Beleaguered Tar Heels face new set of distractions at Notre Dame

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina has endured a season full of distractions, from never-ending questions at quarterback to the midseason firing of its coach.<br> <br> Now comes a new set of diversions to test the Tar Heels&#39; focus: Touchdown Jesus, the lore of the Gipper and all the hoopla that comes with playing at No. 11 Notre Dame.<br> <br> The challenge for coach John Bunting is to keep his players from being beaten by that noted Irish mystique.<br> <br> ``I&#39;ve talked about the tradition and will continue to do so,&#39;&#39; Bunting said. ``They will see it and feel it when they get there. ... We know on game day that it will be extremely different than some places they&#39;ve been.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> It&#39;s already been a different kind of season for the Tar Heels (1-7).<br> <br> They never have found any continuity at quarterback, with neither junior Joe Dailey nor redshirt freshman Cam Sexton stepping forward as the leader of the offense.<br> <br> That inconsistency contributed to Bunting&#39;s firing with five games left in the season.<br> <br> And now the lame-duck coach is leading his struggling Tar Heels into a nonconference road game against one of the best teams in the country.<br> <br> The Irish (7-1) are in prime position to reach a Bowl Championship Series game while North Carolina nearly a four-touchdown underdog is guaranteed to be home for the holidays for the fourth time in five seasons.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s just another game to me,&#39;&#39; running back Ronnie McGill said. ``We&#39;ve played in some pretty big places. They have Touchdown Jesus, which is kind of cool.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The task might be more manageable if North Carolina&#39;s players had visited South Bend, Ind., before. But the teams haven&#39;t met since 1975 and haven&#39;t played at Notre Dame Stadium since 1971 when Bunting was a team co-captain and starting linebacker.<br> <br> That&#39;s why the Tar Heels can&#39;t afford to become caught up in their surroundings. Coach Charlie Weis, quarterback Brady Quinn and the rest of the Fighting Irish are talented enough to give North Carolina another embarrassing loss.<br> <br> North Carolina has been outscored 219-77 in seven losses to I-A teams. The team&#39;s only win was a 45-42 victory over Division I-AA Furman.<br> <br> ``This is probably going to be the best team we play this season,&#39;&#39; tight end Andre Barbour said. ``Even though as far as our record is (bad), we&#39;re still trying to take challenges when they come and individually, we&#39;ve got to get better as we play opponents. I&#39;m sure they have a lot of talent, lot of skill, or else they wouldn&#39;t be No. (11) in the nation.&#39;&#39;