UNC football coach Mack Brown joined Ron Stutts this morning for “Mondays with Mack,” presented by Chapel Hill Tire. Read his entire interview below:
Coach, I appreciate you being with us today. You experienced and we watched the longest game in ACC history and I’m just wondering, was that the longest game you’ve ever been in?
Ron, it definitely was. It’s only the second overtime game I’ve ever been in. At Texas, we were in one with West Virginia and it only went to one overtime and we were fortunate enough to win the game. So I think I caught up with those six overtime periods.
I thought that game was never gonna end and I know it had to be really an exaggerating feeling like that on the sidelines. What in the world did you say to your team afterwards? I know they were heartbroken after losing that one. What did you say to them?
Well I have to be careful Ron because I promised Sally when I came back that I would handle losses better and I’m not doing that. So that’s one thing. They still stink. She said after the game, “You know, you’re not doing what you said.” I said, yeah, well I’m not going to be able to, let’s just get through that. So hopefully we’ll start winning them all and we won’t have any more losses. That’d be the most fun.
But I told them that I was proud of their effort. They were ready to play. They played hard for four hours and that we had our opportunities as coaches and players to win. I think there were at least four times where it was down to one play for us to win and we just didn’t finish that.
So the foundation that these guys are building is one that’s going to be great for Carolina football in the future. I told Woody Durham when we were here before. it’s not if we’re going to be good, it’s when, and I feel the same way now.
It’s not “if.” This thing’s turning and turning fast and we’re really killing it in recruiting and you add those guys to the guys that are here and I think we’re going to be really good soon.
But that’s why, Ron, we need all the fans in there this weekend. We need our fans to keep trying as hard as these guys are, and it’ll all pulled together and we’ll start winning and we’re planning on winning the rest of them. So that would put us in a great spot.
Well, coach, I think we all recognize that things are definitely changing. And in that game Saturday night, it looked like we had it won several times. And in fact, it looked as if Virginia Tech might win several times. They had the same kind of thing happened to them. Was it a roller coaster when you’re on the sidelines?
Well, absolutely, but you don’t think about that. You’re just trying to figure out what’s the next step to win and you’re encouraging those guys. Come on guys. One play, one play and this thing’s over. We messed it up.
We had our holding penalty when we go down to the eight yard line. If we can kick a field goal, the games over, we probably would’ve centered the ball there in the next play or two and kicked the extra point and then the game would have been over.
But the holding call set us back then we just had to get back. We had the 35-yard field goal and we got it right. We had the two point play with the Michael Carter one-on-one in space and the [Virginia Tech player] made a great play there. Then they disrupted our routes on the next two point play. There were opportunity after opportunity, Ron, we just didn’t finish it.
Well, a lot of the fans were rather confused because of all the changes in the overtime rules. Do you like those changes?
I do like the changes because it’s safer for kids. We might not have gotten home til three in the morning and you don’t want them to stay out there. We had 89 plays to their 81, and that’s enough. The thing I would like to see is I’d like to see the ball move back to the 35, and then it’s harder to score and you probably don’t go to six over times. Something happens a lot earlier than that and the games over quicker.
Well, one thing, because of the way the game played out, a lot of people aren’t talking about is Dyami Brown lost. The injuries keep coming, don’t they?
It is, we’re really studying that now. We’re looking at it overall, but I’m thinking it’s probably because we don’t have any depth and we’re having so many hard games. Aaron Crawford played 81 plays and that’s too many, you know, that’s a long time for a guy to stay out there. Dyami’s playing about every play and he pulled a muscle in his calf or something because he did it earlier in the game and kept playing.
So the kids are trying, we’re just beaten down. Jay Bateman can’t call his defense. He’s so inexperienced at cornerback that he can’t leave those guys out there one-on-one and do what he wants to inside with his safeties without playing zone. Do you give up the run? Do you give up the pass? Right now we’re trying to stop a lot of water that are coming in the holes in the boat.
Well, I know that, you know, it’s tough to do and I know Sally has probably already remind you to this, but it’s time to turn the page and think about Duke. And is this a good time to have Duke and Homecoming this weekend?
Well, it is. We haven’t played well against Duke in a while. I looked up, I think we’re 2-5 against them the last seven years. And I told our players, you want to have your fans stay on board, beat Duke. That’s one that the fans all want to beat, traditional rivalry.
There’s a Victory Bell we haven’t had in a while. You just got a really good team and I know David Cutcliffe’s very competitive and those guys will come over here ready to play so we can’t sit around and pout long over Virginia tech. We got to get ready to go.
Well of course you guys had the opportunity to win a right until the very end. Same cannot be said for Duke because they got absolutely blown out in their last game this past weekend against Virginia. What else worries you about the Blue Devils besides that lopsided loss?
Their quarterback’s really good. David Cutcliffe’s been there a long time. He knows the place. He’s got a tremendous system in place. They’ve got two really good defensive ends that are very good pass rushers. So you worry about a team that struggled the week before you play them because they’re going to practice harder and they’re going to focus harder and they’ll be ready to go when they come over here.
Well, I want you to know that I really believe the sell out crowd will be there and Kenan to cheer you on this Saturday. And uh, do you have a message for the fans this week?
I do help us win. You guys have been great, the three home games have been unbelievable. We had a chance to upset the number one team in the country and a lot of that was because of the crowd. I think there were six or seven false starts by Clemson and they’d been in big crowds before.
Our students have been the best in the country. This team is trying so hard, these coaches are fighting so hard and we’re down to the last drive of the game.
I figured this game will be the same this weekend. So, let’s all be the one, be there early. Let’s be really, really loud and let’s help this team win this weekend that they deserve to have a win because they’re fighting so hard.
Well, Coach, thank you so much for being with us.
Thank you, Ron. See you next week.
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