UNC prevails in ‘heavyweight fight’
CHAPEL HILL – Heavyweight fight. Those are the two words North Carolina football coach Mack Brown used to describe the 12th-ranked Tar Heels’ 4131 win against No. 25 Miami on Saturday night at Kenan Stadium.
“That was a heavyweight fight,” Brown said. “That was a fight from start to finish.”
In a victory that snapped a fourgame losing streak against AP Top 25 opponents, UNC (6-0, 3-0 ACC) ran its record to 6-0 for the first time since 1997 in throwback uniforms that were a nod to Brown’s first stint with the program.
Brown’s latest squad is bowl eligible, but has its sights set on far greater goals in the ACC and beyond as a possible College Football Playoff contender. Following Louisville’s loss to Pitt, UNC and No. 4 Florida State (6-0, 4-0) stand alone as the ACC’s only undefeated teams.
The Tar Heels and Seminoles could be on a collision course that culminates in Charlotte at the ACC Championship.
“I think this team can be really good. We’ve got to coach them better and they’ve got to play better for us to get where we want to go,” Brown said.
“We’re bowl eligible now. That wasn’t something that happened around here a long time ago. Now, nobody even thinks about it. This is a game that – sometimes in our past – people thought that we would’ve lost.”
Facing their first halftime deficit of the season, the Tar Heels received a message from Brown in the locker room ahead of the third quarter.
“I told the guys that we were gonna win the game. But this was a fight – it was a heavyweight fight,” Brown said.
“It’s exactly what we needed. If we’re gonna be good, if we’re gonna step up, this is a determining moment in our season. You have to go out there and fight, because this is a battle. It wasn’t gonna be easy. They didn’t blink.”
The Tar Heels followed with arguably their best stretch since Brown returned to the program in 2019. UNC reeled off 24 unanswered points, leaning on a breakout performance from wide receiver Tez Walker and an opportunistic defense to pull away from the Hurricanes.
UNC quarterback Drake Maye had a season-high four passing touchdowns, running back Omarion Hampton nearly had 200 rushing yards and the defense forced four turnovers.
Pleased with all of those areas, Brown still pointed out some negatives amid the positives. UNC had a seasonhigh 14 penalties for 147 yards and allowed two TDs in the final seven minutes.
“The truth is we didn’t play very well,” Brown said. “. … Programs that are really good don’t have to play well to win all the time.”
After winning its first heavyweight fight of the season, UNC appears to be among those really good programs with a chance to have a special season.