Every season, Power 5 football programs will play teams from the so-called “Group of 5,” leagues that play FBS football but are not in the major conferences. And every season, those supposedly lesser programs spring upsets. Already this season, teams from the Sun Belt, Mountain West and MAC have won road games against teams from the Big 12, Big Ten and ACC.
The refrain from the big schools’ fanbases after these high-risk, low-reward games is always the same: why schedule them in the first place?
Many Tar Heel fans have been posing that question about Carolina’s recent meetings with in-state foes Appalachian State, who beat UNC in Chapel Hill in 2019 and nearly pulled off a stunning comeback in Boone last year. Those were the first two of a three-game series between the schools, with Saturday being the final installment.
Mack Brown’s first head coaching job was at App State, so the Hall of Famer is uniquely positioned to know the effect college football has in North Carolina. Brown said when it comes to scheduling non-conference matchups, he prefers in-state opponents like the Mountaineers.
“They’re just an amazing program, and it’s good for this state,” he said. “I like the fact that if we’re gonna make money for somebody, let’s make money for schools within the state. I think we play NC Central next year. We play Charlotte. If we’re going to play a team that’s not in our league, I like it when we play in-state schools.”
“You’re certainly gonna get more economic income than you are from playing Delaware or Middle Tennessee or McNeese State, as the Tar Heels have done at home over the years,” said Lee Pace, who has been writing about UNC football for more than 30 years and has been on the job for all 100 of Brown’s victories as head coach of the Tar Heels. “It’s just being a good citizen. Realizing that it’s more fun. And coming to Chapel Hill and playing Carolina is a boost to a lot of these schools.”
Of course, the fun factor hinges on the big school actually taking care of business. That’s what UNC has done since Brown returned – with the exception of the App State loss in 2019. That game is the only non-Power 5 loss the Tar Heels have suffered during Brown’s second tenure.
In attendance at Kenan Stadium that day was Jeff Marcin, then a freshman at App State working for WASU, the student radio station which broadcasts football games. Marcin has since graduated, but you may have heard his voice on a viral radio call from a memorable Mountaineer game last season.
Here was the call on App State student radio.
Video courtesy of ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/YFgXh0OxlT— WASU Sports (@WASU_Sports) September 18, 2022
Marcin is a Triangle native whose parents both went to UNC and who grew up a Tar Heel fan. So like Brown, he can paint a picture of what’s at stake for both sides on Saturday.
“From the App State perspective, I don’t want to use the term ‘Super Bowl,’ but that is kind of how it is,” he told Chapelboro. “For UNC, it’s an expected win. You’re hoping to take care of business against them. But the way App State is against these big-time teams, they’re always gonna compete. So it’s always a game that UNC looks at and they’ve gotta be nervous about. It’s almost like a nothing-to-lose game for App State.”
It should come as no surprise, then, that App State is always eager to schedule games against bigger programs in the state. With Carolina being the flagship institution, the Tar Heels were an easy target.
“App State has made it clear, especially in these past couple of seasons: they prioritize the fans,” Marcin said. “They don’t want to just try and sell out in terms of conference realignment, trying to go into conferences they don’t belong in. They’re in the Sun Belt now, they’re playing a lot of their old FCS rivals. And I think they love playing the in-state rivals as well.”
App State has already played Wake Forest and East Carolina in recent years, and has scheduled future matchups with NC State as well.
But will there be any more games with the Tar Heels? With scheduling thrown up in the air due to large-scale conference realignment and the three-game deal finished after this weekend, the future is murky for the two programs’ brief and often chippy relationship.
Carolina fans craving an easy win probably prefer a different opponent. App State fans love nothing more than taking down programs believed to be on a higher tier of competition.
What about Mack Brown, the only man to serve as head football coach at both schools?
“I don’t think he enjoys playing App State,” Pace said. “Because he’s got some personal connections there, and he knows how good they are.”
The man himself offered a more blunt answer.
“I’ll be glad,” Brown said with a wry smile, “when we never play ‘em again.”
Featured image via Associated Press/Reinhold Matay
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