CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina welcomes top-ranked Clemson into Kenan Stadium on Saturday for the 58th matchup between the programs since their first meeting on Oct. 25, 1897, a 28-0 win for the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
The defending national champions enter the game with the nation’s longest active winning streak, and second-longest winning streak in ACC history, having won 19-straight dating back to Jan. 1, 2018 where they lost to Alabama, 24-6, in the College Football Playoff Semifinal.
Clemson currently leads the all-time series against UNC with a 37-19-1 overall record. The Tigers have also won three-straight over the Tar Heels, with the teams last meeting in the 2015 ACC Championship game in Charlotte
The last time UNC beat Clemson was a 21-16 victory in Chapel Hill on Oct. 9, 2010 during Butch Davis’ final season. The Tar Heels have only defeated the Tigers twice in their last 10 matchups, with the other coming in a 38-3 win in Death Valley on Oct. 20, 2001.
This is Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s 11th season at the helm of a program that has played in three of the last four national championship games, lifting the trophy in 2016 and 2018. Swinney has a 120-30 overall record and is the highest paid coach in the history of college athletics having signed a 10-year, $93 million contract earlier this April.
Here’s what UNC head coach Mack Brown, his coordinators and three key players had to say about the Tigers earlier this week:
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Mack Brown
On the challenge of playing Clemson...
“As far as Clemson, how exciting for our university and our program to have the defending national champ and No. 1 team in the country coming to Kenan on Saturday for an ABC national TV game. 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. I started looking at our scouting report yesterday, all the people that break them down, first round draft choice, this one, first round draft choice, this one, first round draft choice. So, they’re for real.”
On running his program like Clemson and his relationship with Swinney...
“Our program is ran very much like Clemson’s. Dabo and I have been dear friends for many years and I’ve watched his program closely, I’ve pulled for him. Woodrow McCorvey, who’s an assistant athletic director in charge of football, is one of my dearest friends and he does a tremendous job. So, these guys do it right and, like I said, they’re recruiting better than anybody else in the country now so it’s not going away soon.
“From our standpoint, we want to be the Clemson of the Coastal. They are the best team in the country, they are the best team in the ACC, they’re dominating the ACC and all of us are trying to catch them. One of the good things this weekend for our players is, when you play the best in the country, it’s a great challenge for you and, with challenge, there’s opportunity to see how we stand up to them.
"The other thing is, if you’re going to win this league, you gotta beat them so it sends a message to our players and our coaches about what the best team in this league looks like and what you have to do to compete to win an ACC Championship.”
Offensive Coordinator Phil Longo
On the difficulty of preparing for Clemson’s defense...
“We identify three guys every week, just schematically or personnel wise, that we want to attack. There aren’t three guys this week, they’re solid. Corners are really good, safeties are good, the defensive line is different than the d-line than they had, they had those four freaks last year, but they’re extremely well coached. I heard coach Brown talking and he’s describing the team exactly the way we see it.
"They’re physical, they pursue well, they have good lateral movement, they squeeze grass. They’re going to give you a little bit and squeeze it because they’re so athletic. They can be out of position a little bit and change direction and maybe recover a little better than some other teams, that’s the benefit to having 11 good athletes out there.”
On how to move the ball against the Tigers...
“With regards to being successful against them, we have to protect the football and we’ve got to be really, really precise about what we’re doing. Passes can’t be errant, we’ve got to hit the grass and hit the holes when we’re there. I think we have to hit the line of scrimmage in the run game when it’s there. The elevator door is going to open up and only stay open so long. We need to pop and beat the line of scrimmage when it’s there."
Defensive Coordinator Jay Bateman
His impressions of Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence...
“He’s 6-foot-6. The most impressive play I’ve seen from him this year is he throws an interception to Georgia Tech’s corner, who’s running for a touchdown, and he reels him in like an All-Pro safety. I think he can legit run, he’s 6’6, I don’t think he gets fooled very often, if at all. He’s got huge targets, so the catch radius he can throw to is really good. You’ve got 6-foot-4 receivers all over the place so he can throw the ball in a spot where they can go get it and corners can’t.
“His ability, even as a 6-foot-6 kid to throw the ball and get it out of his hands fast, I think is really special. I don’t want to speak for NFL guys but I would say there’s a lot of NFL franchises that would trade for him right now.”
On how to stop the Tigers’ offense...
“You have to play fundamentally very, very sound. They block you very well and I think, their quarterback, I haven’t seen one better. So, you’ve got to minimize the damage when they get you in a bad play. We talked to our kids about that yesterday. Some teams, when I have a bad call on defense against a certain play, we’ve got to minimize that. Against them, if you do not minimize it, it’s major problems.
"The teams that have done a good job against them have minimized the damage when they’ve had a bad route against a certain coverage or a run against a certain front.”
Senior Safety Myles Dorn
On playing Clemson...
“They’re the No. 1 team in the nation, so, if you can’t get up for them, you can’t get up for anybody.”
On getting the proper focus
“I think the biggest thing for us this week is realizing we’re ball players, too, we can play too. And just go out there and compete. That's what it's about, competing and seeing where you stand. And who better else to compete with than the No. 1 team in the country? That's where you really know where you stand as a player (and) where you stand as a team when you play the best.”
Sophomore Linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel
On Trevor Lawrence…
“Playing in college football or going against QB’s, no, I can’t say I have seen anything like him or faced anything like him. To go along with him, he has receivers that he can throw the ball up to. Sometimes, they’re just going to throw the ball up just because they have that athletic ability at receiver...
“Watching film on him, he’s really good outside the pocket making plays that look like they have no chance of being anything. Stats don’t say he’s been really good this season but, watching him on film, he still throws a good ball and he puts it on point for his receivers to make a play.”
Freshman QB Sam Howell
On what stands out the most about Clemson...
“Obviously, my first reaction is they’re really good. They have some really good players and, the bigger the moment, the better they play. They have a really good team so we have to be prepared for it… I think y’all heard coach Longo say it but, usually we try to find some guys to target, but they’re all really good players on their defense.”
