Some unconditional Tar Heel lovers will disagree, but Mack Brown may need to wear his own football helmet this week.
Brown called the first half at N.C. State the worst coaching and execution he has ever experienced as a head coach. The 39-20 loss on Saturday wasn’t even as close as that score indicates, and the head coach covered all the individual failures by taking total blame for matching the season-low in points they had at Clemson last week.
But Brown won’t be able to positively spin an 8-4 regular season after a 6-0 start, following a similar collapse last year. Carolina lost its third straight game to the 22nd-ranked Wolfpack and 6th of the last 8 in a series UNC had dominated for decades.
After the Heels defeated five of six unranked foes, they have lost four of the last six to fall out of ACC contention, a Big Six bowl bid, and another chance to win 10 games for the second time since 1980 – which was also UNC’s last conference title.
Using three criteria for having a superior program – Better Coaching, Better Execution and Better Players – State owns all of them for the first time in more than 20 years. When the Pack beat their archrival before, it was mostly by the first two.
To personify how head coach Dave Doeren has answered all the bluster coming from the Tar Heel camp, he did it with fewer words and underrated recruiting. And with a sixth-year All-ACC linebacker and a 17-year-old scat back, Doeren filled that window to build a better program than at what they like to call UNC-Chapel Hill.
To rub salt in the wound, veteran linebacker Payton Wilson from Hillsborough and rookie all-purpose star KC Concepcion from Charlotte were recruited heavily by Carolina before picking Doeren’s no-nonsense approach to tough-nosed football.
Granted, six weeks ago the old rivals looked headed in opposite directions. State was 4-3 and had benched its transfer quarterback. But behind their hard-hitting defense and improved play from their two QBs, the Wolfpack rallied to win its last five games and will go to a respected bowl game with a chance to get 10 victories for only the second time in school history.
Brown’s 15th Tar Heel team (10 + 5) were injury-plagued for most of the schedule and could not get enough consistency from the receivers and offensive line. When an opponent like State’s rushes relentlessly and contains Drake Maye’s passing prowess, the thin defense winds up playing too many snaps and wears down.
That is precisely what Brown meant.
State had the ball for 22 of 30 minutes in the first half, when redheaded stepchild Brennan Armstong directed the Wolfpack to score on every possession and a 26-7 lead. Both teams put up 13 points in the third quarter and none in the fourth for an outcome that was decided long before then.
Carolina’s first-half production was a dismal 123 total yards to State’s 327. Maye started 1-of-7 and threw his first touchdown pass of the game to a sliding John Copenhaver after the Pack had already jumped out 23-0. He wound up running (for his life mostly) nine times for 106 yards and 12 yards per carry, but his two deflected interceptions added to the Heels’ six turnovers in the last two games. Maye had 78 more yards on the ground than ACC and national leader Omarion Hampton — who snapped his six straight games with 100-plus yards, mainly due to 15 tackles by Wilson. The N.C. State linebacker also had a sack that temporarily sidelined Maye and a late diving interception in the red zone.
UNC quaterback Drake Maye sprints down the field against N.C. State on November 25, 2023. Maye finished the night as UNC’s leading rusher in the 39-20 loss. (Photo via Eli Melet/WCHL)
Brown already trashed his coaching staff, and the team’s execution was pedestrian even as the early defense stopped State from crossing the goal line. But the bevy of skilled playmakers on the home sideline at Carter-Finley Stadium blew the game open and finished with 504 total yards, almost 200 more than their average per game and 120 more than UNC managed before a roaring, Senior Night sellout crowd.
Armstrong — who at Virginia once passed for 540 yards on Carolina — had 356 yards in total offense while speedster Concepcion had 186. The lefty quarterback spread the ball around to nine receivers and threw for three touchdowns, two to the unstoppable rookie who had 7 Concepcion receptions for an average of 19 yards and carried the ball 11 times for 55. All of that came after State entered the game in the lower half of all ACC team offensive statistics, and near the top in most defensive categories.
State offensive coordinator Robert Anae used creative, daring and successful schemes, executing most of them well. They had reverses and wildcat runs by Concepcion. Carolina’s only tries at trickery were a flea-flicker from British Brooks that failed miserably and an onside kick that State fell on.
If, as Brown says, defensive coordinator Gene Chizik is still catching up after his return from six years of football exile, his learning curve still seems steep. Carolina had its moments this season, but the breakdowns were plentiful and on this chilly night allowed State (ninth in ACC total yards) to become an offensive juggernaut.
Seniors Cedric Gray (17 tackles) and Stick Lane (12) were all over slippery turf, but State’s 27 first downs and 8-for-16 on third downs made the rest of the defense seem unmatched and eventually exhausted.
A group of UNC defenders attempt to stop a rushing play against N.C. State during their 39-20 loss on Saturday, November 25, 2023. (Photo via Eli Melet/WCHL)
The most publicized guy on both teams, Maye continued his streak of 200-plus yards passing in all 26 of his college games. He turned an ankle in the fourth quarter, came back limping, and now his participation in the bowl is even more up in the air. Before the sprain, Maye threw for his second touchdown and ran for one.
Some of those who work inside the UNC bubble will deny there is a growing hue and cry for the 72-year Brown to move from football to fundraising, where he would be just as sensational a salesman in that role. But if the insiders do more than talk to each other, they can hear it or certainly read it on social media.
The Heels finishing their regular season slate 2-4 will be more important to a prospective bowl than the 8-4 overall record. And having so many upperclassmen with pro aspirations, Maye may not be the only one to have played his last game for Carolina.
UNC must accept its bowl invite, unlike men’s basketball who turned down the NIT, but the last taste the Tar Heels want is another Duke’s Mayo Bowl stinker like against South Carolina in 2021. That would ramp up even more criticism of Brown that is sure to come over the next month.
Featured photo via AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker.
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Brown WAS, IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE A HORRIBLE COACH! I’m sick to my stomach of hearing how much he raised the bar of UNC football after Fedora. My dead grandmother could have raised the bar from Fedora. If you can’t motivate your players to play hard and show a little energy and enthusiasm against your biggest rival, you shouldn’t be coaching. Mack is a salesman who needs to go sell himself to another program. But guess what, folks? NOBODY WANTS HIM! State, Duke, Wake, Clemson, etc fans want him at UNC, NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY HE CAN RAISE! Look at his season-ending games the last 5 years. Look at the stupid penalties we commit every year. But most of all, look at the lame excuses he uses year after year. We have NO FOOTBALL CULTURE AT ALL! IT IS DISGUSTING! But the good old (rich) wine-sipping Rams Club members get to hob-knob with him, while blue collar players, fans, and coaches at State (and other schools) are laughing at us. Wilson and Doeren mocked us after the game Saturday…and I can’t fault them at all. All you fans of Mack enjoy yourselves and your 8-win season, and please go to the wonderful bowl game we’ll be going to. I happen to think we could do better, but I’m obviously in a very small minority!
How can anyone who watched this game think the situation will get any better? Any grace that was extended to Brown and especially Chizik after last season”s collapse is long gone. Repeated, obvious lack of game prep along with game management and defensive failures can’t be explained away anymore. And Mack should stop chastising the fans for their frustration and disappointment since HE was the one who sold us on the idea of building a championship football culture at UNC. Yes he takes responsibility for the losses and says the right things but nothing seems to really get fixed. Moving forward, what is UNC’s plan for the football program? Does it have one?
Chizik must be fired immediately!!
whether Mack stays or not every other coach needs to go… year after year carolina seems to do so little with so much… start recruiting 3 star players who want to play and let the entitled 4 and 5 stars go to the big schools… unc will never be respected in football.
I agree its time for Mack to GO and also the Marching Banding Band Director who has been there 28 years the band is embarrasing
Get Jamey Chadwell now before other schools snatch him up. Watch this: Duke will make a great hire, while Mack is meeting with players and coaches to find out who is jumping off the Titanic! And who can blame them?
I love Mack Brown, but I am so glad he’s no longer our problem.
Xoxo Sark!!!
#HookEm
Fire Chizik now!!!
Since 1956 the football series is tied. For all that cheating they do at uncch, they should be a lot better.