What Mack Brown said after UNC’s demoralizing loss to Georgia Tech
Just when you thought the UNC football team couldn’t disappoint you any more, it did exactly that last night.
A week after Carolina lost to UVA in Kenan Stadium, it traveled down to Atlanta for a matchup with its kryptonite, Georgia Tech.
UNC appeared on the verge of what should’ve been an easy victory, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 14-0 in the opening quarter. Even after giving up 28 second-quarter points, the Tar Heels rebounded and carried an 11-point advantage into the final frame.
Georgia Tech scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns, racked up 635 yards and upset Carolina, 46-42, on Homecoming weekend.
This loss did multiple things for UNC – not only completely ending its already-slim College Football Playoff hopes, but knocking it out of contention for an ACC title. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Carolina completely drop from the rankings.
Mack Brown is a good head coach, but his time in Chapel Hill could be coming to an end if disappointing losses, particularly against sub-.500 opponents like UVA and Georgia Tech, continue becoming yearly themes. Carolina always seems to beat teams expected to give it a good challenge, but always falters against subpar competition.
Let’s see what Brown had to say after Saturday night’s clunker:
On defensive setbacks in second and fourth quarters
“I’ve never seen anybody just take it and hand it off and run for 10 yards a crack,” Brown told InsideCarolina “And I told the guys, I can’t answer what happened right now. So we’ll watch it on the plane going home and we’ll adjust and see what part of that’s coaching and what part of that’s their responsibility and don’t point fingers. Everybody else will, but we didn’t do well.”
Mack Brown on allowing Georgia Tech to out-rush UNC
“Virginia ran the ball for I think 228 and tonight they ran it for 350 or something and you can’t win games,” Brown told InsideCarolina. “We talked about us not running it well last week, we ran it well enough tonight. We played good enough on offense, but it was just really bad on defense.”
Mack Brown on if the UVA loss lingered
“I don’t know,” Brown told InsideCarolina. “I guess no, practice was really good. I guess there wasn’t a hangover on offense and there was on defense. I mean, and the kicking game was probably the best we’ve had except for the one block punt. And that didn’t hurt us because we ended up with an interception the next play.”
Mack Brown on Devontez Walker injury
“I don’t know,” Brown told InsideCarolina. “He was fine, he was talking. As far as what happened, that’s for the medical people to talk to. They want to talk to his family and all that before I would. I haven’t gotten any response from them. Except he was aware and talking.”
Mack Brown on UNC's defensive struggles since Miami
“It’s a roller coaster,” Brown told InsideCarolina. You look at all the scores today, they might play great next week, or the next one. You can’t tell anymore. You’ve got to have a new game every week. That’s why college football, everybody’s become pretty good. This team beat Miami at Miami. So give them credit.”
Mack Brown on Heels choking away yet another late lead
“I don’t know what happened,” Brown told InsideCarolina. “I don’t know what was wrong either. You have to look at the calls. You have to look at the athlete, the coaches, and you have to look at the players when it’s that inconsistent. … And they didn’t stop us either. I mean that’ll go unnoticed. Because the winner nobody talks about the bad things, the loser only talks about the bad things. So I got that. That’s the way our life is.”
