"You shouldn’t be at North Carolina and lose to a Group of Five team": Mack Brown blames himself after surprising loss to James Madison
James Madison Dukes stunned North Carolina Tar Heels 70-50 on Saturday and coach Mack Brown is taking all the heat that comes with losing to the Group of Five team. Brown accepted that there were no excuses for sustaining such a loss and took the blame on himself for not living up to expectations in his post-game press conference.
“Embarrassing day, shocking day,” Brown said. “You shouldn’t be at North Carolina and lose to a Group of Five team – period. There are no excuses"
"It can only come back to one person and that’s me," Brown said at the 0:53 mark. I’ve hired everybody on this staff, I hired everybody that works in this building, and I’ve signed every player on this team. So, I mean, the people that want to blame me? They should because I am at fault – 100%. I missed it.”
Mack Brown felt bad for fans who were in attendance only to witness such an embarrassing loss. He also congratulated Bob Chesney for being the better coach for the day. (Start at 1:45)
“Congratulations to JMU. I should’ve said that,” said Brown. “I think Bob (Chesney) is a really good coach and they did a great job coaching today. They did a better job than I did. That’s what it is.”
Mack Brown pinpoints areas where Tar Heels struggled to match the Dukes
The Dukes had a tremendous first half, which saw them take a 53-21 lead in halftime. James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett threw for five touchdowns and 388 yards on 22-of-34 passes. He also added two rushing scores, running for 99 yards on 13 carries.
Meanwhile, UNC's signal caller Jacolby Criswell threw for three touchdowns, two interceptions and 475 yards on 28-of-48 pass attempts.
Brown was critical of his defense and special teams, which didn't live up to the expectations. (Start at 0:09 mark of video)
“Our defense, who played great all spring, all preseason, and played outstanding for the first three games, looked awful today. We had communication problems, we had missed tackles. We had guys wide open for a touchdown,” Brown said.
“Our special teams, who had been better than the three teams we had played the first three games? Had an onside kick that hit us in the chest and they get it for a score, had a blocked punt that they get for a score."
Despite the loss, Mack Brown raved about his starting quarterback, Jacolby Criswell, who he thought did well. However, Mack Brown doubled down that the loss was 100% on him and that he wasn't sharp on the field.
The Tar Heels, who dropped to 3-1, will now take on the Duke Blue Devils in Week 5 of college football action.