The Tar Heels have even more at stake than we thought.
After wondering whether someone, or some thing, would turn today’s scheduled game into the “Hold the Mayo Bowl,” the battle of the Carolinas will apparently go on as planned at 11:30 a.m. in Bank of America Stadium.
And the border battle in the border city of Charlotte has an interesting match-up with different goals for the one-time bitter rivals. The Gamecocks, under rookie head coach Shane Beamer, are 6-6 and going for a winning record that would be a mighty accomplishment considering:
They used so many quarterbacks this season, including a graduate student coach pressed into action, that everyone stopped counting.
And they’re on the uptick under a 44-year-old coach whose arrival coincides with the end of Clemson’s ACC and in-state dominance.
Conversely, all the pressure is on the Tar Heels to finish 7-6, which would be a third straight winning record that Mack Brown can spin into a “great season.” His third UNC entry, part 2, must win the game or the Heels would have to rebuild preseason momentum for 2022 almost from the ground up.
And North Carolina could post one of the few bowl wins for the ACC, which went 0-6 last year and, going into Clemson’s win against overmatched Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl, was still looking for its first W among the ten schools that received invitations.
Of course, the conference netted out only six participants with four of its bowl games being canceled by COVID protocols – sidelining N.C. State, Virginia, BC and Miami. If the Gator Bowl happens, Wake Forest has a win in the bag over 5-7 Rutgers, the last-minute sub for way-tougher Texas A&M.
Pitt will play No. 10 Michigan State at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta – isn’t it strange how Big Six bowls somehow escape COVID? – without All-ACC QB Kenny Pickett, and the 12th-ranked Panthers will be hard pressed to win.
So before Clemson’s narrow victory, we had Louisville’s close loss to Air Force and Virginia Tech’s embarrassing blowout to former ACC member Maryland.
When you sift through the rubble of another post-season for the ACC, a big win for the Tar Heels over their Southeastern Conference neighbor will still go down as a win over the SEC. At this point, we’ll take anything.
Photo via ACC Media.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe:
Related Stories
‹

Art’s Angle: The Last WalkI hope Mack and Sally Brown, after their supporters and naysayers said goodbye in their own ways, found a quiet moment to have a good cry.

Art’s Angle: The Mack-rocosmLast November, I asked Bubba Cunningham if Mack Brown might retire after the 2023 football season. He said, “It’s up to him.” “I thought you were the athletic director,” I responded, half-jokingly. “It’s up to him,” Bubba repeated, as he smiled and walked away. Then Carolina lost its last three games for the second straight […]

Art's Angle: Believe It Or NotThere have been some classic Carolina-Duke football encounters over their 110 games in the last 136 years. Some the Tar Heels deserved to win but lost, like Mack Brown’s first blueblood rivalry game in 1988, when they dropped an interception in the end zone that would have secured a victory. Some they deserved to lose […]

Art’s Angle: Carolina 2.0Here is a trivia question for you. When was the last time Carolina started a football season 5-1 before Saturday’s weird and wonderful win at Miami? It was Larry Fedora’s best season in 2015, after the Tar Heels lost the opener to South Carolina in Charlotte and then reeled off 11 straight Ws on the […]

Art’s Angle: Heels Have ‘A Chance’Three take-aways from Carolina’s pleasing 41-10 win over Virginia Tech. The Hokies (along with Commonwealth cousin Virginia) may be the worst team in the ACC, a shadow of what they used to be. The ACC Coastal Division and the mythical “State Championship” are still out there for the Tar Heels to win. Drake Maye has […]

Art’s Angle: Showing Their IrishDon’t let the 45-32 final score deceive you: this was one of the most disappointing days in the history of Kenan Stadium and Carolina football. Mack Brown has done a tremendous job reigniting the enthusiasm around his sport, and Saturday was supposed to be the game that proved his program could compete against the best […]

Chansky's Notebook: Goings And ComingsWhat will all the transfers mean for Carolina football? The Tar Heels have lost more than ten players by transfer or early entries into the NFL draft. It would be an alarming number if, as Mack Brown likes to say, the transfer portal wasn’t so “crazy.” While hundreds and hundreds of players from all levels […]
![]()
On Air Today: Ross Martin of Inside CarolinaWith the 2022 UNC football season now in the books, Ross Martin of Inside Carolina speaks with 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell about where the program fell short and what questions will need to be answered this offseason.

Art's Angle: Unprepared, OutplayedWhen the final grades come out about how Carolina ended the football season, it will read Preparation F, Adjustment F, Execution F. A lightly regarded and undermanned South Carolina team whipped the Tar Heels from start to finish in every aspect of the game. In preparation, the low-scoring Gamecocks took the lead with a wildcat […]

Chansky's Notebook: A Win, Please!The Tar Heels have even more at stake than we thought. After wondering whether someone, or some thing, would turn today’s scheduled game into the “Hold the Mayo Bowl,” the battle of the Carolinas will apparently go on as planned at 11:30 a.m. in Bank of America Stadium. And the border battle in the border […]
›
It’s halftime and UNC is only down 12. A major accomplishment for a Hall Of Fame head coach coaching against someone who has never been a head coach. The good thing about UNC’s offense is that it is so predictable that I win money every time they play. I bet a buddy of mine each series what UNC is going to run and I am successful about 80 percent of the time. And our over under on penalties is 8 and I win that each game. It’s a good thing we have so much talent or we might not win 3 games a year.
It’s a good thing South Carolina had their Wide Receiver at Quarterback or they would have demolished UNC.
so our Heels lay an egg in Charlotte. What happened?
Mack is and always has been a horrible coach! That’s what happened! But he has Bateman to blame, as he always blames someone else.