(Note: UNC football coach Mack Brown met with a few members of the media at The Mayflower Hotel on Thursday afternoon to speak about his team’s prep for Friday’s game and their experience in D.C. Note that his full interview is posted below this story.)

WASHINGTON, DC – North Carolina is ready for Temple, its coach said Thursday, and the Tar Heels have arrived in the nation’s capital determined to win another football game.

Bowl season is filled with teams that are excited to play in their respective bowls and some that aren’t all that dialed in for various reasons. The Tar Heels? No question, they are ready for Friday’s Military Bowl game versus Temple.

Mack Brown knows a thing or two about what ready teams look like a day or two before their postseason games, and he said in an interview at The Mayflower Hotel on Thursday without hesitation that his group is raring to go.

“I think it’s usually that Thursday/Friday,” Brown said, alluding to typical game-week schedules, thus those two days this week are actually Wednesday/Thursday. “We were not in pads yesterday, we were in shorts, and it was real sharp. And if you’re dropping balls and going to wrong way on Thursday, you’re in trouble, and we weren’t, we were locked in.”

The Tar Heels arrived Dec. 22 to prepare for their first bowl game since 2016, but when they woke up Thursday morning, they were no longer in bowl-fun mode. Exploring D.C. was put in the rearview mirror and zeroing their focus on the Owls had become the only priority.

As bowl prep often goes, the Heels (6-6 overall, 4-4 ACC) weren’t as sharp earlier this week, as workouts were surrounded by plenty of sightseeing and attention given to other activities. But the Heels’ sharpened their focus as the game has drawn closer.

“I thought Tuesday’s practice was just okay,” Brown said. “You’re changing routines and we just got through traveling, so it’s a lot different. And I thought since then practice has been really good. Yesterday (Wednesday) was great. They were really focused.”

The Heels had a team meeting before breaking up into offensive and defensive groups for sessions. They then drove about 20 minutes south into Virginia to practice at St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes School in Alexandria. That’s where the team has practiced since they arrived.

There they had a walk-thru before returning to the hotel where they will have chapel and dinner, a movie and bedtime is at 10 p.m. The team will stay at The Mayflower again Thursday night - and the Heels will bus Friday morning the approximate 34 miles to Navy Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis to face the Owls. Kickoff is set for noon and the game will air on ESPN.

The Tar Heels last played Nov. 30 when they routed N.C. State, 41-10, in Raleigh. So, by the time Friday’s game kicks off, it will have been 27 days since UNC played a game. That’s a long time and the concerns are common with when a team starts a season.

“Bowl games are very much like opening games, you have the same concerns,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “You haven’t been hit really for a month, the ball carriers haven’t been tackled full speed, your kicking game hasn’t been full speed, and usually it’s the team that loses the bowl game more than wins it.

“There’s a few things: Who has the best (emotional) edge? Temple’s 8-4, we’re excited to be here, so I don’t think there is an edge difference in this ballgame. I think it’s an even game and both teams will be excited and need to win the game.

“So, then you start looking at who’s going to protect the ball the best on a cold day, who’s going to get more turnovers and take advantage of them, and it’s usually kicking game. And those are things that you can’t prepare for as well in opening ballgames (and) it pops back up in bowl games.”

Bowl games slated around Christmas means teams usually spend that day together instead of being at home with their families. It’s new to most of the Heels because they missed out on the postseason the last two years and the most recent one that included UNC was the Sun Bowl in 2016, and it was played Dec. 30.

Christmas together in the nation’s capital has worked out really well, Brown said. Maybe better than anyone expected.

“We had Christmas last night and it was really fun,” he said. “And all the guys (and) each of the staff groups had to do something with karaoke, and that was really ugly (joke). It’s a lot like my dancing, so it was pretty embarrassing for them. One (player) even put helium in so he wouldn’t sound as bad, and they sounded bad.

“And then Joe Haydon, one of our staff members, did the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ and he had a different position group with each one and that was hilarious. It was so much fun… I think the week’s been really good and it’s pulled the team even closer together… And if anyone had any apprehensions ‘Would it be fun on Christmas,’ they’ve had a blast.”

The Tar Heels have made sure to see as much as they can here in the nation’s capital. They’ve been to the Capitol Building, even having the rare experience of sitting on the floor level the chamber of House of Representatives, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, numerous well-known monuments and they’ve seen the White House, which is located only several blocks from the team’s hotel.

The Heels could have gone to warmer climates or even New York City and played in Yankee Stadium, all of which would have been great well received by the players, but how interesting and neat has it been for Brown to see his club not only have fun, but an educational experience, too?

“I wasn’t sure when we were looking at all the different opportunities, and then as it got closer I was really pulling for this bowl because parents can drive, fans can drive, we’ve got a lot of fans and recruits in this area – we had an open practice on Monday for everybody to come out and we had a good turnout there,” Brown said.

“And I didn’t even think about the educational part of it. But I’ve been overwhelmed with all this stuff, so I’m sure it’s been a great week of teaching and learning for our players, as well.”