The Triangle College Football Playoff is off and running.
I talked a few days ago about all three local major college teams finding themselves at 4-6 after losses last weekend. But each of them still had a chance to earn a bowl bid by winning their last two games.
Mack Brown took it another step when he introduced the mini-playoff concept to his team at a Monday meeting. The Tar Heels’ side of the bracket is the game against Mercer Saturday on Senior Day in the semifinal, which they are heavily favored to win.
At least 19 Heels play in Kenan for the last time, and UNC has sold out its sixth and final home date. Roughly, that is 50,500 x 6, which equals an overall attendance of 303,000. Now, some of those tickets were bought by opposing fans, and hundreds of the seats in the Blue Zone weren’t occupied because their owners were watching and partaking inside the club level… still an outstanding show of support in Mack’s first season back.
Carolina should win its semifinal game and, if so, still be alive in the Triangle playoff going to N.C. State next Saturday at 7 pm. That was supposed to be a high-stakes battle for a bowl bid, but the Wolfpack lost its fifth straight at Georgia Tech Thursday night, dropping to 4-7 and out of bowl contention for the first time in six years.
Duke may well suffer the same fate when the Blue Devils visit 7-3 Wake Forest Saturday. If so, two Triangle teams will have been knocked out of the mini-playoff. Even with an upset of Wake Forest, Duke would still have to beat a hot Miami team the following week to keep its streak of six bowls in the last seven years going.
It is tough to predict how State’s elimination from a bowl will affect the Pack’s preparation. Beating UNC for a fourth straight year, and their role of a spoiler, might still have them sky-high. State is struggling at quarterback with Devin Leary, who did play his best game in the 28-26 loss in Atlanta.
I know it is a stretch to call it a bowl playoff for the Tar Heels, who have had such an up-and-down season. But if they win two more games, they will likely go to a better bowl than a 6-6 record deserves because of Brown’s high profile and Carolina’s national brand. And if they win, they can finish 7-6 and be a bowl champion.
Having then beaten Duke and State, they can also claim the Triangle title as well as a bowl bid. Not bad for Year One of Mack’s Tenure Two.
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