Is North Carolina’s football season over? The Tar Heels don’t think so
Even as his team lost four straight games, North Carolina coach Mack Brown has kept the faith.
The season is not lost, Brown says. The Tar Heels won’t win an ACC championship, but good things can still happen for this football team, he says.
The past two seasons have had the Heels start 9-1 in 2022 and then 6-0 in 2023, both with Drake Maye at quarterback. Those two teams finished 9-5 and then 8-5 after late-season fades.
“We don’t get to choose our circumstance,” Brown recently said. “We started 9-1 and 6-0 and probably took it for granted. We’re not in that position now but this team, I said from the start, is a team that’s going to finish better than those other teams finished, and that’s what we’ve got to do.
“It’s there. We as coaches have to keep ‘em up and keep ‘em going and make sure we put them in better positions to win.”
That’s what this week is all about – finding those better positions. The bye week for UNC is allowing Brown and his staff to reassess everything and prepare for the final five games of the regular season.
The Tar Heels play Virginia, Florida State, Wake Forest, Boston College and N.C. State. That’s manageable, the Heels have to believe.
“When you look at the games that are left, you can win every one of them and you can lose every one of them,” Brown said. “There’s not much difference each week.”
Brown said that before the Georgia Tech game. The score was tied 34-34 with a half-minute left in the fourth quarter when Tech running back Jamal Haynes found a crease up the middle and went 68 yards for a touchdown.
Georgia Tech won, 41-34. One big play. That was the difference.
Brown’s message for his players remains the same: “Block out the noise, stay where your feet are and get better.”
There’s been a lot of noise, much of it about Brown and how long he intends to keep coaching. There has been noise about the continued leakiness of UNC defense. Losing a rivalry game to Duke, after surrendering a 20-0 lead in the second half, created more noise.
Leaving the field at Wallace Wade Stadium, the Victory Bell back in Duke-blue hands and clanging away in the distance, was a noise no one in UNC blue wanted to hear.
And there would be more painful things to come.
But there are reasons the Tar Heels have a chance to be better late in 2024. Here are five:
Jacolby Criswell
This could be one of the ACC’s better feel-good stories this season. Criswell was recruited by UNC, left for Arkansas, came back and was told he didn’t really figure into the Tar Heels’ quarterback plans this season.
That was before starting quarterback Max Johnson’s broken leg in the opener at Minnesota. When backup Conner Harrell struggled, it was suddenly time for Plan C: Criswell.
“Here we are now saying, ‘OK, let’s go, man,’ and he’s really doing a great job of trying to learn fast,” Brown said. “And the offensive coaches are trying to figure out what he can do best.”
Criswell looks fitter, quicker. His passing percentage remains lower than it should be (56.2%) but in the Heels’ three ACC losses he has four TD passes and one interception. His pass protection has been better, Brown said. His footwork in the pocket is better, Criswell said.
“I think I’ve done a solid job of going out there and doing well enough to keep us in the ball game,” Criswell said. “I have to do a better job for us to win the ballgame.”
The Big O
No running back in FBS has more carries than UNC running back Omarion Hampton, who has 155. That adds up to a lot of hits but Hampton has 901 yards, third best in the country, and continues to pound away and take the punishment.
A more effective passing game by Criswell could loosen up defenses, who have crowded around the line of scrimmage with their focus on stopping No. 28, the Heels’ No. 1 option.
“We’re able to do a lot more things outside of Big O,” Criswell said before the Georgia Tech game. “He’s getting a lot of carries and you don’t want that big a load. You want to keep his legs fresh.”
The Heels were able to throw down field more Saturday, and Hampton had 137 yards on 18 carries against a Georgia Tech team that was leading the ACC in rushing defense. He had another 40-yard run nullified by a penalty.
Rucker’s return
The wrist injury to tight end Bryson Nesbit has offset a return by rush end Kaimon Rucker, but UNC has had a minimum of major injuries through seven games.
It was announced this week that Nesbit, who leads the Heels in receptions, was injured in the first quarter Saturday against Georgia Tech. But he remained in the game until the end, making a leaping attempt at Harrell’s long “Hail Mary” throw.
Rucker played the season opener, then was hurt lifting weights and missed the next four games. That took away the Heels’ best pass rusher and his fiery leadership, but Rucker has worked his way back into the mix the past two games and the extra week should be a help.
Wide receiver Christian Hamilton also has been sidelined with a lower-body injury and might be able to return after the bye week, and others have been “nicked up” and can heal up for the stretch run.
Better D from the D
The Heels will never fully escape the stigma of what Brown calls “The James Madison thing” – the 70-50 loss to JMU at Kenan Stadium. “It was awful, it was a bad day,” Brown said of the Sept. 21 game.
UNC’s defense has had a few more, allowing Pitt 520 total yards in a 34-24 loss and then 505 to Georgia Tech last week. The Yellow Jackets ran for 371 yards – 170 by Haynes – and averaged 7.1 yards per offensive snap while going six-for-six in the red zone.
Brown brought in Geoff Collins to be the defensive coordinator this season and Collins talked a lot about infusing more aggression into the game plan. But there have been times when UNC’s defense seems awfully staid and vanilla, with not enough blitzes to shake up opposing quarterbacks.
The defensive front has been beaten down at times and the secondary has allowed some explosive plays and been caught out of position. Bye-week changes on D? There has to be.
Staying ‘Tylee Strong’
Losing a teammate to something like cancer, helplessly watching as he loses his physical vitality, can test the mental and emotional fortitude of anyone. It did at UNC with the death of Tylee Craft.
Having Tylee at a practice or a game or around the football center was a constant source of inspiration. His smile never disappeared even as his condition worsened.
Tylee Craft died last Saturday. He was 23. His family was at the Georgia Tech game, on Cancer Awareness Day at Kenan. Wide receiver J.J. Jones wore Craft’s No. 13 jersey in the game and Brown wore a sweatshirt with “Tylee Strong” on it, as Brown had all week.
The Tar Heels dedicated the game to Tylee. He will be in their thoughts the rest of the season as they all seek to be “Tylee Strong,” something that may not have to be stated but certainly will be understood by this team.
