, and grateful to witness in person the level of football many of us desire at Carolina.  But the Horns gave us an old fashioned ass-whipping tonight.

Moral victories?  Those are losers.  But I do appreciate the Tar Heels giving it a fight and showing heart.  We showed enough good things to build on and feel encouraged.  I believe in Bunting, his mental toughness, and his ability to get it going for Carolina.  The bar has been raised.

A quick look at the stats show promise.  On paper we were competitive.  On first downs it was UNC 24, Texas 22.  Time of possession - UNC 29:29, Texas 30:31.  Passes completed/attempted - UNC 13/29, Texas 14/30.  I mention these because at times during the game I felt we were in it.

But Texas is a big play team with big time talent that goes deep into the roster.  It's yards after the catch and total yards rushing that tell the story:  net yards rushing - UNC 173, Texas 271 and net yards passing - UNC 170, Texas 298.  What that is, is a sledge hammer coming down.

OK, over and done... it's time to look forward.  The open date next week is probably a good thing.  The Heels will have plenty of time to analyze game tape, identify mistakes made, work on adjustments and corrections, and get ready for Georgia Tech on Sept. 28th.

At 1 - 2, the season still has a lot of promise and I'm excited about the Heels' prospects.  Just remember at this time last year we were 0 - 3.  But on New Years Eve, Carolina fans were dancing in the streets of Hotlanta celebrating a Peach Bowl victory.

See you at the game in two weeks.

Go Heels!