Chansky's Notebook: Questions, Questions

Now that the craziness of that game is over, there are legit questions.

Why was Mack Brown dancing with his players after they escaped App State scoring a record 40 points in the fourth quarter? Did any defensive players dance, too, or get sent to take cold showers for that exhibition?

Was beating a mid-major while giving up 61 points worth a dance by the head coach, who probably should have been mad as hell over the poor execution on defense and the 135 yards in penalties?

Shouldn’t App have won the game 57-56 if quarterback Chase Brice, who had completed far tougher passes all day, hadn’t missed a wide-open receiver on a 2-point play that had completely fooled the Tar Heel defense?

After five years out of football, is Gene Chizik over his head? Has he joined Brown leading a program that gets a lot of buzz but plays soft and often undisciplined? Wasn’t App a game to make a $5 million coach bring down the hammer on his players and staff who are not delivering?

With UNC ahead 63-56, did the Mountaineers allow Bryson Nesbit to score with the onside kick? Did third-year App coach Shawn Clark tell his team, “If we don’t recover the kick, let ’em score so we’ll get the ball back?” With only 46 seconds left in the game, did Brown or any of his special team’s assistants say, “Fall on the ball, or run it back to the 5-yard line and go down so the offense can run out the clock?”

He might insist they told them, but why didn’t they do it? Coaches like to say, “We’ve got to coach better!” or “It’s on us!” Regardless of who takes the blame, haven’t mental and physical mistakes killed Carolina lately?

Why does Drake Maye run the ball so much and not slide when he’s about to get hit? As a freshman, he hasn’t filled out to take the punishment like Sam Howell, who was at App for the game and probably wincing when No. 10 took off and finished a lot of carries with a leap and not a slide.

Granted, UNC hadn’t won on the road since 2020, but were everyone from Brown to the radio announcers justifiably positive about the victory that almost slipped away in the most dubious manner?

Where does Brown go from here with another mid-major (at Georgia State) Saturday and Notre Dame on September 24? Can he keep talking about a young team for a fourth straight year after two great recruiting classes and one good one?

With a schedule conducive to at least 6-6, can the Heels avoid losing games they should win, like they almost did Saturday?

Featured image via The News & Observer/Robert Willett

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Chansky’s Notebook: Questions, Questions

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