Mack Brown left without answers after UNC football ends season with 30-10 loss to West Virginia

But nothing seemed to change after that loss, and the season only continued to slip away, culminating in a disappointing bowl game to cap off 2023. 

And the only response Brown could muster after the poor showing against the Mountaineers was one that was eerily similar to his remarks two months prior.  

“I’ll go watch the video tonight,” he said. “I’ll watch every play and grade it.”

An unsatisfying answer to an unsatisfying season that began with a 6-0 run and ended with a 5-1 total collapse.

After failing to come to concrete conclusions the entire season, he continued to repeat the same phrases – with “I don’t know” being the main one – accompanied by inconsistent claims. 

Even with all these unanswered questions that have led to the Tar Heels’ inability to find success over the second half of the season, junior linebacker Power Echols wanted to lay it out on the line one last time this season to prove how much this program means to players and end on a positive note. 

“That’s what getting to win means to us,” he said. 

However, as the seconds dwindled on the scoreboard, those goals were dashed as the time clock hit zero. Blue-clad players exited the field with heads hung low as the Duke’s Mayo Bowl trophy was hoisted by the Mountaineers as the few remaining Tar Heel fans trickled out of the stadium. 

This ending scene likely shouldn’t come as a surprise for a team unable to find the answers to their woes.

Brown wasn’t able to solve the puzzle. 

With the season’s conclusion, he was able to admit that his year-long search for answers had led to nothing. 

“It’s something I am still trying to figure out or I damn sure would have fixed it.”

@_emmahmoon

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com