Drake Maye still proud of UNC's season despite disappointing ACC title game performance

After starting the season 9-1, the wheels came off of North Carolina over their final stretch. They still appeared in last weekend’s ACC Championship Game but, with it turning out to be a 39-10 loss to Clemson, it became the Tar Heel’s third consecutive loss. With how things played out in the end, UNC QB Drake Maye wanted to find the right mix between disappointment and pride after the loss Saturday night.

Following the defeat in Charlotte, Maye started with the natural feeling of regret considering how they finished their year. However, he did recognize that there were accomplishments they achieved from September to November that deserved to be acknowledged as well.

“It’s disappointing. Just a few plays here and there…We’ve got to find ways to win. And find ways to win the whole season,” said Maye. “It’s our first time here in, what, seven years? We haven’t won it since 1980. So we still got a lot to be proud of. It was a hell of a season as a Tar Heel. (We) just wanna tell all the fans sorry to let y’all down.”

North Carolina’s three-game slide included the championship loss to the Tigers as well as a pair of home losses to Georgia Tech and NC State. Considering Maye’s stellar play throughout the season, he does shoulder some of the blame for that run. He threw only one touchdown and had five turnovers during that stretch.

The Tar Heels have plenty to be proud of with their 2022 season. However, they spoke all year long about how playing with fire was eventually going to get them burnt. They won five of their first nine games by three points or less. In the end, it finally did catch up to Maye and the Tar Heels with the losing streak. That left a lot on the table for them as they now have to regroup over the next month before playing Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.