Carolina’s game plan at Virginia Tech? Find a way to win.
In the great majority of the more than 30 openers Mack Brown’s college football teams have had, the Hall of Fame coach said he had no clue if his team was good enough to win. And he feels no differently about the September 3 debut at Virginia Tech.
When Brown began here before, he knew better the outcomes.
In 1988, the leftovers he inherited from Dick Crum just weren’t in the same league, literally and figuratively, to win the opener at South Carolina and they lost 31-10. In 1989, no matter who he had back, the Heels were going to slaughter VMI and did 49-7. Trouble is, they lost their next 10 to go 1-10 for the second straight year.
“It’s usually 3-to-5 games before you figure out if you’re any good or not,” said Brown, whose latest team is in the top 10 of most preseason polls but has to “find a way” to replace the more than 5,000 yards of offense they lost from guys who are all in the NFL right now.
Playing a dangerous VPI (an ACC opponent) makes it more difficult than getting ready for a small-college VMI. “More openers are lost than won,” Brown said. “You have to walk a fine line between getting them ready to play and the chance of them getting hurt because they don’t have fresh legs from practicing too hard.”
To make sure Carolina is ready for an opponent the caliber of Virginia Tech, Brown has been having the first offense scrimmage against the first defense. “The best versus the best, so they know how to play at the highest level,” he said.
Brown knows WHERE they have to improve to meet the lofty goals outsiders have set for them. The defense must be much better and has the personnel to be deeper and not wear down. And special teams have been only mediocre the last two seasons.
“We have not blocked a punt since we’ve been here,” Brown said. “And if you pay a lot of attention to blocking the punt, your chances of having a good punt return go down.”
Two weeks to go and, from now on, it’s all about finding a way.
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