Mack Brown hands out stern warning to players ahead of Notre Dame matchup

Notre Dame hasn’t had the start they were hoping for under Marcus Freeman. There was no shame in losing to Ohio State on the road in a closer matchup than some anticipated. However, losing to Marshall in their home opener and having to escape against California weren’t parts of the plan. While that’s their current reality, North Carolina’s Mack Brown says he will not allow his team to think they’re not the usual Notre Dame everyone knows ahead of the Tar Heels matchup with the Irish this weekend.

Brown broke down the start of Notre Dame’s 2022 season during media on Monday. He said the 1-2 record doesn’t fully reflect how good the Irish are in his mind.

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“They played Ohio State, who may be the best team in the country. Watch that video and it was a great game until the end. Don’t take that for granted,” said Brown. “Then I don’t think there’s any question they would tell you they weren’t excited about Marshall…You can get beat. It was close, it was tight but you can’t let a team like Marshall hang in there until the end because then they get excited and the pressure’s back on you. Then the new quarterback beat Cal on Saturday. So they’re really a team, in my mind, that’s 1-1 and played one of the best teams in the country.”

The Irish still have all the pieces to be the program they’ve been in years past. They’re just currently going through the growing pains of the big changes they underwent this offseason. Brown says he has all kinds of respect for what Notre Dame has on their team and he needs his UNC team to realize they should have that same respect for them too.

“I think it’s the same old Notre Dame. They’re gonna run the ball, be physical and not make any mistakes. They’re really strong on both lines of scrimmage. Their quarterback played much better in the second half and he’s a guy that we have known in the past who is very talented,” Brown said. “You’re gonna have to play a great game to beat Notre Dame.”

North Carolina and Notre Dame are on two opposite ends of the spectrum. The Tar Heel offense is at a premium in comparison to their defense. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish’s defense is probably further ahead than their offense right now. It’ll be interesting to see whose strength wins out in Chapel Hill this weekend. Either way, Mack Brown will continue to warn his team until then that, while Notre Dame may be down, they’re certainly not out and it’d be to UNC’s advantage to not underestimate them.