By Doc Kennedy

If you thought an interim coach, a lame-duck staff and significant numbers of players missing through a combination of injuries, opt-outs and the transfer portal were going to make for bad football, then you were right.

North Carolina took the field in the Fenway Bowl against UConn on Saturday with two true freshmen on the offensive line, missing three starters on the defensive front, and generally looked like a hot mess on both sides of the ball in a 27–14 loss to the Huskies that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated.

It was going to be tough sledding for the Tar Heels to begin with, but when Carolina QB Jacolby Criswell was injured during the second series of the game, UNC’s fate was sealed.

The Heels were sloppy and generally uninspired on a cold and wet Saturday in Boston, mirroring the conditions and effort UNC displayed in a 41–21 loss to Boston College across town five weeks ago. Carolina gave up a 47-yard run from scrimmage on the game’s first play, and while UNC held the Huskies to a field goal, the tone was set.

After Criswell’s injury, Carolina had to turn to Michael Merdinger, a freshman who had never taken a collegiate snap and who finished a respectable 9 of 12 for 86 yards and an interception. The patchwork offensive line was porous and UNC managed only 206 yards of offense for the game, 134 of which came on Carolina’s last two possessions.

While there were a couple of solid individual performances, making for good auditions for the new coaching regime, for the most part, this game was the embodiment of the shortcomings of the Mack Brown 2.0 era turned up to 11: poor preparation, poor execution, and ultimately disappointing results. Like Christmas leftovers, we’ve seen this before and it got worse every time.

With that in mind, here is the final 2024 version of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:

Good

Chris Culliver

Well, at least one Tar Heel can produce in Boston. Just like he did five weeks ago in Chestnut Hill, Culliver returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. 

Caleb Hood

Hood briefly tested the waters of the transfer portal but elected to return and made the most of his opportunity. He rushed for 78 yards on only 11 carries and played quarterback and wildcat. He threw a 17-yard touchdown pass for Carolina’s only offensive score. If Hood can stay healthy, he will be a key contributor next season.

Bad

UNC in Boston in 2024

In two trips to Boston this season, Carolina lost 41–21 to Boston College and 27–14 to Connecticut, and the scores in both games were closer than the actual outcomes. In those two games, UNC was 3 of 21 on 3rd down, including 0 on 9 on Saturday. Gross.

Ugly

Losing streaks

For the third straight season, UNC ended the year on a losing streak of at least three games. Carolina also lost their fourth straight bowl game and dropped to 3–12 in bowls since 2000.

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And thus the book officially closes on Mack Brown 2.0 and the Bill Belichick era begins. And just like Brown’s previous coaching departures, the result of the final game of his final team wasn’t pleasant. The team looked like they were mostly going through the motions as they waited for the regime change. Carolina unfortunately developed a reputation during Brown’s second tenure of being lazy and undisciplined, and not much happened in Fenway Park on Saturday to dispel that reputation, even after Brown’s departure. Belichick’s challenge, as much as mining the portal for talent, will be to change the culture of the team and the coaching staff. In 246 days, we will see how far the program has come in those two areas. 

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

Photo via @UNCFootball