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The reasons why Carolina could win or not win its ACC opener.
The Tar Heels are facing a historic game at Pitt Saturday night. They can be the first UNC team to open the season 4-0 since 1997, Mack Brown’s last year in his first stint as Carolina’s coach. And Brown’s played that card all week.
The Heels are a touchdown favorite over the Panthers, who have beaten them in their last two visits to the Steel City in overtime. So, if Carolina will ever be ready to play, it should be in this game against an inferior team.
Brown 2.0 is taking his most talented group to Pitt, where he watched in frustration as mistakes cost them those last two games. But this time, he has the decided advantage at quarterback, where Drake Maye leads UNC at the top of ACC offensive stats with a defense that is much improved.
In 2019, the Tar Heels outscored the Panthers 17-3 in the fourth quarter to force overtime and then lost the battle between Sam Howell and Kenny Pickett, both starters in the NFL this season. Pitt scored on its first possession, but Howell had two incompletions around a sack to end the game.
Who can forget 2021? Carolina again roared back to tie the game in the second half but missed a chance to win in regulation with a first and goal at the Pitt 2-yard line, settling for a tying field goal only to lose in OT again.
The Panthers can win if they play better than they have so far this season, especially at quarterback. Their DNA is aggressive, physical football and they will be playing like wounded animals after losing to Cincinnati and the Backyard Brawl at West Virginia. So they’ll be mad as hell.
Quarterback Phil Jurkovec can play much better than he has in three starts so far and needs to since his running game features the No. 24 rusher in the ACC compared to No. 2, UNC’s Omarion Hampton. The sixth-year grad transfer from Notre Dame and BC is the ACC’s 13th-rated QB versus Maye at No. 2.
Mainly, Pitt has the reputation of having brutally tough football players, tougher than Carolina’s rap as a “soft team,” which Brown is trying to shake. “They’re one of the toughest teams in this league,” he said.
“Coach Pat Narduzzi is a competitor. They’re not happy with their start. They’ll be excited to play. We’ve gotta fight our guts out and be able to handle success because we know how they’re going to play. The question is how are we gonna play? We haven’t always responded well when people pat us on the back.”
Featured image via Associated Press/Reinhold Matay
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