Mack Brown, "The Pressure is On Notre Dame; No One Expects Us to Win"
CHAPEL HILL, NC- Is there excitement brewing in Chapel Hill for the upcoming showdown with No. 2 Notre Dame? For head coach Mack Brown, excitement is for every game but understandably, this game in particular might put a little more gas on the fire.
This Friday, North Carolina will face top ranked Notre Dame for an afternoon showdown in Kenan Stadium. The two will meet for the 21st time in a series that began in 1949. The Fighting Irish leads the series 18-2-0; Both Carolina victories occurred in Chapel Hill. This will also be the first time Brown will face Notre Dame his entire career spanning over 32 seasons.
As the expectations rise, Brown is not too worried about his team succumbing to the pressure. The head coach states that the pressure is really on Notre Dame because not many is expecting the Heels to win. Giving this game their best shot and finding their identity is the advice Brown gave his team,
"If we're not where we need to be, we understand we got a lot of work to do. We'll keep working to get there. We'll have another shot at a national game with a top 10 team with with Miami and a couple of weeks but don't don't go in there uptight." Brown said, "And not play well, look back and regret it. Go have fun.
This this is what you play far. This should be fun. This should be a game of excitement and joy got the national TV audience watching you you've got a great opponent. You come to places to play games like this. So I want our guys to embrace these games and have fun with these games and be excited about these games and go compete every play"
Identity seems to be the goal for the Tar Heels. Since dropping in and out of the AP Poll 25, no one seems to know exactly what to expect as a collective for this team. The bright spots shine with Sam Howell, the running back system, and the WR core, but the team has yet to consistently identify in strength as a unit often allowing teams to climb their way back into games due to lack of aggression in the beginning of the third quarters.
Nonetheless, as game-day approaches Brown wants his team at full throttle but relaxed. This is the game he wants to be able to see who they are.
"I'm excited to see who are we. These are not the ones you get uptight about the ones you get uptight about it when you're supposed to win like Florida State; We went down there and lost; That one hurt you. But, but this one it's a fun game for us to throw everything we've got at them and see where we are."
Kickoff for No. 19 UNC against No. 2 Notre Dame is Friday at 3:30 pm on ABC.
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