CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –– Repeated blown coverages and a relatively nonexistent pass rush exploited North Carolina’s lack of preparedness on Saturday, giving the James Madison a 70-50 field day over a Power Five opponent, a feat that simply isn’t supposed to happen in college football.
A dejected Mack Brown took all the blame after his team’s historic failure on Saturday, and in front of reporters today, he reiterated his shortcomings saying, “you’re supposed to learn from losses and I didn’t do that very well on Saturday night.”
That sentiment continued today as he once again stood in front of reporters and listed out his own shortcomings in preparing the Tar Heels for James Madison.
“There are no excuses…it can only come back to one person and that’s me,” Brown said. “I’ve hired everybody on this staff and everyone who works in this building and I signed every player on this team. The people that wanna blame me, they should. I am at fault, 100%.”
JMU ravaged through UNC’s defense, which surrendered 53 first-half points to the Dukes, the most by any opponent against UNC in a half.
UNC (3-1) was a team that previously allowed seventeen points a game to its opponents before letting the Dukes walk in and drop seventy in Kenan Stadium. The score looked more like a college basketball game and it shocked the media and fans —the latter of which dipped out by halftime. And those remaining, jeered the players back into the tunnel as they sulked off trying to make sense of what was happening.
“I felt bad for our fans and our students that came,” Brown said, “for them to have to look at something like that.”
When they came back out, they still had no answer. Despite Coach Brown’s unwavering faith in his team’s ability to rally and clinch victory, the tide refused to turn. Brown’s optimism gave way to visible frustration. And in a moment of raw emotion, he even hurled his hat to the ground, his face flushed crimson.
“I missed it, we had a great week’s practice and I thought we’d win the game,” he said. “It was just a day that started wrong, I really thought at halftime we’d turn it around and still win the game, because we could’ve and we moved the ball well enough at times.”
The game’s opening play sparked a fleeting moment of hope for Tar Heel fans. Boomerang transfer quarterback Jacolby Criswell started over Conner Harrell and unleashed a perfect 42-yard deep ball to Christian Hamilton. It seemed to indicate a promising day ahead. But that hope quickly evaporated and in a dizzying four-minute span. The Dukes orchestrated a devastating 11-0 blitz: a field goal, a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown, and a successful two-point conversion for good measure. This wasn’t just a rough start, but a sign of the defensive nightmare to come.
It soon became painfully clear that UNC’s defense was outmatched and unable to contain the Dukes’ relentless offense led by Alonza Barnett III. What began as a potential shootout quickly devolved into a one-sided onslaught.
“We played outstanding the first three games and looked awful on Saturday,” he said. “We had communication problems, missed tackles, guys wide open for a touchdown.”
JMU’s early-season bye proved to be a pivotal advantage as they had time to prepare for the Tar Heels’ attack. The Dukes, who had battled slow starts in their first three games, clearly used this respite to sharpen their strategy and wreak havoc at Kenan.
Barnett wasted no time in making a statement. His 38-yard keeper on the very first snap was a precursor to his many heroics. He set a program-record with seven touchdowns—five passing and two rushing—with 487 total yards of offense, going 22-of-38 for 388 passing yards and 99 rushing yards. It was enough to earn him AP Player of the Week.
As a unit, the Dukes recorded 611 total yards and nine touchdowns, most of which were due to Barnett’s deep ball arm strength and ability to weave seamlessly through UNC’s defense—as he did in the second quarter when he rushed for 27 yards to put to the Dukes up 46-21.
In six years and with three different defensive coordinators, the Tar Heels secondary can only be described as poor. Current defensive coordinator Geoff Collins was brought in this past year to replace Gene Chizik and until Saturday everything he’s put out has worked.
His front seven held their first three opponents to under 100 rushing yards and showed improved goal-line defense in those same games recording sacks, tackles for losses and incompletions up and down the field. But on Saturday it was back to the old ways and the Dukes ran for 223 yards.
While this may seem to be the fault of Collins, Brown refused to shift the blame, emphasizing that the loss was his responsibility, his burden to carry.
“There’s only one place to put it and that is on me. 100%. I got big shoulders and I’m embarrassed for our whole program, that we would put product like that on the field. I feel really bad about that.”
There’s some truth to what he said because the success of the team starts and ends with its head coach. However, Brown’s willingness to take responsibility also signals a commitment to improvement.
As the Tar Heels prepare to open ACC play at Duke this Saturday at 4pm, all eyes will be on Brown and his staff to see how they respond to this setback.
The coming weeks will also reveal whether this loss was a mere stumble or a sign of deeper issues. For now, the team faces a critical juncture: use this defeat as motivation to regroup and refocus, or risk letting it define their season.
As they head into conference play, the Tar Heels have an opportunity to prove their
resilience and show that sometimes, a step back is just preparation for an epic leap forward.