JMU Dukes rumble to a big win over the Heels. Is Mack Brown staying or leaving? What is the state of UNC Football?

SPORTS

CHAPEL HILL–Gardner-Webb is a small private Christian school in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Their basketball team has even played at UNC before (stay with me; there’s a point).

So, what is their significance? They are a decent FCS program, and they shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as North Carolina, right?

Well, they only gave up 13 points to James Madison.

Carolina forked over 70 points— 53 of those in the first half.

To make matters worse, there were rumors that Mack Brown was quitting. Not on Monday morning but the night of the game.

Multiple sites reported that he mentioned resigning immediately from the head coaching position in the locker room postgame in a speech to his team.

He has since clarified the matter and has said he will not be stepping down. He told ESPN on Saturday, “I’m not resigning. I’ll be back at work Monday.”

He said he messaged his team after arriving home postgame, apologized for the comments and said he would be better going forward and was not leaving his post. Brown commented,

“I shouldn’t have put that pressure on them, so I’m disappointed in myself.”

Brown is in his sixth season with the Tar Heels. During that time, they reached one ACC Championship, which they lost against Clemson, and went to the Orange Bowl, where they lost. The Heels have also had a winning season every year, which is certainly an improvement compared to the abysmal end of the Larry Fedora era.

Brown is a Hall of Famer who really made his name for himself at Texas, where he won the all-time classic 2006 national championship game against the USC Trojans. Before that, he was the head coach at North Carolina from 1988 to 1997.

His return to Chapel Hill received much excitement but has since started to waiver after the last two seasons. In both seasons the team had a great record and was ranked but proceeded to stumble down the stretch to opponents who were nowhere near elite.

Last season they were 6-0, ranked number 10 in the country, and lost to a Virginia team at home that finished 3-9. And in 2022 they ranked number 15 and had a record of 9-1 before losing to a mediocre Georgia Tech team that ended their season at 5-7. The Heels finished the year on a four-game skid to finish 9-5

In the last two seasons, the Heels have faltered with top quarterback talent, including quarterback Drake Maye. After their defense surrendered a historic program high of 70 points, the program’s season and general future are in a gray area.

Before you get optimistic or take a breath, let’s remember that the Heels had a blocked punt and five offensive turnovers.

Jacolby Criswell threw two interceptions and a fumble. Freshman Christian Hamilton also fumbled. Conner Harrell’s two statistics in the box score were a fumble lost, and one carry for negative 3 yards.

Criswell started for the first time this year for the Heels after transferring from Arkansas and had some bright spots. Throwing for over 400 yards and three touchdowns is hardly anything to turn one’s nose up at. He also averaged 9.9 yards a throw. That’s almost a first down per attempt.

He had 475 yards and three touchdown passes and completed 28 of 48 pass attempts.

With that performance and Harrel’s lack of playing time last Saturday, he will be expected to have the lead on the starting job over Harrell. Harrell started the previous two matches after Max Johnson went down for the season with a leg injury in the Minnesota game.

So we know Mack Brown is not quitting. It seems we know who the Heels can expect to have under center, but who knows what the defense and special teams will look like all year?

This year, the Tar Heels situation differs from Brown’s previous years, and a lot is up in the air.

The Heels will face Duke on Saturday at their place. They are undefeated, and it will be UNC’s first ACC game. It will be telling for the Heels and will undoubtedly set a tone for them this season. Duke is led by Manny Diaz, who Brown fired in 2013 from Texas during the season after a poor defensive game against the BYU Cougars.

So the Heels are still determining their direction and have a big game away in conference with high stakes. They will look to bounce back this week.

Thomas Hicks is a journalist with video, PR, and writing experience who studied at UNC and the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Thomas is always looking for work and the next story! He loves working with his camera or with his pen. This reporter can be contacted at thomasjhicks55@gmail.com, LinkedIn: Thomas Hicks and X: ThomasJ_H