North Carolina head coach Mack Brown stands on the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Minnesota, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
After the two infamous 1-10 seasons, Mack Brown and Carolina football broke through in his fifth year having rebuilt the skidding program he inherited from Dick Crum in 1988.
The erudite Crum won UNC’s last ACC championship in 1980 (with Lawrence Taylor), but he failed to have a winning record in three of his final four seasons before John Swofford fired him and hired the much-more-talkative Mack.
In the old UNC Football fieldhouse, Brown had a sign that hung prominently in the main lobby and read, “IT’S NOT A MATTER OF IF, IT’S A MATTER OF WHEN.”
He ceased being a laughing stock in the ACC when his 1990 Tar Heels went 6-4-1 followed by a 7-4 season, both teams snubbed for bowl bids. Then came 1992, when wide receiver Corey Holiday and linebacker Tommy Thigpen led them to 9-3 record, beating Mississippi State in the Peach Bowl. Those Heels opened the season with 35-17 win at Wake Forest, which by playing in the ACC could be called a Power 5 team.
The win at Minnesota of the Big Ten Thursday night was the first legit Power 5 road opener Brown and five head coaches who toiled here before his return in 2019 posted since the 31-9 victory at 18th-ranked Southern Cal to begin the 1993 campaign.
Carolina started that season at No. 20 and remained ranked for all 13 games, finishing at No. 12 after losing to No. 18 Alabama in the Gator Bowl. Brown’s Tar Heels were in the polls for part of every season thereafter, climbing to No. 4 in 1997 before he left for Texas, where he had Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams in 1998 and won the 2005 BCS national championship.
It’s not like over the last 30 years UNC had ample chances to open at a true Power 5 school, playing mostly mid-major opponents at home. In 2021, Brown’s 10th-ranked team went to unranked and rowdy Virginia Tech, losing 17-10 to start Sam Howell’s third and final season that wound up with Brown’s only losing record (6-7) of his second tenure.
That’s why beating the aggressive Gophers was so important, especially debuting a new quarterback and defensive coordinator in a soaked stadium, the residue of a thunder storm that delayed the kickoff for an hour. Granted, the 2024 Tar Heels were a little luckier than they were good. “We’re all about winning,” a joyous Brown said after escaping, 19-17, on a barely missed Minnesota field goal.
Can you imagine if that 46-yard field goal attempt went through the uprights, considering all the offensive questions Brown and coordinator Chip Lindsey still have to face this coming week. The big one has already been answered: starting QB Max Johnson is out for the season with a broken leg he suffered in a third quarter when he was looking pretty good – not Howell or Drake good, but with an improved defense maybe good enough.
Minnesota wide receiver Elijah Spencer, center, is tackled by North Carolina linebacker Amare Campbell, left, and defensive back Jakeen Harris, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (Photo via AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Brown may have to change the entire nature of his team, from wide open offense to ball control with an option game geared to working the clock and keeping the defense off the field so it won’t get gassed by the fourth quarter. At least the two remaining QBs have similar skill sets, fleet runners with strong arms.
The Tar Heels have one of the elite backs in Omarion Hampton who slipped and slapped a defense designed to stop the run. The key will be using Big O enough to be a game-changer without wearing him down as the season progresses. The offensive line with four new starters, all at least a half foot taller than their 5-11 leader Willie Lampkin, looks potentially good and absolutely has to build the depth to play ball-control football.
New starter Conner Harrell and renewed back-up Jacolby Criswell are cut from the same cloth, better runners than passers who nevertheless can improvise like the 32-yard scramble throw Harrell made to a wide open J.J. Jones. It set up Noah “Can’t Miss” Burnette for the winning field goal and the happy plane ride home after the Gopher kicker goofed.
It appears that Geoff Collins has more talent and depth than Jay Bateman and Gene Chizik who gave up so many yards that Howell and Maye found themselves in weekly video games. The kooky Collins is the personification of constantly changing and surprise strategies that muted Minnesota’s offense just enough to win, and will have to find a way to keep his defensive rotations healthy.
Lots of guys got into the game, with star linebackers Power Echols and Kaimon Rucker and up-and-comer Amare Campbell lining up (sometimes) between a deeper secondary led by quick cornerback and kicking team specialist Alijah Huzzie and veteran trench trio Des Evans, Kevin Hester and Jahvaree Ritzie. These guys really got after it with Collins’ creativity and looking like they were having a ball out there, making 37 of the teams’ 60 tackles and all five sacks.
North Carolina defensive linemen Travis Shaw (4) and Jahvaree Ritzie (5) celebrate after recovering a fumble during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Minnesota, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Minneapolis. (Photo via AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
The specialists were special behind Burnette’s four-for-four FGs, holder and 51-yard punter Tom Maginness and kick-it-off-to-the-house Liam Boyd. And, of course, Huzzie who besides his four tackles on defense sprinted to down a Maginness punt at the 2-yard line.
It is nice to have a team that doesn’t have to depend on NFL quarterbacks to bail them out, since Howell and Maye are on opposite coasts trying to prove in the pros what they did in college. If nothing else, their Carolina records are safe while the Heels try to win the old-fashioned way after doing something their predecessors hadn’t done in three decades.
Featured image via The Associated Press/Abbie Parr.
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.
