# 2006 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

The 2006 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach John Bunting, the Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina finished the season 3–9 overall and 2–6 in ACC play to place fifth in the Coastal Division.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 3:30 p.m. | Rutgers* | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | ABC | L 16–21 | 50,000 |
| September 9 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 16 Virginia Tech | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | ESPN | L 10–35 | 57,000 |
| September 16 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 4 (FCS) Furman* | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | ESPNU | W 45–42 | 47,000 |
| September 23 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Clemson | Memorial StadiumClemson, SC | ESPN360 | L 7–52 | 81,886 |
| October 7 | 12:00 p.m. | at Miami | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | LFS | L 7–27 | 29,621 |
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | South Florida* | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | ESPNU | L 20–37 | 44,000 |
| October 19 | 7:30 p.m. | at Virginia | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry) | ESPN | L 0–23 | 56,632 |
| October 28 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 24 Wake Forest | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC (rivalry) | ESPNU | L 17–24 | 49,000 |
| November 4 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 11 Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | L 26–45 | 80,795 |
| November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 19 Georgia Tech | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | LFS | L 0–7 | 41,000 |
| November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | NC State | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC (rivalry) | LFS | W 23–9 | 54,000 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | at Duke | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC (Victory Bell) | ESPN360 | W 45–44 | 24,478 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Coaching staff

The 2006 season was the last for John Bunting as head coach. He was to be replaced by Butch Davis in the postseason.
| Name | Position | Seasons in Position |
| John Bunting | Head coach | 6th |
| Dave Brock | Assistant head coach / wide receivers / recruiting coordinator | 2nd |
| Ken Browning | Defensive tackles | 13th |
| Frank Cignetti | Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks | 1st |
| Jeff Connors | Strength and conditioning coordinator | 6th |
| John Gutekunst | Assistant head coach / tight ends | 3rd |
| Danny Pearman | Defensive ends | 1st |
| Andre' Powell | Special teams coordinator / running backs | 6th |
| Marvin Sanders | Defensive coordinator / defensive backs | 3rd |
| Tommy Thigpen | Linebackers | 2nd |
| Mark Weber | Offensive Line | 1st |
| Chad Scott | Graduate assistant | 1st |

## Team statistics

| Passing leaders | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
| Joe Dailey | 112 | 195 | 1316 | 7 | 10 |
| Cameron Sexton | 57 | 136 | 840 | 4 | 8 |
| Rushing leaders | Car | Yds | Long | TD |
| Ronnie McGill | 192 | 790 | 48 | 7 |
| Barrington Edwards | 91 | 330 | 34 | 2 |
| Justin Warren | 7 | 77 | 23 | 1 |
| Receiving leaders | Rec | Yds | Long | TD |
| Hakeem Nicks | 39 | 660 | 83 | 4 |
| Brooks Foster | 38 | 486 | 39 | 2 |
| Jesse Holley | 37 | 466 | 50 | 2 |
| Kicking | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGM | Long | Pts |
| Connor Barth | 24 | 24 | 10 | 10 | 54 | 54 |