First-year UNC football coach Larry Fedora said he realizes the importance of beating in-state East Carolina but as much as anything else the Tar Heels want to get a bad taste out of their mouths after losing 39-34 at Louisville.

The Heels trailed 36-7 before almost pulling off the comeback.

“It was good to see that we had that never-say-die attitude – that our guys fought all the way to the end. I was proud of that fact,” Fedora said. “The problem is, why were we in that position in the first place.”

East Carolina, meanwhile, is coming off an upset win at Southern Mississippi.

“It’s an in-state team, a very important game for a lot of reasons,” Fedora said. “One, because it’s the next opportunity for us. You got a bad taste in your mouth. No one likes the way the last one ended. The only way you can change that is to go out and play on Saturday and play the way you’re supposed to play the game.”

The Tar Heels may have injured star runner Gio Bernard back this week – or not. “He had a great
practice yesterday. Had a smile on his face, was moving around really well,” a coy Fedora said. “I’m excited about it. Hopefully he is, too.”

But coach, coach, is this a nagging injury or one that will be healed? “Really, it’s hard to tiptoe around the subject. I mean, it’s better just to tell you that he’s feeling good, had a smile on his face, practiced well yesterday, and we’ll just see what happens.”