Former Texas football HC Mack Brown, UNC dominate Syracuse in Week 1

Former Texas football head coach Mack Brown saw his North Carolina Tar Heels squad put together an impressive late run to beat Syracuse in Week 1.

The performance from the squad of former Texas football head coach Mack Brown and the North Carolina Tar Heels was nothing short of very impressive, as they mauled the Syracuse Orange at home in Chapel Hill to open up their 2020 season. UNC held the No. 18 slot in the preseason AP Poll, and with good reason.

Brown and the Tar Heels returned a lot of talent from last year’s team that was bowl eligible. They finished up their 2019 season with a record of 7-6 (4-4 ACC) after knocking off the Temple Owls in the Military Bowl in dominating fashion by the final score of 55-13. That was the mark that Brown needed to cap his first season in Chapel Hill on the right foot.

The most notable player that the Tar Heels brought back for their 2020 season is sophomore star quarterback and former highly touted four-star recruit Sam Howell. The 6-foot-1 and 225 pound Howell wrapped up his freshman campaign with 3,641 passing yards, 40 total touchdowns (38 passing, one rushing, one receiving), just seven interceptions, a whopping 9.7 adjusted yards per passing attempt, and a sparkling 160.2 passer efficiency rating.

Bringing a quarterback back in the Power Five that posted numbers like that as a freshman is a special thing, and Brown has to know that. The Tar Heels have the real potential to make a lot of noise in the ACC to possibly challenge the No. 1 ranked Clemson Tigers this fall.

To get their 2020 season underway, the Tar Heels took on head coach Dino Babers and Syracuse. They were pretty heavy favorites coming into the game, but it took them a while to get off and running. UNC had just a 7-3 lead heading into the locker room at halftime, and even ended the third quarter up just 10-6.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Tar Heels really found their groove. UNC took the fourth quarter by a score of 21-0. That’s what led the Tar Heels to come away with such a commanding victory over Syracuse, by the final score of 31-6.

UNC’s defense was much better than anticipated, and their offense was good, albeit taking a while to get off the ground. The defense was actually the better side of the ball for the Tar Heels on Sep. 12. Howell’s final stat line didn’t look all that good, as he wrapped up with 25 completions on 34 passing attempts for just over 300 total yards, one passing touchdown, and two interceptions.

It was the running back combination of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams that registered more than 130 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns between the two of them. Carter also added 60 receiving yards on six receptions.

Meanwhile, the UNC defense was predictably led by former converted quarterback and senior linebacker Chazz Surratt, who finished up with nine total tackles, two quarterback hurries, 2.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Although he was hurt early in the game, he got back in the mix and made a huge impact for this Tar Heel defense.

Up next for the Tar Heels is a Sep. 19 Week 2 battle at home in their sole non-conference game of the regular season, against the Charlotte 49ers. And Brown’s former team, the Longhorns, are set to take on a fellow Conference-USA foe in the UTEP Miners on Sep. 12 at 7 p.m. CT.