UNC will have to overcome its inherent Mack brownness to finish on a high note

In a sense, Mack Brown began his path back to unemployment in earnest in the spring when he brought quarterback Jacolby Criswell back from Arkansas.

Criswell left UNC because he couldn’t find playing time, and he didn’t find any at Arkansas either – bringing in someone like that in late April isn’t usually a good sign for a quarterback’s situation. Some might even be worried. (Not me, though. I was very encouraged by the development.)

Criswell could well have spent another fall as a substitute had Max Johnson not been injured in the opener, although I would rather imagine they would have spent the season swapping starting positions along with questionable performances.

The inability to find a successor to an NFL-caliber quarterback has unsettled many head football coaches over the years (see also: Chuck Amato), and Mack was clearly in significant trouble heading into the season. Because of this shortcoming, the season didn’t end in complete disaster, but in the end the result was the same as far as Mack’s tenure was concerned.

The main reason it didn’t turn into a disaster is Omarion Hampton, who will reach 1,500 yards for the second straight season this weekend. Just take a look at this team’s offensive radar and compare the passing categories to the rushing categories:

Hampton is undoubtedly an NFL player and runs one of the most efficient running games in the country. NC State did a good job against him last year (9 carries, 28 yards) and will need to contain him at least somewhat to turn the UNC offense in the wrong direction on Saturday.

There’s no need to shut him down completely – he ran over 100 in four of the team’s five losses – and that’s unlikely anyway, as his lowest yardage total against BC is 53 (on just 11 carries). But State’s defense will have to be consistently good to put the offense in awkward positions and force the Heels to rely more heavily on their less-than-great passing game than they’d like.

UNC’s defense is about the same as ever, which is another reason the school is looking for a new coach. Mack Brown’s good recruiting efforts extended to that side of the ball, at least on paper, but the unit couldn’t shake its soft nature on the field despite several defensive coordinators trying to make a difference. Without a standout quarterback to help overcome the problems on defense, it’s no surprise that the win total has taken a hit.

The Heels have made some progress on defense this season, they just aren’t dramatic – the pass defense has been slightly better and ranks 35th in success rate thanks to a pretty good pass rush. But deficits elsewhere were also fatal at times, especially against the ground game. The Heels don’t create many runs (they’re in the bottom five in the FBS here) and have given up an above-average amount of explosive power. You never know exactly how they’ll stack up against the competition, but there’s been more bad than good over the last few months.

Who the hell knows what will happen tomorrow? Both teams have significant problems and both have been inconsistent. NC State has shown an incredible ability to inflict wounds on itself and squander opportunities. UNC has a defense that sometimes forgets to show up. What happens when these two completely average-looking teams meet?