Good news unc tar heels football: i wish to be back

A Tale of Two Teams: UNC great advises keeping faith in the 2023 squad

Raleigh, North Carolina — Coach Mack Brown guided the UNC Tar Heels to an 8-0 start in 1997 before defeating Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl to finish the season 11-1.

After 26 years away, Brown returned to coach the Tar Heels, and he helped them start 6-0 in 2023—their greatest start since the 1997 campaign. Regretfully for Mack and then-No. 10 UNC, Virgina surprised thousands of fans—as well as players and coaches—on Saturday in Chapel Hill by defeating the Tar Heels 31–27.

The Tar Heels now have to recover from an agonizing loss to the Cavaliers, which caused them to fall to No. 17 in the AP Top 25 poll in week nine.

Fortunately for them, wide receiver Na Brown, a former standout player at UNC and current member of the Philadelphia Eagles, believes that not only can UNC still have a fantastic season, but the Tar Heels can still make history at UNC with a strong comeback. He is speaking from experience, after all.

“They’re feeling bad about it,” Na Brown stated on the squad from this year. “They want to show that they’re not the same team that fell short against Virginia. One game at a time is all that matters. It’s a cliche, of course, but it’s about your pride in the team. We’re always considered a basketball school, football is second fiddle always, but this gives us that chance to jump up there with basketball.”

UNC lost its perfect 8-0 start in 1997, falling to Florida State 20-3. Following that, the squad defeated Clemson 17–10 to return to winning ways. The Tar Heels proceeded to triumph in every remaining game, including the Jacksonville, Florida, Gator Bowl.

In the present, the Tar Heels have five more regular-season games left, starting on November 11 in Chapel Hill with a key clash against No. 20 Duke. UNC has a good chance of moving back up the top 25 rankings and back into the postseason picture.Mack Brown says his team needs to regain its focus and get back its momentum. The Heels can’t dwell on the past as fans complain about one of the worst losses in UNC history. After all, Brown says this isn’t close to the worst loss ever.

“I’ve lost a bunch of them. I’ve won 280 and lost 140 or something,” Mack Brown said. “When people say this is the worst loss ever, I say, ‘no, I got a bunch of them. I got a long list of bad losses.’ You coach 35 years, you’re probably going to have some bad losses.”

Brown has the benefit of history on his side, providing a little bit of perspective. Unfortunately, his players who are 50 years younger don’t have that same perspective. That’s why it’s so important they listen to the words of Na Brown, a former player who’s been through exactly what they’ve been through. He says they have to play with confidence and not be afraid of making another mistake.

“We knew we were superior to everyone when we took the field. When asked about the 1997 team’s mentality, Na Brown responded, “Whether we were or not, again, it’s just that mindset of going out there.” “Everything starts from the top, but I think this was more of a player [led] team than anything else.”

Players like Brown, quarterback Chris Keldorf, and cornerback Dre’ Bly were on the 1997 Heels squad. With linebacker Cedric Gray commanding the defense, wide receiver Tez Walker collecting passes, and quarterback Drake Maye spearheading the offense, they have talent on par with or even superior to last year. Brown claims that this club is talented beyond measure and that he recognizes elements of himself in the offense this year.

Na Brown remarked, “I played slot receiver a lot.” “You have [Kobe] Paysour; he dabbles in slot machines. J.J. Jones plays a little amount of slot. It feels to me like I’m observing everyone and gathering information on some of the things I did from each individual. The way they play and the way we used to play is different now. However, I wouldn’t mind participating in this offense in the past.”

In Atlanta, the Tar Heels take on Georgia Tech on Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Tar Heels recovered from their defeat at the hands of FSU in 1997. The team this year intends to follow suit.