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 coming off a difficult game against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Friday night, but the head coach is not losing hope heading into his team’s Week 2 game against Georgia State. Here are a few of Brown’s answers on various topics:
On the loss against Virginia Tech: At this stage in our program, any loss is tough. So we can quit saying ‘tough loss,’ because that goes without saying. And number two, you shouldn’t have preseason rankings. We weren’t the ninth- or tenth-best team in the country. And now Virginia Tech gets credit for beating a top-10 team when we weren’t. Let’s wait until October, and when the College Football [Playoff] ratings come out, then we’ll know, because people have earned the right. We had the right because we’ve done so well in the offseason and recruiting and we had a lot of guys back. But we also lost a lot of guys on offense, and we really struggled in the first half offensively. We struggled in the first quarter defensively. Defensively, we came back and played great in the last three quarters. Offensively, we moved the ball, we just had the turnovers and couldn’t get it in the end zone. But I love the way the kids fought.
On how the defense improved after the first quarter: I think the biggest thing is just lining up right. Virginia Tech gave us a lot of different shifts and motions and looks. They did a really good job early in the game of keeping some new guys on their heels and off their game. Coach [Jay] Bateman and the defensive staff did a tremendous job of settling them down and adjusting, and getting the guys in position. And then they played great for three quarters.
On looking forward to the Georgia State game Saturday night: I’m really excited. There’s absolutely no doubt that the students and the fans at Virginia Tech were a difference. And they helped their football team. And we’ve got to be that way Saturday night. We’ve got to greet this young team back home and pick them back up. We’ve got a lot of home games in a row. I think Georgia Tech’s stuck in the middle of a good string of great games. Florida State and Notre Dame looked great on Sunday night, both of them. So we’ve got our hands full moving forward. But with Florida State being at home, and Georgia State being at home this weekend and Virginia next weekend, our fans are gonna have to be a difference for us. And I’m really, really excited to get home.
On his message for the fans: The fans, they’ve been so great. They’ve supported us so well the two years and one game we’ve been back. They bought all the tickets, they’ve been so positive, so stay positive! I’m disappointed for the players on Friday night. I’m disappointed for our fans. I know for me, I lose part of my soul when we lose a game. And you’ve got to be careful that you don’t have a little depression set in, because you work so hard to win. And you want to win for the players. You want to win for their experience. And you want to win for the fans, because they fight so hard for you. So stay positive, fans. These guys kept fighting during the game, and I know you did, too. And we’ll be back on Saturday night.
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 247 Sports
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