Heels Understand Saturday's Task & Are Okay With It

CHAPEL HILL – A monster is coming to Chapel Hill this weekend.

It’s orange, huge, strong, fast, skilled and plentiful. And it has North Carolina’s full attention.

Of course, it does. Any college football team getting ready to face the number one squad in the nation, which also happens to be the defending national champions, is going to be on all cylinders preparing for the task. And it’s a considerable task indeed.

But how do UNC’s staff and senior leaders balance the reality of getting sky high to take on Clemson (4-0) while also getting in a good week of practice and building an appropriate level of confidence? Now, add that the Tar Heels (2-2) are coming off consecutive losses to Wake Forest and Appalachian State plus what their coach said Monday about the Tigers and one has to figure the game is a mere formality.

Mack Brown said it will be an “honor” having the land’s top-ranked team inside Kenan Stadium. And he said more:

“They have the best program in the country. They have the best head coach and coaches in the country. They have the most depth in the country…”

About Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Brown said, “He’s tall, he can run, he can throw, he’s got it all.”

Brown wasn’t raising a white flag he was being honest. He knows one of this week’s challenges by the time they run out of the tunnel Saturday is getting the Tar Heels to truly believe they cannot just compete with Clemson but also beat Clemson. It’s hard because he won’t be pulling the wool over his players’ eyes, he knows that’s not possible.

“I think it’s hard because of the situation we’re in and two losses and our guys are really smart,” Brown said, before offering a little joke. “That’s not a good thing this week, they can see how good these guys really are… But kids get excited about playing someone that good and they want to see how they live up to it.”

That, they are and they do.

“I’m excited about it,” sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said. “I’ve been talking to most of the guys on the team and they’re excited about it. Not every day you get to face the number one team in the country. I think it’s a great opportunity to find out where we are as a team and I can’t wait to get after it on Saturday.”

Senior safety Myles Dorn has seemingly adopted the role of team spokesman in recent weeks, and he echoed what Gemmel said and then some. He called it a “benchmark” game and isn’t worried about his teammates’ collective mindset going into this affair in which the Heels are 28-point underdogs.

“They’re the number one team in the nation, if you can’t get up for them you can’t get up for anybody,” he said.

So, there’s getting up for a huge opportunity, which playing a juggernaut like Clemson provides, but is there also the flipside of generating the kind of confidence necessary to go into a game like this believing you can also win?

“Personally, I feel like everybody on the defense has enough chip on their shoulder, enough confidence,” Gemmel said. “It’s just believing in one another and making sure everyone’s doing their job.”

Dorn once again agreed.

“Definitely. I think the biggest thing for us this week is realizing that we’re ballplayers, too,” he said. “We can play, too. And just go out there and compete, that’s what it’s all about. It’s about competing and seeing where you stand. And who else to compete with than the number one team in the country.

“That’s when you really know where you stand as a player and where you stand as a team.”

The greatest achievements throughout history were never easy. The greatest upsets in sports weren’t, either, but they happen with enough regularity that teams with decent talent, a good plan and deeply embedded belief can ostensibly do the unthinkable.

None of the Tar Heels mentioned the word “upset” during Tuesday’s series of interviews, none even said they can beat Clemson, but they didn’t say they could lose to the Tigers, either.

They spoke about the opportunity coming their way. Not many teams get a chance like this, Gemmel said, and the Heels have it.

And with everything else that could be going through their minds, that’s taking center stage. Perhaps that’s the best approach to slay the biggest, baddest beast on the block.