North Carolina coach Mack Brown told his team following Saturday's 70-50 loss to James Madison that he would "walk away and step down if he was the problem," sources told 247Sports' Inside Carolina. The players vocally supported Brown and took the blame themselves after Brown made his address.
"He will be in the office tomorrow and getting back to work," one source told Inside Carolina on Saturday night. "Going in and having a normal Sunday."
North Carolina entered its Week 4 game against James Madison as a 10.5-point favorite but allowed a program-record 53 points in the first half against the Dukes. North Carolina didn't have an answer for Dukes quarterback Alonza Barnett III, who passed for 388 yards and five touchdowns on 22 completions. He also rushed for a team-high 99 yards and two touchdowns.
It was also just the second time that an ACC program has allowed 70 points in non-conference action since 2017, when North Carolina lost 70-41 against East Carolina. The Tar Heels have allowed 40 points in 14 games under Brown and hold a 6-8 record in such games. North Carolina is also 2-4 in its last six games against FBS competition.
You can read much more on what is an unusual story from Inside Carolina.
It was as low a moment as one could imagine for North Carolina and for Brown, an active Hall of Fame head coach who won a national championship with Texasin 2005. As Adam Smith from IC writes:
Only previous five opponents across Carolina's long 136-year college football history had cracked the 60-point threshold, and JMU joined the club as the sixth on Saturday. The Dukes, an FBS newcomer in just their third season competing on this level, reached the 70-41 annihilation the Tar Heels suffered at East Carolina in September 2014. That dubious loss had represented the most points UNC ever had allowed -- until now.
