CHARLOTTE – You think Carolina may someday go out and just play football up to its full capabilities? Not that the Tar Heels are world beaters, clearly they are not, but the performance Thursday night considering the circumstances was totally depressing.

Ten starters back on an offense that runs up and down the field, averaging 7 yards a snap, and scores its only touchdown when two South Carolina defenders run into each other; and two field goals from junior Nick Weiler who has added length to both his kicks and his locks. That’s the good news.

The bad news is this wasn’t exactly the Gamecocks who won 11 games for three straights years not long ago. It’s an average Steve Spurrier team, at best, with a quarterback from Raleigh who can run but can’t pass and a couple of slick backs who only got going after Gene Chizik’s defense ran out of gas in Q4.

‘Twas a beautiful night in Charlotte, as the college football world watched the season kick off two hours before any other “majors” teed it up. The big stage, ESPN, and an opportunity to turn the talk away from basketball recruits and scandals and begin brand repair RIGHT NOW.

The first drive said it all. After a wonderful three and out from the revamped defense, gains of 15, 12 and 9 by three different players, plus a late hit, put the Tar Heels in the red zone less than five freaking minutes into the new season. Bank of America Stadium had a “This is going to be the year” light blue buzz about it. They got to the three-yard line before senior quarterback Marquise Williams, who grew up in this border town, forgot what team he was on. He hit a Gamecock DB right in the hands with his first of three picks.

The Garnet sections were crowing over a fake punt that kept South Carolina from another three and out. “That Spurrier . . .” No, it was more “That Fedora” who coaches Tar Heel special teams and poorly on that play. Luckily, the Gamecocks’ punter got to do it for real after their red-shirt Raleigh sophomore Connor Mitch missed three straight throws. Badly.

Marquise did get it right on the next drive, but only because two defenders collided and Bug Howard made the “look what I found” catch for six. More BIG PLAYS, BAD PLAYS followed as SC tied the score when their All-SEC scat back was all alone in the end zone. How does that happen to a supposedly marked man?

On T.J. Logan’s first series (Larry Fedora seemed to be platooning Logan, Elijah Hood and Romar Morris), he got the Heels back in the red zone, but Williams took the first of his four sacks on third down and Weiler gave his team the lead from 38 after doing it earlier from 47. NOTE TO COACHES: DO NOT cut this Samson’s hair!

It wasn’t pretty but UNC was sitting that way with a 13-10 lead at halftime and the ball to begin the third quarter. Kind of like the Patriots do it with Brady, who will now do it from Week 1 instead of . . . .

It took the Tar Heels three possessions to get close to that two-score advantage, and Hood came in for a 44-yard burst to the edge of the red zone. BIG PLAY. Williams threw his second pick right to the guy in Garnet. BAD PLAY. One of the Chickens taunting saved the Heels on the next drive. BIG PLAY. A Chicken on the loose (actually Shon Carson) ran 48 yards untouched down the sideline to the Gamecocks’ first and last lead. BAD PLAY. It should not have been Game Over, but it was thanks to more BAD PLAYS than BIG PLAYs in the fourth quarter for the Tar Heels, who had one decent drive left in them.

It came with their last two BIG PLAYS, Hood’s 29-yard surge to the SC 23 and Ryan Switzer’s 14-yard catch at the 9. Williams then took what he could not take – his fourth sack of the night, and on fourth-and-goal he threw it to the same Garnet guy in the end zone. BAD, BAD PLAYS.

Although the Heels had a little time to take one more shot, Chizik’s spent defense could not make a stop and it truly was Game Over. Another frustrating watch for those who have been watching for a long time. North Carolina looked better than South Carolina for much of the game and may wind up with more Ws considering their respective schedules. But one team knows how to win and the other hasn’t truly figured it out since Mack Brown left. (Can it be 18 years ago?)

Fedora wasn’t happy afterward when he was probably more like spittin’ mad. “We gotta get a lot better. It’s just not acceptable,” he said.

Worst of all, the quarterback controversy that took him most of last season to shake could be back again. Too many BAD PLAYS will surely raise the question.