Carolina played to the Max-plus standard in its injury-plagued home opener Saturday against overmatched Charlotte, winning 38-20 in a game that wasn’t that close.
Mack Brown says who his Tar Heels play is not as important as their meeting a standard indicative of the program’s six seasons into Brown’s second tenure in Chapel Hill.
The victory over the 49ers featured the third quarterback named Max on the field in UNC’s first two games. And like his own Max Johnson, who was lost for the season in Minnesota, Mack Brown may have been made anxious by Charlotte’s Max Brown’s performance — until he too was lost in the first half. This Max is a transfer from Florida and went 8-for-12 for 175 yards before leaving the game.
UNC, 2-0, was not immune to the injury bug, which hit them again when leading rusher and preseason All-American Omarion Hampton came out in the second quarter after netting 79 yards on 11 carries and was last seen on the sideline exercise bike; and senior All-ACC tight end Bryson Nesbit, who is the Heels’ best receiver and was playing against his hometown team, hurt something on his lower body after three catches and a touchdown in the first half. He, too, did not return.
“We don’t think any of ours [are] serious,” said Coach Brown, who also lost starting center Austin Blaske off Carolina’s thin offensive line and was replaced by fellow graduate student Zach Greenberg, who transferred from a Division III school. “He’s never played in a [major college] football game like this, so we just told him to go out there and have fun.”
That’s the kind of attitude that makes Brown so special and a great representative for Carolina and the alumni who support UNC. He was happy Geoff Collins’ defense played well for a second straight game, holding Charlotte to 49 yards on the ground although it did allow some quirky explosive “Max” plays by the American Athletic Conference (AAC) team that is now 0-2 on the season.
After he heard that mid-major Northern Illinois stunned Notre Dame in South Bend and about some other games that did not go by the book, Brown said: “College football is absolutely nuts. That’s why you just have to play.”
That was before 24th-ranked N.C. State took it in the Wolfpack shorts 51-10 from No. 14 Tennessee at Bank of American Stadium. And after his former school, now No. 3 Texas, embarrassed defending national champion Michigan 31-12 in the Big House.
More Tar Heels than unusual played in Saturday’s game because they are shoring up the kind of depth Brown has coveted for five seasons and like his last few teams his first stint here. And the head coach acknowledged that so many kids contributing to winning their first two games boosts their confidence and fires them up to keep the streak going against two more mid majors the next two weeks in Kenan Stadium.
All eyes in almost-full Kenan were on quarterback Conner Harrell, making is first start in a truly important game. He was understudy to Drake Maye last season and played banged up in the bowl loss that Maye sat out to get ready for the NFL draft. Harrell has the kind of game that emphasizes the run over the pass, operating a ground game that rolled up 269 yards, more than half of the total offense that was almost unheard of over the last five years. But Harrell did throw two touchdown passes in hitting 16 of 25 for 219 total yards.
“We ran the ball to set up the pass,” said Brown, who has joked “we were trying to win the Heisman Trophy” after Maye and Sam Howell set passing records on their way to the NFL. “Conner did a lot of good things; we were 6-for-11 on third down. Following Drake and Sam, that’s a load. He knows we got a chance to have a really good team and we’ve got to have a quarterback step up. So, there’s a tremendous amount of pressure and we’ve got to take the pressure off him.”
Without Hampton and his also-ailing backup Darwin Barlow, true freshman Davian Gause ran with intention for 105 yards and his first college touchdown that again speaks to UNC’s depth, especially since Hampton is likely turning pro after this season. The receiving corps has also expanded beyond the few veterans still around. A prime example is redshirt freshman Christian Hamilton, who was on the end of a double reverse pass from Harrell to Caleb Hood to Kobe Paysour and back to Harrell for a 58-yard rainmaker that an uncovered Hamilton waited to land in his bread basket before wriggling into the endzone.
The defense, which did give up 309 yards thrown by Max Brown (the explosive plays) and his sub Deshawn Purdie (two TD passes), was otherwise putting on the Ritz — with Jahvaree Ritzie adding two sacks to his three at Minnesota. Marcus Allen and Amare Campbell (each 7), Stick Lane, Alijah Huzzie and Des Evans (total of 10) had 17 of the 54 team tackles.
Mack did not like some dead-ball penalties that were part of eight flags for 67 yards by a team that he brags is among “the smartest in the country” for its ACC-best ARP (Academic Progress Report) score. “Self-inflicted wounds that we have to clean up,” he said after his sixth straight home opening win.
Charlotte has three of Brown’s former assistants and 56 transfers over the last two years, including ex-Tar Heel DB Donte Balfour, who was shaken up in front of the UNC bench and received a pat on the helmet from his former head coach.
The cool late afternoon weather was a blessing from the oft-blistering early September openers. And a slight breeze might have helped push Noah Burnette’s first field goal miss of the season (a 50-yarder) to the right. It was on the same end of the field where former kicker Casey Barth was honored as a Tar Heel Legend with a great video clip of his 39-yard field goal that won the wild 2010 Music City Bowl over Tennessee in the beleaguered Butch Davis’ last game as Carolina’s head.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
