CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Mack Brown met with the media Monday at the Kenan Football Center in advance of the Tar Heels’ game Saturday at NC State.
UNC is coming off a 31-20 loss at Clemson and closes its regular season in Raleigh. The Tar Heels are 8-3 overall and 4-3 in the ACC, while the surging Wolfpack is also 8-3 and is 5-2 in the ACC.
The game kicks off at 8 PM and will air on the ACC Network.
Above is video of Brown’s presser, and below are some notes from what he had to say:
*Too many penalties and turnovers were too much to overcome at Clemson. He said he’s proud his team did the things physically and mentally to win.
*Brown said the analytics said they should go for 2 in that situation in the third quarter. He said the staff is split there on whether to go for it. He said negative people bring it up because it didn’t work, positive people appreciate them being aggressive
He said analytics wants them to be aggressive. So, kicking the PAT there means you need a TD and FG just to go to OT, and the mission is to win in regulation.
*He also said the timeout on second-and-18 at their own 15-yard-line with 1:30 left in the half was because “Drake makes those plays” all the time, and they believed he would. Brown also said, regarding that and the 2-point conversion attempt, that they needed to be aggressive to win there.
*Brown discussed how the team can still win 10 games, and he told them that, but the focus this week is only on NC State. But the nine-isn’t-enough push remains intact.
*With the regular season nearly over, Brown says players on his team are already talking to agents and other schools about leaving. He said some kids have reached out to them as well about possibly transferring to UNC. They cannot and don’t speak with those kids, but agents talk and the players from other schools regularly speak with players on his roster. It happens everywhere.
We will have more on this in another content item.
*UNC’s 35-14 win at State in 1993 will also be remembered, if for nothing else, when Donnie Thompson (UNC assistant) and Ted Cain (NC State assistant) getting into a fight after the game. Brown told a great story about it. It’s highly advised any UNC fan watch it.
*The game two years ago at State in which Carolina gave up two TD passes for 64 and 24 yards in a span of 24 seconds inside the final 95 seconds of the game is one of the losses he’s incurred that sticks out the most. Maye “four in 35 years” and that’s one of them.
*The venom between the fan bases is good for the game, Brown said.
*Brown says he’s a NCSU QB Brennan Armstrong fan. Says he’s “tough as nails” and respects how he’s handled this season.
