Mack Brown calls out front seven over run defense performance

No particular unit was solely responsible for North Carolina’s first loss of the season. However, following the Tar Heels’ 31-27 fall to Virginia, UNC head coach Mack Brown scolded his defensive front seven.

“I was surprised and really disappointed,” Brown said. “It looked exactly like last year’s game. They were struggling running the ball coming in. They ran the ball a lot on us and I’m really disappointed in our front seven.

“That’s why they had the ball 37 minutes [compared] to [our] 23 and 84 plays [compared to our] 77. All this stuff goes in a box. It’s just a formula for losing and that’s what we did.”

In the loss, North Carolina allowed 228 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. For reference, even with its outstanding performance against the Tar Heels, Virginia only averages 117.9 rushing yards per game, ranking No. 103 in the country.

As Brown mentioned, North Carolina suffered similar issues last season. While UNC defeated Virginia 31-28 in 2022, the Cavaliers rattled off 186 yards against the Tar Heels’ defense. Browns take partial responsibility for his team’s uncharacteristic showing.

“They coached better than us, and they played better than us,” Brown said. “When you give up 228 yards rushing and only rush for 143, usually you’re not gonna win the game. And we had chance after chance, but I think you’d have to say that we as coaches didn’t prepare them very well. We’ve talked about the poison cheese and we ate it. 

“And so we didn’t do a very good job with them tonight. We didn’t punt the ball well. Offensively, we were inconsistent and we didn’t score in the red zone when we needed to. We were only 4-of-13 on third downs. They were 8-of-18 on third down. We had our chance to win the game twice late and didn’t do it. So I mean, again, on critical plays, they made the plays and we didn’t.”

Whoever’s fault North Carolina’s lack of run defense was, it must be fixed. On Saturday, the Tar Heels will face off against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets average 169.1 rushing yards per game, over 50 yards more than Virginia.

If North Carolina doesn’t shake off its sorrows, Georgia Tech will hand the Tar Heels their second-straight loss. UNC will face off against the Yellow Jackets at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.