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The Tar Heels have an optimistic cliff to climb in November.
Mack Brown opened his weekly press conference upbeat after admitting he was “crushed” by losing at Georgia Tech that followed the Virginia loss.
“You’ve got to love college football, it’s crazy,” he said before updating us that only five Power 5 schools remain undefeated after nine weeks. He says the transfer portal has helped most programs improve their rosters.
Since there is nothing he can do about being “only” 6-2 at this point, the CEO head coach in charge of PR says his most important job right now is to get his players back up and ready to go against Campbell Saturday at noon in Kenan Stadium. He says “blame” is restricted to private coaches’ meetings.
There is plenty to be fixed (i.e., rushing defense, penalties, and another blocked punt), but if Brown doesn’t do HIS job right now it may all get worse. Fortunately, the rest of the schedule brings plenty of extra motivation.
Campbell, which has been coached for the last 10 years by former Panthers’ star Mike Minter, is 4-4 and has among the most FBS transfers in the FCS (College Football Subdivision). The Tar Heels will have ample incentive to snap their losing streak and get ready for the last three ACC games, and also improve on Brown’s 6-6 record against double-digit underdogs.
With a very good, but beat up, Duke team on November 11 Senior Day, the Heels will be pumped to go out at home with a win over the archrival 10 miles away, which should be enough to play for. It is also a school Brown has beaten 12 consecutive times, dating back to his first tenure in Chapel Hill.
The next week is a trip to Clemson, which has lost four games in the regular season for the first time since 2010. While Death Valley is a loud and proud place to play, the Heels cannot forget losing to the Tigers in the 2022 ACC championship game. If there is ever a year to win at Clemson, this is it.
And then, the regular-season finale is at N.C. State, and there is even more motivation to snap a nightmarish two-game stain from the Wolfpack, which pulled off the miracle finish in 2021 in Raleigh and upset the 18th-ranked Heels here last year in double OT. And despite the Pack’s narrow win over Clemson, it has dropped in ACC team statistics this season, down to 11th (from 9th) on offense and 6th (from 1st) on defense.
And, of course, there is also that mythical state championship Brown has talked about since arriving back in 1988 and
easily inherited the worst major college program in North Carolina. Along with the win at App State on September 9, the Tar Heels could still brag about winning that title to help recruiting, which is the most important game Brown and his staff play in the off-season.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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