North Carolina coach Mack Brown notched his first career win over alma mater Florida State Saturday when his Tar Heels took out the Seminoles 35-11. The UNC coach came into the game with an 0-11 record against FSU, dating back to his time at Tulane and through two different stints with the Tar Heels. Nine of Brown's 11 losses to FSU came against fellow coaching legend Bobby Bowden.
Brown played at Florida State from 1972-73 and coached wide receivers at the school the following two seasons.
Brown lost to the the Seminoles three years from 1985-87 as the coach at Tulane. During his first stint at North Carolina, he was 0-6 against FSU, including 1997, when FSU handed the Tar Heels their only loss. After taking some time away from coaching following his exit as the coach of Texas in 2013, Brown was hired by UNC for his second tenure with the program in 2019. He fell to the Seminoles again in both 2020 and 2021. Saturday's meeting marked the first between the schools since then.
Coming into the weekend, North Carolina had lost four of its last five games after starting the 2024 campaign 3-0. Following a 70-50 loss to James Madison in Week 4, Brown reportedly told his team he would "walk away and step down if he was the problem." The players vocally supported Brown and took the blame themselves after the UNC coach gave his speech.
For Florida State, the loss marks the latest in a series of woes in 2024. The Seminoles are 1-7 on the year and guaranteed to miss a bowl after posting a perfect 12-0 regular season record just one season prior.
North Carolina (5-4, 2-3 ACC) will face Wake Forest next on Nov. 16. Florida State (1-8, 1-7) travels to South Bend, Indiana to play No. 8 Notre Dame on Saturday.
