All that has happened to the North Carolina football team this year happened once more Saturday, as if the team tried to create a scene-by-scene reproduction of its prior performances from the first half of the 2002 season.
The inconsistent-but-at-times-explosive offense, the big-play-less defense and the costly turnover met again at Kenan Stadium, seemingly for another reprisal of the same plot, this time against an ensemble cast from Raleigh.
By late Saturday afternoon, though, filming was complete. After showing so much energy in jumping to a 17-7 third-quarter lead, the Tar Heels fell back into their familiar roles, giving up 27 unanswered points to lose 34-17 to N.C. State before a live audience of 60,250 at Kenan Stadium.
For UNC (2-4, 0-2 in the ACC), the same actors played the same stock characters Saturday afternoon, while State
(7-0, 2-0) provided familiar foils to the home team's protagonists.
Starring as the overpowering running back was Wolfpack freshman phenom T.A. McLendon, who amassed 164 yards on 22 carries despite playing with a cast on his broken right wrist.
McLendon scored two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 7:09 left in the third quarter, to tie the school freshman record of 12 TDs set by Ted Brown.
"This kid is really, really good," said State coach Chuck Amato of McLendon. "He rushed for 160 yards with one hand. What's he going to be like when he's 100 percent?"
But even though McLendon had 89 yards rushing and a touchdown at the half, it was after the break when N.C. State took control of the game by making a concerted effort to run the ball. The Wolfpack ran on 13 straight plays to start the second half and gained 117 yards.
Not only was McLendon beating the Tar Heels' defense on perimeter runs, but he and understudy Josh Brown (18 carries, 88 yards) also were able to successfully cut back against over-pursuing tacklers.
"When things start to go wrong for us, we kind of lose the ability to pull it together," Bunting said.
In a game that figured to see a good offensive balance for State, heralded quarterback Philip Rivers was 16 of 25 for 170 yards and one touchdown. Although his numbers were down, he made few mistakes, just like the other quarterbacks who have defeated UNC this year.
"It was a beauty to see," Amato said. "Here we have a Heisman Trophy candidate in Philip Rivers, and he's handing the ball off!"
That option quickly disappeared in the second half for Rivers' counterpart, Darian Durant, who played well during the first half and the beginning of the third quarter before a costly turnover sent him and rest of the Tar Heels spiraling toward their fourth home loss of the season.
After pushing the UNC lead to 17-7 by hitting little-used fullback James Faison on a five-yard TD pass at the start of the second half, Durant turned the game around on his team's next possession.
The Tar Heels had the ball on their own 20 after State had cut the lead to 17-13 on a Rivers sneak and a blocked extra point. On first-and-10, Durant rolled right on a called bootleg, but he was quickly flushed way out of the pocket.
"He was basically running for his life," said UNC wideout Chesley Borders.
But when State defensive tackle Terrance Martin seemed to nick Durant's leg, the ball slipped out of his right hand, where Durant had been holding it away from his pursuers. The Wolfpack's Dantonio Burnette came out of the ensuing pile with the ball on the UNC 4.
"I tried to get rid of the ball, and it just slipped out of my hands," Durant said. "It was devastating. It's one thing to fumble in their territory, but it's another thing to fumble in ours."
The play, which was representative of how little blocking Durant has had all season, turned out to be the key to the game.
McLendon scored on the next play, and Durant never seemed to recover from the gaffe. On the very next possession, he fumbled the snap on second-and-2, and the Tar Heels failed to get a first down and were forced to punt. State marched down the field and scored, putting the count at 27-17 and effectively finishing off the Tar Heels for good.
Despite his quarterback's shaky second-half play, Bunting was quick to defend Durant, who was sacked five times.
"He's about as good as I've seen running to throw," Bunting said. "But it gets you. If it gets habit-forming, if you do it too much, there's some bad things that are going to happen.
"The ball's going to be on the ground some. It's not just Darian. We have to be better at protecting Darian."
Part of that might come after the game, too. Durant was the last to come out of the locker room, emerging after Bunting's press conference, which is rare.
After Durant answered questions, Bunting called him over, wrapped an arm around his quarterback's shoulders and walked him out of the player's lounge.
Maybe the words he had said earlier still were going through his head.
"It's not a one-man show out there."
Words that, after Saturday's re-run of a game, you figure Durant now could stand to hear, too.
The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu
