NC State, UNC stuck in familiar cycle of football mediocrity, but rivalry week angst is high
If you’ve been reading these columns since their inception over the past few years, you’ve become familiar with an argument I’ve made more than once: That North Carolina and N.C. State are pretty much, basically, the same exact college football program. (Cue that meme of the two identical Spider-mans (Spider-Men?) pointing at each other.)
There are important differences, yes. Different cultures. Different identities.
But in terms of results? The Tar Heels and Wolfpack share a lot of similarities.
Both are going on more than 40 years since their most recent ACC championships, which came a season apart — State in 1979, Carolina in 1980. Both have had fantastic quarterbacks over the years (Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson; Sam Howell and Drake Maye, among others) with ultimately little to show for it. Both have made a habit of stumbling, especially amid high expectations (like State this season, and UNC the past two).
Both groups of fans are, well, not happy (to put it mildly) with their head coaches. A good number of UNC fans have probably reached a point of no return with Mack Brown who, despite his age and his faults and his team’s many shortcomings during his second tenure is still arguably the most successful coach in school history. State fans, at least a vocal segment of them, have grown tired of Dave Doeren — despite the reality that he’s won more games than anyone in school history.
The sameness has to be uncomfortable for both Carolina and State, given their animosity. Some rivalries are built on a sense of mutual respect and perhaps even some level of admiration for one another. The UNC-Duke rivalry in men’s basketball is like that, with two programs that desperately want to beat each other, yes, but also ones that understand and appreciate the other’s place in the sport and what they mean to each other.
Then there are those rivalries like State-Carolina, especially in football. There’s no respect there (remember when Doeren after last season’s victory referred to UNC as “pieces of [expletive]?” There’s no mutual admiration. No appreciation. Just a lot of disdain — which has to make it all the more infuriating, for both, that they’re essentially the same thing: Sometimes good, sometimes not-so good and often middling and mediocre, as they both are this season.
When the Tar Heels and Wolfpack meet again on Saturday at Kenan Stadium, though, there’s likely to be even more angst than usual. The results for both this season are plenty familiar — we’ve all seen this show before for State and Carolina football, many a time — but for good reason it feels like supporters of both programs have reached a boiling point.
This was the year, after all, that State was finally going to break through that nine-win barrier and take the next step. The year that it would become a factor nationally, compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff and maybe even win the ACC for the first time in decades. The roster was there, supposedly. The NIL contributions were there.
And then, well, any illusions of any of that were pretty much gone by Week Two in Charlotte in the haze of that beatdown against Tennessee (though, really, anyone could see this team had flaws from the first half of its season opener against Western Carolina). The Tar Heels didn’t enter this season with that kind of hype — not after blowing a good amount of goodwill in each of the previous two seasons — but, still, there was reason for hope there, too.
After all, they allegedly had the “talent,” especially at running back (with Omarion Hampton) and at receiver and at a few key spots on defense, where UNC, the presumption has gone, has recruited well. The Tar Heels, too, had the benefit of an incredibly easy schedule — one that turned out to be even easier than imagined once Florida State was proven to be terrible. Nine wins certainly seemed reasonable.
And then, well, any illusions of that disappeared in the haze of a 70-50 defeat against James Madison — a loss that still seems unreal in its ineptitude. And so State and Carolina meet again on Saturday, separated by a game — UNC 6-5, State 5-6 — with the only real stakes being that whichever team wins can make the other, and its fans, even more miserable than they already are.
It’s a fitting regular season finale for two programs that desperately want to get over the hump and yet just ... cannot ... seem ... to ... do it.
Ever.
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Sure, there have been moments over the years. UNC twice won the Coastal Division (the weakest in major college football, when it existed) before twice losing against Clemson in the ACC title game. State has had chances to break through, too, but has not.
There are a lot of reasons for State and Carolina’s shared football frustrations. UNC has the pedigree but not the football culture. State has the football culture but not the pedigree. They split available talent, as it is, and even then neither one has kept the best of the best in-state prospects at home, often enough. And neither one, outside of short-lived moments, has ever really stepped forward and been the program in North Carolina.
At times, amid better moments for both, one or the other has referred to their main football rival as “little brother.” But really, they’re more like identical twins. Different personalities, yes. Different character, and tastes. But from a distance — shoot, from across the room, even — good luck telling them apart.
ONE BIG THING
What is UNC going to do about Mack Brown? As we approach the end of the regular season, that’s the biggest question locally (and among the biggest nationally, in the sport at large). If the Tar Heels had finished the season on a five-game winning streak, at 8-4, it would’ve been reasonable — if still not popular, among some — to bring Brown back.
But after a debacle of a loss Saturday at Boston College, where UNC trailed 41-7 before a couple meaningless late scores, the writing on the wall seems clear enough. But does Brown agree? And if not, where does UNC do?
No one ever wants to see these situations turn ugly. This one feels like it could.
THREE TO LIKE
1. SMU betting on itself, and winning
So let’s get this straight: SMU wanted so badly to be a part of the ACC that it agreed to join without any of the league’s TV money for seven years — and then upon entering the league it won its first seven conference games and clinched its spot in the league championship game? Incredible. The Mustangs have been a great story. Even more than that, they’ve been a great addition to the ACC. Here’s an idea: how about SMU gets Florida State’s cut of conference revenue? For all the talk about “value” and “ratings” and “brand,” there’s no question which school has brought more to the table this season. (Note: It’s not the one in Tallahassee.)
2. Duke, finishing strong
If it wasn’t for everything you just read about SMU, then Duke’s Manny Diaz would probably have the strongest case to be the ACC’s Coach of the Year. Seems almost a lock that SMU’s Rhett Lashlee will win that award — and rightfully so — but Diaz has done a marvelous job in Durham in his first season. There was no wobble when Duke lost two straight (one of those by a point against SMU) a few weeks back. Since: victories against N.C. State and against Virginia Tech, on Saturday. There was a lot of consternation, and worry, when Mike Elko left for Texas A&M. But so far under Diaz, the program hasn’t really skipped a beat.
3. A good week in North Carolina.
Time for some real talk: This hasn’t been the best of college football seasons in this state. But at least we’re finishing strong? Maybe? Appalachian State (against James Madison), ECU (against North Texas) and Charlotte (FAU) all won — and the Pirates and 49ers did so under interim coaches. And don’t look now, by the way, but ECU is suddenly 7-4 (5-2 in the AAC) and has not lost since Blake Harrell took over for Mike Houston last month. Has Harrell earned the right to be the guy, permanently? You’ll find no argument against that here.
THREE TO ... NOT LIKE AS MUCH
1. Forgettable day in Chestnut Hill
Just when you thought UNC had actually, really turned a corner; that maybe things really were changing, and trending upward, that happened. The Tar Heels trailed Boston College 24-7 at halftime and it was 41-7 before they scored a couple who-cares touchdowns against the Eagles’ backups. Just an inexcusable performance and one at the worst possible time for Brown. If he wanted to make the case for another year, that just got a lot more difficult.
2. State squanders a chance in Atlanta
Been that kind of season for N.C. State, one full of gut punches. The Wolfpack has lost big (against Tennessee and Clemson). It has lost in more ordinary ways. And now it has lost in the final moments, when it failed to hold a lead at Georgia Tech and then missed a long field goal as time expired. State began this season with playoff and ACC championship aspirations. Far-fetched? Maybe, but those were the goals. Now the Wolfpack has to beat UNC Saturday just to become bowl eligible. Not exactly how Dave Doeren drew it up.
3. The tired SEC narrative
The discourse surrounding SEC football has long been nauseating and eye-roll-inducing, and that’s even when it’s mostly deserved. (Like, we get it: The SEC has been a great league.) But is there a chance that maybe the conference is just not all that mighty this season? That maybe it has come back to Earth? Alabama lost Saturday, at Oklahoma. Ole Miss lost, at Florida. And for the next week, we’re going to hear how a three- or maybe even a four-loss SEC team is deserving of a playoff spot, still. Enough already.
CAROLINAS RANKING
1. South Carolina (if the Gamecocks beat Clemson, they’d be the most-deserving three-loss SEC team in the playoff conversation); 2. Clemson (most anticipated Palmetto Bowl since?); 3. Duke (Blue Devils are the class of the Triangle, and it’s not particularly close); 4. ECU (can’t ignore the Pirates’ four-game winning streak); 5. N.C. State (like the old saying goes: a close road loss is better than an embarrassing, blowout road loss); 6. North Carolina (um, not good); 7. Appalachian State (Mountaineers did what UNC could not, against JMU); 8. Wake Forest (how do the Deacs get back on track?); 9. Coastal Carolina; 10. Charlotte.
FINAL THOUGHTS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
▪ I think I was surprised by Charlotte’s dismissal last week of Biff Poggi. Was it going well for him there? No, not particularly. But still — firing Poggi after not even two full seasons? Barring off-the-field reasons, it’s hard to understand. Charlotte is a tough job. The 49ers have one winning season (7-6, as a member of Conference USA) since making the jump to FBS. It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of patience, and it’s certainly going to take a head coach more than two full seasons to get things going — especially in a tougher league.
▪ I think there’s no chance of a coaching change at N.C. State, even if the Wolfpack loses in Chapel Hill this weekend. So the most disappointed of State fans can forget about that. Despite this stinker of a season, Doeren has still established a relatively high floor there. The challenge is raising the ceiling. And a new direction on offense wouldn’t be the worst of ideas.
▪ I think the ACC will get at least two teams in the playoff and there’s a case for three, depending on what happens in the Clemson-South Carolina game. Is that a CFP play-in game? Feels just like it might be.
▪ I think what happens this week — or what doesn’t happen — will give us a good idea of where things are headed at UNC. If Mack Brown were to announce, for instance, that this is his final home game on Saturday, the atmosphere at Kenan Stadium would be electric. If that doesn’t happen, it could be seen as an indication that he has no intention of leaving. In which case, buckle up.
