After a difficult loss last week against Virginia Tech, the No. 24 Tar Heels will return to Chapel Hill for their home opener Saturday night against Georgia State. The football program announced Tuesday the game has officially sold out, the sixth of seven home games this season to do so. It will also be the first time since November 2019 that the Tar Heels will play in front of a full Kenan Stadium.
Head coach Mack Brown said he is looking forward to playing in front of 50,000 UNC fans once again, and also acknowledged the significance of the date: the game will be played on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
“It’s a wonderful time to appreciate and say thank you to the first responders, and honor them,” Brown told reporters Wednesday. “I remember 9/11 vividly. It’s part of my life, it will be forever obviously. It’s something that all younger people need to go back and revisit and look at, because there were some real heroes that day.”
The Tar Heels gave free tickets to Saturday’s game to any and all interested first responders and their families. Tributes and commemorations for 9/11 will take place throughout the day.
As for the game itself, Carolina and Georgia State have never before met on a football field. The Panthers, out of the Sun Belt Conference, finished the 2020 season with a 6-4 record, including a bowl game win over Western Kentucky. Brown said rather than nitpick Georgia State’s opening loss to Army this season, his staff are looking at how the Panthers finished last season.
“We go back to their last three games from last year,” Brown said. “They were really good at the end of last year, and it’s the same people. I think they’ve got about 15 seniors starting. And a lot of their super seniors came back, I think. So, we’re looking at who they were last year. They were good. And when you’re good, you keep doing what you’re doing.”
Senior defensive lineman Ray Vohasek echoed Brown’s sentiment, noting the Panthers’ experienced offensive line. But he also said there are still things Carolina can do to give them problems.
“They have a veteran offensive line, I believe all the guys are seniors across the board,” Vohasek said. “Talented quarterback, talented running back. They run a good offense, they do a lot of things where they create cutback lanes and things like that, trying to get big plays. And I think there’s some things we can do to really dominate the line of scrimmage for us.”
Sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs, who scored UNC’s only touchdown against Virginia Tech, said the team has already put the loss to the Hokies behind them. Come Saturday night, he said the Tar Heel offense, held in check in Week 1, is ready to start living up to the preseason hype.
“Nobody’s hanging their heads. I mean, we have tremendous ability, tremendous potential in that room,” Downs told reporters. “It’s gonna show in these next few weeks. We’ve been balling out all fall camp, and we balled out in the spring. So, I think we’re gonna bounce back harder than anyone in the nation. So, that’s what I can say about that.”
Featured image via The News & Observer
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