Mack Brown on playing Notre Dame: I want to play them every year

Mack Brown and his North Carolina team are coming off of a bye week rested and undefeated as they head into their home matchup with Notre Dame this week. Brown spoke about what it means to play such a historical program like Notre Dame and how fortunate he is that this game isn’t a scheduling outlier for the Tar Heels.

“You love to play a national brand, it helps your program and obviously is fun for our fans to go to Notre Dame or to have them here,” Brown said. “We’re one of the three ACC teams that have played them three years in a row now, that doesn’t happen very often.”

The Tar Heels fell short to the Irish in their previous two meetings in 2021 and 2020, but Brown is still eager for this week’s matchup with than and potentially many more in the future.

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“So we’re very fortunate, even with the COVID year, that we got them on the schedule, but I’d love to play Notre Dame every year,” Brown said.

Playing the Fighting Irish may be good for business, but the Tar Heels are currently in the winning business, and are currently favored by one point against the Irish heading into their matchup. The undefeated Tar Heels have been carried by their explosive offensive attack, led by freshman quarterback Drake Maye.

Maye’s first three collegiate starts have been electric, as he’s thrown for 930 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 11 touchdown tosses tie for the most in the country, and he’s done it efficiently, completing 74% of his passes and throwing just one interception so far this season. He’s also been an effective runner, buying extra time scrambling and throwing outside of the pocket and also rushing for 146 yards and a touchdown through three weeks.

Notre Dame’s offense and quarterback position are in a very different place than the Tar Heels. The Irish currently sit at 1-2, and also sat their starting quarterback Tyler Buchner following back-to-back losses and a disappointing showing in their upset loss to Marshall.

Quarterback Drew Pine now runs the show for the Notre Dame offense, and helped lead a fourth quarter comeback Saturday against Cal to secure their first win of the season and head coach Marcus Freeman’s first win as the head coach of the Fighting Irish.

UNC will try to keep building off of their success this season this Saturday, and Notre Dame will try to build off of their newfound momentum, in an exciting matchup that Brown hopes to see more of in years to come.