Rachel Carter, Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL -
North Carolina coach John Bunting opened his postgame meeting with the media with a joke.
"There are no defensive players in here," Bunting said. "I've killed them all."
Who could have blamed him?
The Tar Heels gave up 521 total yards in its 45-42 win over Furman on Saturday. The Paladins, who piled up 30 first downs, moved the ball up and down the field, leaving the UNC defenders wondering what hit them.
"Honestly, I have no idea," defensive tackle Kyndraus Guy said. "When they came out in the second half, they had an answer for our answer."
Bunting said the Paladins' flex bone and double-wing formations surprised Carolina, as did Furman's potent passing game.
The Paladins entered the game averaging just 86.5 yards per game through the air.
But Furman quarterback Renaldo Gray riddled the Heels, completing 20 of 26 passes for 310 yards and one touchdown.
"We'll go back to work first thing tomorrow morning to get this defense reorganized again," Bunting vowed
Furman's only passing touchdown illustrated just how porous the Heels' defense was. The Paladins started the drive at their 20 with 1:53 left on the clock.
Gray threw deep, quick sideline passes and picked up a defensive interference call as he managed the drive. He hit Patrick Sprague for a 15-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left in the game.
The Paladins' passing success added to UNC's woes stopping them on third downs. Furman converted 9 of 13 in third-down situations.
"It was definitely frustrating," linebacker Larry Edwards said. "Giving up big plays period is always very frustrating. We are just going to build off our performance this week. We did a lot of bad things, but we did a lot of good things as well."
Carolina's defense made one key contribution.
After UNC scored to go up 38-35, kicker Connor Barth pinned the Paladins on their 10. The Heels Furman's only three-and-out of the game.
"We saw that we could stop them," Guy said. "We were playing with them the whole game, especially in the first half. We were making key plays. They tried to run up the middle. They were unsuccessful. At the end of the third quarter, we found out we could stop them."
Unfortunately, it didn't last for long.
QB UPDATE: With freshman Cam Sexton ably running the offense, the Tar Heels did not use a two-quarterback system.
Joe Dailey, who started UNC's first two games, did not play at all against Furman.
Bunting said he apologized to Dailey afterward for not working him into the game.
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