Mack Brown says it's 'fun' for North Carolina to be ranked

Over the last two polls, North Carolina has finally worked their way into the Top-25. The 6-1 Tar Heels have had a fairly underrated season considering some of the more often discussed teams in the ACC. Still, regardless of ranking or position, Brown wants his team focused on the things that actually matter.

Brown spoke about UNC’s ranking during media on Monday morning. He says it’s a ‘fun’ thing but that the only actual rankings that matter are the ones related to the College Football Playoff, specifically the final one.

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“It’s fun to be ranked. The guys haven’t had a lot of attention this year. A lot of people are talking about the Coastal race, a lot of people are talking about the conference championship game. And I told them let’s put all of that to be on Sunday. Because the only ranking that matters is the one at the end of the year,” said Brown. “The resumes start with the first College Football Playoff (ranking). That’s when people have some idea of where the experts think you should be rated.”

The most attention paid to North Carolina this season has been to QB Drake Maye and the hot start to his college career. Besides that, their coverage hasn’t accurately given them the share they deserve considering they’re 3-0 in ACC play to lead the Coastal and are tied for the second-best overall record in the entire conference.

We’re a little over a week away until the first CFP Rankings of the season drop. Considering they’re not yet even in the Top-20, Brown knows they’re still a ways away from the range that really matters. That’s why he wants his players focused on the five games ahead of them because they’re the only way to get the Tar Heels where they want to be.

“Really and truly, the ranking at the end of the year is the only one that matters because you’re one loss away from being back out of it anyway,” Brown said. “The other thing is why talk about the Coastal until you win it? You’ve got to earn your right. We’ve got a five-game season and we’ve got a very difficult five games. We shouldn’t be thinking about anything except Pitt.”

Brown understands the scenario his program is in. He wants them to enjoy the moment but to ignore it by the end of the day today. Brown wants them to leave it to people outside of the program to worry about subjective polls and rankings. It’s all about how they play this week and to end the season so they don’t miss out on the conversation overall.

“It matters what you do when you’re ranked more than getting ranked. We’re one loss away from not being mentioned again for the year. So I’ve told them enjoy it Sunday, enjoy it today, and then move on, man. It matters absolutely not. Fans like it? They can talk about it. Recruits like it? They can talk about it. But, outside of this building, none of that matters. None of the talk about conference races, conference championship games, or polls matter at all.”