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Three weeks in the life of Carolina football and maybe Mack Brown’s career.
Brown has long talked about the season in three parts, depending on how the schedule falls. Sometimes it is four-four-and-four as it was last year with a competitive slate the first month. This fall the first five games have failed to prove anything except the Tar Heels are not as good as they’ve been in the past with far tougher opponents ahead.
Pitt is 4-0 and among the ACC leaders in offense with another good transfer quarterback the Heels will be facing Saturday in Kenan Stadium at noon on Homecoming. The Panthers are second in the ACC in offense, barely trailing first place Miami with better than 48 points a game, two touchdowns more than Carolina is scoring.
Eli Holstein, a 6-4 transfer from Alabama, is keeping pace with ACC Player of the Year candidates Kyle McCord of Syracuse and Cam Ward of Miami with 344 yards of total offense per game. Omarion Hampton continues to lead the league in rushing, but Pitt has No. 3 in Desmond Reid, who is averaging 106 yards per game.
Pitt is eighth in ACC total defense, two spots higher than UNC. So, if the Heels can keep up their improved defense in every game except for James Madison, they may be able to stay close. And winning is necessary to keep them from falling to 3-3 on the season with a third straight loss. Because it doesn’t get any easier the next two weeks, playing at home against 3-2 Georgia Tech and at 3-1 Virginia, where Carolina always has a tough time.
In short, this mid-section of the season is where the Tar Heels must show they are good enough to win at least two out of three and draw within one W of bowl eligibility. And they have yet to put the complete game together in the easiest part of the schedule. Wins over Minnesota, Charlotte and NC Central weren’t good enough to keep them in the top 50 in the country, and Carolina is a generous No. 58 in The Athletic’s latest poll.
It would not be surprising if Conner Harrell split snaps with Jacolby Criswell against Pitt. While not as good of a passer, Harrell is faster and can provide an option game to keep defenses guessing more than blitzing, which would also give Hampton fewer defenders to fight through before he can break a long or first-down run.
Excellent transfers are helping teams revitalize their offenses, such as Pitt and Holstein. Max Johnson has NFL bloodlines and might have been great before breaking his leg at Minnesota. But we can only speculate on that until he returns in time for spring practice and next season. Meanwhile, the current QBs will determine how far the Heels will go this season and, perhaps, how long Brown will be on the job.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Andy Mead
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.
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