UNC football head coach Mack Brown joined Aaron Keck this morning for “Mondays with Mack,” presented by Chapel Hill Tire.
Brown and the Tar Heels are 6-0 heading into another installment of the South’s Oldest Rivalry against Virginia. Not only that, but Carolina has also cracked the Top 10 in the weekly AP Poll for the first time since 2015. But there is still plenty to fix from UNC’s victory against Miami, notably the 14 penalties for well over 100 yards.
Here are a few of Brown’s answers on various topics:
On the win against the Hurricanes: I want to thank the whole community for Saturday night. That was fun. It was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever seen and in Kenan Stadium, very similar to when we played Florida State back in 1997. And also very similar to our first game back here when we beat Miami. I think. It was just a magical night. Great for the community, great for Chapel Hill, all the businesses. The university made a lot of money and had a lot of fun. So it was just a great game. Miami’s got a tremendous team. We’re probably one of the few teams that have beaten them five times in a row, because they’re so talented and so good. And I was really pleased with the way our guys fought. They played tough throughout the night. Didn’t always play well, but played tough. And we’ve become a tougher football team.
On what impressed him from the game: I really like the way we’re running the ball. Omarion Hampton had 8.2 yards per carry. He had so many yards after contact. He had 197 yards and a couple long ones called back because of too many penalties. [Miami] is the number one rushing defense in the country, and we rushed for 235 yards. And we’re taking care of the ball on offense. Defensively, forcing four turnovers is a stat that you look at. And usually if you do that, you’re gonna win the game. And we’re stopping their runs. They were rushing for over 200 yards and we held them to 91 yards rushing. So normally when you can rush for over 200, hold a really talented team to 91, force four turnovers and have none, you’re gonna win the game.
On this weekend’s game against Virginia: Virginia and Carolina’s been a rivalry forever. I think it’s the oldest rivalry in the south. The two universities are so much alike. Sally and I actually have a daughter, Barbara, who’s a professor at Virginia, and we tell her, “Don’t talk nice about them when you come down here . We don’t want you to like Charlottesville.” But [Virginia head coach] Tony Elliott’s a a tremendous person. He’s a great coach. I admire his story. It’s amazing what he’s accomplished in his life. And then I admire the way he handled their tragedy. Last year when they lost the young players, he stepped up and helped the community heal and helped those families. And he continues to help that story. And his team has played well every week. Their record is not what they want it to be, but they’re coming down to the end at every ball game. This is a rivalry game. It’ll be a huge game for them. And they’ve played us well for years and have two weeks to prepare.
On his message to the fans: Come with the same energy you did last week. Be in there early and let’s be loud. Let’s enjoy it. And let’s remember the only thing that’s important for this team is to be 7-0. We haven’t been 8-0 since 1997, and that was a really good football team. So we’ve got some work to do to still live up to that standard. But let’s start over. This week is fall break. Some of our students won’t be there. It’s still gonna be a sellout. But let’s make sure that every fan comes to the game this weekend with a purpose of helping their team win.
Listen below for the full conversation between Mack Brown and Aaron Keck, and tune in to hear the segment live on Monday mornings each game week!
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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