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Mack Brown denies it, but he sounds like this could be his last season.
First of all, he may be losing his short-term memory when he says that South Carolina in Charlotte, App State and Minnesota at home and at Pitt are the four toughest opening games he has ever had. Ever? In his 16 years at Texas, when he twice had Ohio State in the first four games? In his first 10 years in Chapel Hill? How about two of the last four years with at least three ACC opponents.
Let’s examine it a little more closely.
The Gamecocks beat Tennessee and Clemson to end their 2022 regular season but finished 8-5 after a loss to Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. App State outplayed UNC in the fourth quarter last year and lost three of its last four games to wind up 6-6 with no bowl bid. Minnesota started 4-0 before going 5-4 against a weak Big Ten schedule and ended up 9-4 after a bowl win over mighty Syracuse.
As for Pitt, the game is finally not on Thursday night, when the Heels lost their last two trips up there that they should have won. The truth is, pollsters are picking Carolina to win nine straight following the toss-up opener.
“When we go to Charlotte, we want to fill up Bank of America Stadium,” Brown said in another endless off-season press conference. “And then come back and be packed and be rowdy for App State and for Minnesota. Because those should be tremendous ballgames.”
The spin-meister talks about his fifth (15th overall) UNC team having a chip on its shoulder after losing the last four games following that 9-1 start. A bigger chip than the Tar Heels had last season coming off a 6-7 clunker that started with them in the top 20?
He says Carolina will have a more experienced team this year despite losing 15 players to the transfer portal and signing up only half as many. He does insist his two-deeps have to see a lot more action to keep more players from transferring, which means Carolina will be a young team, a card Mack likes to play if the season goes south.
He rattles off the names of new players joining the program as freshmen or transfers. Howell, Javonte, Carter, Downs and Maye made us know their names by producing and remember them if their successors do not measure up.
Brown mentioned new offensive and defensive analysts and former NFL assistants Clyde Christiansen and Todd Monachino repeatedly and only his full-time coaching staff in passing. He said the same about Jack Bicknell and other ex-NFLers when they came aboard only to tell them not to let the door hit them on the backside when they bolted for other schools.
Mack insists the rumors all over college football that this is his last season are poppycock. That actual season, so we may judge for ourselves, can’t get here soon enough.
Featured image via Inside Carolina/Jim Hawkins
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