Mack Brown on team's inconsistency: It's going to get us beat
On one hand, North Carolina can’t complain considering they sit at 9-1 on the season and will represent the Coastal Division in the ACC Championship. On the other hand, Mack Brown has one grievance with his team that may put them at risk of taking another loss.
Brown shared his confusion about the Tar Heel’s inconsistency during his press conference on Monday. For whatever reason, even amidst a very successful season in Chapel Hill, he believes his team still hasn’t put an opponent away by playing a full four quarters.
CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel
“It’s still a crazy team,” said Brown. “They’ve won nine games, they’ve won six games on the road. And, for some reason, we can’t play a full game. We just can’t put our foot on the gas and put somebody away.”
Take last weekend for example as UNC was up 21-7 early against Wake Forest. They didn’t shut the door, though, and the Demon Deacons came back to take a 28-27 lead by the middle of the third quarter. The two teams then played a one-possession game the rest of the way. In the end, it took a late interception and a field goal for the Tar Heels to win it 36-34.
Six of North Carolina’s 10 games have been decided by one possession. They’ve really been avoiding disaster with five of those six coming by three or fewer points. We’re talking about being a few plays away from this being a very different season for UNC. Flying that close to the sun may eventually get you burned. That’s why this is by far Brown’s biggest concern over the final few weeks of the season.
“It’s the best first quarter we’ve had offensively, we’re playing great on defense. Everything’s great. And then it’s like we go to sleep for awhile,” Brown said. “So I don’t know what it is. It’s something that’s dangerous because it can get you beat.”
UNC has two regular season games left before facing Clemson in the ACC title game on December 3rd. If they do anything the next two weekends against Georgia Tech and NC State, finding some kind of consistency will be paramount.