By Doc Kennedy

Prior to UNC’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl game vs. West Virginia, I made a post on the app formerly known as Twitter begging UNC fans not to make the bowl game a referendum on the entire program given the fact that 12 starters plus a number of key reserves would not be playing for a variety of reasons.

Of course, doing that was like asking the sun not to rise in the east, but after five years of Mack Brown 2.0, the program is what it is at this point and what happened, good or bad, in this bowl wasn’t going to change that.

And, to paraphrase the late Dennis Green, the Tar Heels are who we thought they were. Suspect on defense. Inconsistent on offense. Flat out awful on special teams. Questionable coaching decisions. None of this was revealed in this game; most of it was simply confirmed. Carolina was burned for a 75-yard TD pass on the first play of the game as, once again, UNC came out flat and looked unprepared.

But the Heels settled down and trailed only by seven points at halftime. West Virginia made adjustments in the second half that ground the Carolina offense to a halt, and while the defense only surrendered one more touchdown after the first play, UNC’s mistakes never allowed them to catch up.

Making any judgments or conclusions from this game have to be graded on a curve, given that several players were making season debuts or getting their first significant reps all year. In most instances

Good

Conner Harrell

Harrell did everything that could be asked of him in his first career start. Harrell threw for 199 yards and a touchdown on a pass to J.J. Jones (top photo), as well as breaking off a 20-yard rush. His decision-making was relatively sound and his two interceptions had an element of tough luck and inexperience. He struggled in the second half as his debut was hardly error-free, but again, grading on a curve, he was not bad, and he certainly will not roll over in the spring when Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson arrives on campus.

Bad

Offensive line

UNC’s offensive line had three players called for three different penalties on Carolina’s first drive and it didn’t get much better from there. Willie Lampkin moved to center to replace the opted-out Corey Gaynor and the Tar Heel linemen had a hard time establishing the run or protecting Harrell. Omarion Hampton only rushed for 62 yards and Harrell was sacked seven times. Greg Barnes of Inside Carolina noted that UNC gave up 37 sacks on the season and that UNC is the only program in the country to have allowed at least 34 sacks in each of the past five years. That’s with two offensive coordinators and three OL coaches.

Deceiving stat lines

If you had told me before the game that UNC would hold the Mountaineers under 400 yards of total offense, that the Tar Heels would have more first downs and dominate time of possession, and that Harrell would be within 30 yards of Garrett Greene in passing with each tossing one touchdown, I would have expected a close ball game, not a 20-point blowout. UNC’s turnovers and defensive gouge plays cost Carolina over and over.

Ugly

Special teams

UNC’s special teams continue to be a flaming dumpster fire. While Tom Magginnes averaged 40 yards per kick, the punt team gave up a touchdown, and the punt-return team touched a punt, allowing the Mountaineers to recover on a short field. Special teams have been a problem all season long and tonight was no exception.

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Without question, UNC football is at a crossroads. It is a great problem to feel that an 8–5 season is a disappointment, but limping to the finish at 2–5 after a 6–0 start and losing the last three games by a combined 50 points feels like a failure.

This comes after last season’s losses in the last four games after starting 9–0, meaning in the last two seasons, UNC has gone 1–7 down the stretch. Clearly, there are staff changes coming, especially on the defensive side of the ball. You also have to wonder about the offensive line situation given the stat mentioned above. Mack Brown has shown he is not above making changes to his coaching staff, but it needs to feel that the new hires are upgrades. You also have to wonder how long the 72-year-old head coach plans to continue on the sideline. Add that to a new quarterback and lots of new faces on both sides of the ball, and there are far more questions than answers headed into the offseason for the Tar Heels.

And this is why the Mayo Bowl was not a referendum on the program. All of these situations existed before Wednesday night, and would not have been answered if Carolina had won by 20 rather than losing by 20. The next few weeks,with staff changes will set the tone for the next eight months until Carolina opens the 2024 campaign at Minnesota in August.

Doc Kennedy is an alum and longtime UNC fan, and a former high school and college basketball coach who wrote this report for years on Tar Heel Blog.

Photo by Smith Hardy