All it took was a week off for Carolina to recapture its mojo.
The previous month had included challenges which collegiate student-athletes simply shouldn’t have to face. But when the Tar Heels took the field at Virginia on Saturday afternoon, you wouldn’t have known it. Three hours later, Mack Brown and Co. walked off the field after a dominant 41-14 win against the Cavaliers, a performance which easily slots in as the team’s best of the season.
Carolina looked darn good. But more than that, the Tar Heels looked like they were having fun. It was a long time coming.
“This is what we’ve been looking for,” Brown said. “We’ve seen pieces of it at times. We just haven’t been consistent.”
The win came after Brown noted the Tar Heels had put together an excellent week of practice, one which belied their 3-4 record and winless mark in conference play. Still, the head coach felt something holding his team back, and delivered that message to the players before hitting the road to Charlottesville.
“I told the guys, ‘We’re practicing better than we’re playing.’ You’ve gotta get that burden off of you,” he said. “You’ve gotta take a mistake, use it as feedback and not make it again.”
It was hard not to think about past mistakes – notably the blown 20-point lead at Duke – when UNC built a 24-6 halftime lead, one which expanded to 31-6 early in the third quarter. Even the most optimistic Tar Heel fans were likely sweating until Jahvaree Ritzie’s 84-yard jaunt into the end zone on an interception, which made the score 38-6 and effectively sealed the game.
iF hE CaN cAtCh HiS bReAtH@jahvaree got 84 yards of pure speed down the sideline 😁
That joyous romp from the 290-pound big man encapsulated what Carolina had been missing amid its slide: a rumblin’, bumblin’, stumblin’ love for the game. That love even caught the relentlessly-optimistic Brown off-guard.
“Winning makes that locker room unbelievable,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them that happy.”
Suddenly, the team’s remaining four games seem very winnable. Carolina visits Florida State next weekend before its second bye in the span of four weeks. After that, it’s home against Wake Forest, on the road at Boston College and home in the regular-season finale against NC State. None of those four teams currently have a winning record in conference play.
The Tar Heels won’t be winning any big trophies this season, but the last weeks of the schedule give the team a chance for something perhaps even more elusive: a positive finish to the year. Brown said after Saturday’s catharsis, his team has everything in front of it.
“We’re growing. This is a team that will continue to get better,” he said. “I’m just so proud of them. Can’t wait to go to Tallahassee. That’ll be a handful. It’ll be fun.
“This team only needed confidence. They had everything else. Needed to get some people healthy, but needed confidence. And they gained some of that today.”
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications
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