Two perfect examples occurred Tuesday. Miami (Ohio), with lame-duck head coach Terry Hoeppner, lost to a 6-5 Iowa State team. Notre Dame, which was directed by interim coach Kent Baer, lost to a 6-5 Oregon State squad.

The team more interested in playing possesses the edge in most bowls.

That should be North Carolina's primary asset against Boston College today in the Continental Tire Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

It's not that Boston College, which finished 8-3 in its final season of Big East competition, will be nonchalant. Eagles coach Tom O'Brien is selling his team on the chance to make a statement before becoming the ACC's 12th team next year.

"We need to treat this bowl just like a conference game," O'Brien said. "I'm expecting our players to show a lot of focus."

But North Carolina should be equally focused, and with more than 60,000 UNC fans expected to be in the stadium, the Tar Heels should be more excited to play than any ACC team except conference champion Virginia Tech against unbeaten Auburn in the Sugar Bowl.

Genuine excitement is relatively rare in most bowls. Florida State fans are showing minimal interest in the Gator Bowl, in which the Seminoles will meet West Virginia. Ditto Miami fans, who have purchased fewer than 6,000 tickets for the Peach Bowl against Florida.

UNC coach John Bunting and his players spent most of the season trying to ignite the kind of fan interest they've experienced during the past month.

"It's incredible," Bunting said of the school's ticket sales for the Tire Bowl.

It's also justified.

No team in the country worked harder or overcame longer odds to reach a postseason game.

Most 6-5 teams don't have any business playing another game. This season, the Heels are a glaring exception.

It would be a letdown for them if the late surge ends with a loss. But if Bunting's team shows the same intensity it showed in victories over Miami and N.C. State, the Heels should take a world of momentum into the offseason.

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