Mack Brown opens up on North Carolina's national ranking

It’s great and all that North Carolina is currently No. 10 in the nation, especially since they’ve earned it. Still, Mack Brown wants the Tar Heels focused on the right thing at the right time now that they’ve cracked the Top-10.

Brown addressed UNC’s ranking in the AP Poll during his press conference on Monday. He said that it was so unimportant that their spot honestly went out from his mind. However, he did admit that this rating was more valuable to him than past ones since it reflects a body of work.

“We always talk about the poll on Sunday and then we never mention it again,” said Brown. “I had actually forgotten we were tenth, very honestly.”

“The difference is, this year, we’ve earned being tenth,” Brown continued. “In ’21? We were given it before the season based on the year before. I don’t count those.”

The overall point Brown is making is that, in mid-October, the rankings hold little value. In fact, none of them do until the playoff rankings start to come out over the final weeks of the season.

“As you get to this part of the year? You get what you earn. We’ve earned it. Now it’s hard to keep it there and it doesn’t really matter right now. But what I have talked to them about is, in our lives moving forward, polls are going to matter more because of the playoffs,” said Brown. “It really hasn’t mattered. It’s something to talk about. The polls aren’t important until the College Football Playoff poll comes out here in a couple of weeks. That’ll be the one that matters.”

Now, since the Tar Heels have cracked the Top-10 for the third time in four years, Brown knows the challenge from here is to remain in it. That’s why he’s keeping this out of North Carolina’s mind because he has reminded them how few teams are left in their position week after week.

“I think they appreciate being where they are, they’ve worked hard to earn that, and they know that it’s fleeting. You better win,” Brown said. “I think there’s eight undefeated teams left in the Power Five and I told them, ‘Every time you look up? There’s fewer.’ What were they thinking last Tuesday? What were the ones that lost thinking on Monday? Were they thinking about where they were ranked or were they thinking about winning the game?”