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No mayonnaise bath for Mack Brown.

The veteran head coach suffered one last humbling defeat in the 2021 season, as his Tar Heels came out flat against South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and never recovered. The 38-21 loss sent UNC, who finishes the year 6-7, to its first losing season under Brown since 1989.

“Congratulations to coach [Shane] Beamer and South Carolina,” Brown said after the game. “He obviously did a lot better job than I did. They did a lot better job with their team than we did. Jumped on us early, hit some big plays in the passing game, and ended up running the ball at will.”

Once again, the Tar Heels fell into a deep hole in the first quarter. But unlike the Pittsburgh and NC State games, no rally got Carolina back in the game. Two long Gamecock touchdowns, coupled with three Tar Heel punts, staked South Carolina to an 18-0 lead after 15 minutes. To add insult to injury, the Gamecocks were playing without their starting quarterback, who had already entered the transfer portal, or their starting running back, who opted out of the game. Zeb Noland and converted wide receiver Dakereon Joyner split quarterback duties for South Carolina, with both throwing touchdowns in the first quarter. They didn’t throw an incompletion until the second half.

“[Joyner] did an unbelievable job,” Brown said. “So I think there’ll be some discussion about him moving forward. Because he played an excellent game.”

“We knew about [Joyner] beforehand,” said senior linebacker Tomon Fox. “But when he first came in, we thought it was gonna be more of a Wildcat-type offense. But then we see he was very efficient at running the actual offense.”

Running back Kevin Harris and receiver Jaheim Bell found open spaces everywhere within the UNC defense. Harris spearheaded an unstoppable Gamecock rushing attack, with 31 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown. Bell was on the receiving end of both first quarter touchdown passes, and he finished with five catches for 159 yards. That’s an average of 31.8 yards per catch. No UNC running back or receiver hit the century mark Thursday.

UNC quarterback Sam Howell, playing in perhaps his final game as a Tar Heel, tossed a touchdown pass to senior tight end Garrett Walston in the third quarter, meaning Howell has thrown for a score in all 37 games played at Carolina. He finished with 12 completions in 20 attempts for 205 yards. He was also sacked four times, as UNC’s offensive line struggles reared their ugly head again. The Tar Heels allowed an ACC-worst 49 sacks this season, the most in school history since the NCAA began tracking the statistic in 2000.

“I still have some decisions to make,” Howell said. “But if this is my last game, I’m just forever grateful for everything. It’s been a blessing to be here at Carolina. I’m just so appreciative for all the help I’ve had along the way.”

Though Howell will likely be gone in 2022, several Tar Heels on the offensive side showed glimpses of future contributions. Running back British Brooks, who is returning to Chapel Hill for a fifth season, ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and finished as UNC’s leading rusher. Freshman tight end Bryson Nesbit caught two passes after finishing the regular season with just five. Antoine Green, who intends to return to Carolina next year as well, led all Tar Heel receivers with four catches for 73 yards.

Still, it’s a bitterly disappointing end to the season for Carolina. The days of a top 10 preseason ranking seem like a long time ago.

“A lot of times, you won’t fix things as much when things are great,” said Brown. “And we had a tough day today. So, we’ll have to go back and really look at everything we’re doing.”

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward

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