INSIDE SLANT
CFB Team Report - North Carolina
Tar Heels making long trek for opener Coach Larry Fedora finds himself in a unique position as his North Carolina team looks to Saturday's game at California. This will be the first time in a coaching career that stretches back to his graduate assistant debut at Austin College in 1986 that he will take a team across three time zones for a regular-season game. "I've never done it at the beginning of the season or the middle of the season," he said. "If I had to pick I would choose for it at the beginning of the season and the end of the season. A five-and-a-half hour flight, 11 hours in the air, is not something I would want to deal with in the middle of the season." Fedora has asked others for input on how to deal with the trip. "I've sought a lot of counseling -- coaches, sleep specialists, you name it, I've talk to a lot of different people, yes," he said. Travel logistics are not the only issue for the Tar Heels for the opener or the first few weeks of the season, for that matter, as 13 players are facing suspensions that vary from one to four games for their involvement in the selling of school-provided shoes, a violation of NCAA rules. Among the players who will miss the trip to Cal is quarterback Chazz Surratt, who started seven games last year and figured to compete with Nathan Elliott for the starting job. Because some of the players played the same position, the Tar Heels have been allowed to stagger the suspensions, and 11 will miss the opener. The suspensions were announced in early August, which gave Fedora and his staff time to get ready for them. It wasn't a big surprise, he said. "We knew what was going to happen, when guys were going to be out, so we started putting together a plan then," he said. "And we were able to work the plan pretty well through camp. We got out of that first scrimmage and starting adjusting reps with guys, and I think it has been good. "We'll see on Saturday if it was a good plan or not."
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