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Carolina faces a unique challenge of the Mack Brown 2.0 era.
After beginning the season with three straight wins, two of them over heavy underdogs, the Tar Heels are 3-4 (0-3 in the ACC) and needing three more victories for a sixth straight bowl bid.
After a gut-wrenching two weeks that included a fourth straight defeat and an off Saturday to process the death of a team member, Carolina goes to Virginia, which has been a house of horrors for UNC football since Brown’s first tenure in Chapel Hill.
Brown lost 7 out of 10 to the Cavaliers from 1988 to1997, including the blown 20-17 loss in ’96 that killed Carolina’s chances of making the old Bowl Alliance, which preceded the College Football Playoff that has grown from four teams to 12.
The Heels have gone 2-3 against the Wahoos since Brown’s return, but that includes his long-sought first win in Charlottesville in 2022. Last season, Carolina started 6-0 and was ranked 10th in the nation before losing to a 1-6 UVA team in Kenan Stadium and skidded to 8-5 while Virginia recovered from its own heartache.
In 2022, the first year for head coach Tony Elliott, three Cavalier football players were shot and killed by a former teammate and the school cancelled its last two games against Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech as the campus and ACC mourned the deaths.
UNC wide receiver Tylee Craft lost a prolonged fight against terminal cancer and has created the same kind of sadness as the Tar Heels return to action Saturday at noon in Scott Stadium. Brown, his staff and team bused to Sumter, South Carolina, Sunday to attend Craft’s funeral and is now trying to get back to business and win another game.
“Our coaches are trying their best to balance being themselves,” Brown said. “I said, don’t change who you are because that’s gonna look weird for your players. So go coach ’em hard and and then go hug ’em afterwards and make sure they understand, because some are going to be more emotional than others. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is tell ’em they lost their teammate in that locker room right after a devastating fourth loss in a row.”
The game on its own will be tough enough as Virginia is 4-3 and 2-2 in the ACC after losing 48-31 at Clemson. The Wahoos’ best wins are at Wake Forest and at home against Boston College, the week before they led Louisville most of the game before losing.
The Heels and Hoos are close to each other in the ACC offensive and defensive statistics. Virginia has two running backs who have combined for more than 100 yards per game, pretty close to Omarion Hampton, the league leader with 129 per game.
“We gotta stop the run,” Brown said. “I’m so tired of six years of inconsistent run defense. If you don’t stop the run, you’re not gonna win.”
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Carlson
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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