The North Carolina Tar Heels were upset at Virginia Tech in their season opener Friday, and many pointed the finger directly at Tar Heels coach Mack Brown.
The 14th-ranked Tar Heels appeared to be well-positioned to at least try to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Down 17-10, North Carolina took over at its own 13 with all three timeouts remaining. The drive moved methodically into Virginia Tech territory, but a good bit of time came off the clock as the Tar Heels ran the ball multiple times.
On 1st-and-10 from the Virginia Tech 43, D.J. Jones ran the ball three yards down to the 40. The clock showed 1:11 at the end of the play, but Brown didn’t use timeout despite still having all three left. Half a minute ran off the clock before the next play, which saw North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell resort to a desperation throw under heavy pressure that was intercepted.
Brown was left with 37 seconds and all three timeouts, but that was rendered a moot point when Virginia Tech’s Tre Turner ran for 12 yards and a first down on the next play. Still, Brown only then decided to use his timeouts despite the game being effectively over.
Brown’s clock management was roasted after the game, with many wondering why the coach was so reluctant to use his timeouts on offense only to burn them quickly in garbage time.
Brown has helped revive North Carolina’s football team in recent years. He has also had a run of bizarre late-game decisions and clock-management issues. That trend seems to be continuing, and it’s probably going to slow down some of the hype surrounding the Tar Heels this year.
More must-reads: