As UNC head coach Mack Brown walked off the field following his team’s win against Wake Forest late Saturday night, one particular moment made him think. He noticed a senior look at one of his teammates and scream, “We’re bowl eligible!”
The raw excitement of simply winning six games wouldn’t have been there for the Tar Heel teams of the last two seasons, which secured a bowl ticket almost as early as possible. But for this year’s group, the joy of getting to play another football game is palpable. Fans who saw the horror of an historically bad faceplant against James Madison or the heartbreak of a last-minute loss to Georgia Tech – UNC’s most recent home game before Saturday – wouldn’t have believed their eyes.
“It’s been too easy for us to get [to bowl eligibility in the past],” Brown said. “We haven’t finished. But this team, they’re on a mission to finish right. That’s what we said in January, and that’s what they’re doing.”
It wasn’t just the losses on the scoreboard which had hung heavy on the Tar Heels. Offensive line coach Randy Clements suffered a medical emergency which nearly ended his life in preseason practice. Starting quarterback Max Johnson’s season-ending leg injury in the opening game required multiple surgeries. And of course, Tylee Craft’s death from cancer last month touched everyone in the locker room.
All of that would be a heavy burden for anyone, let alone a college student. And Brown acknowledged his team’s turnaround stands out in his 50-year coaching career.
“For this team to have been in such a hole, very few teams, in my estimation, could’ve come out of this,” he said. “And that means they’ve got great character.”
The Tar Heels are not the first nor the last college football team to face in-season adversity. But as Brown noted, adversity provides you with a choice.
“You can take two different paths,” he said. “You can go down and just quit. You’ve got plenty of excuses. And they didn’t do that. They kept their head up, they kept fighting, they kept competing. And I think that’s why they’re so proud tonight.”
One needs only to look toward Tallahassee to see the results of taking the first path Brown mentioned. The contrast between Florida State and Carolina was on full display two weeks ago and continues to be on display now. The Tar Heels appear to have found their joy again after losing it, while the Seminoles are mired in a uniquely joy-less fall.
And Saturday night’s win carried even more special meaning than simply securing a postseason berth. As mentioned before, it marked the first game back in Kenan Stadium since Craft’s death during the Georgia Tech game. A commemorative emblem bearing Craft’s No. 13 graced both sides of the field, and a plaque honoring Craft was visible in the tunnel. Even more poignant was the presence of Craft’s mother September, who spoke to the team after the game.
Linebacker Power Echols, who came to Chapel Hill a year after Craft and provided a highlight on Saturday with a pick-six, said Tylee and September’s enduring message has turned into a rallying cry.
“When we’re dealing with a whole lot of things we can’t control, his motto was, ‘Keep swinging,’” Echols said. “And I feel like right now, our team’s coming together and we’re just gonna keep swinging.”
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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