UNC Football: Coach Brown, I have to politely disagree

Head coach Mack Brown stated that he felt Antoine Green made a wrong decision in the UNC Football program’s win on Saturday. I respectfully disagree.

Before I get into the details, I just want to remind everyone of how much I respect and admire coach Mack Brown.

I really began to draw interest in college football around the time Mack Brown (and one of my all-time favorite players in Vince Young) shocked the world by defeating USC in the national championship game. Although I was too young to remember Brown’s first stint with the Tar Heels, I was beyond ecstatic when I heard he’d be returning to Chapel Hill for a second stint.

As much of a fan I am of Brown’s, I have to say I disagree with something he said after the team’s victory over Virginia on Saturday afternoon.

Here’s the statement:

Brown believes that wide receiver Antoine Green, who was on special teams in anticipation of an onside kick, shouldn’t have gone down once he recovered the football. Instead, the long-time head coach believes that Green should have taken the kick to the house to give the Tar Heels a two-possession lead.

Of course, what Brown says makes sense, but two notable things stood out to me that made me disagree with his logic here.

For starters, do we all remember the Appalachian State game?!

In case you forgot, with under 30 seconds to play, Bryson Nesbit, who should’ve taken a knee, returned an onside kick for a score. After getting the ball back, it took the Mountaineers just under 20 seconds to drive down the field and score, almost tying the game in that instance.

The two situations are different, given that there were a little over three minutes remaining and that a Green touchdown would’ve provided a little more of a cushion. However, the way I look at it is this:

Which unit did you trust more in that situation, the offense or the defense?

No offense to the defense, a unit that has been playing a bit better as of late, but think about all the circumstances. With the season-ending injuries to Noah Taylor and Desmond Evans, Gene Chizik’s crew is still trying to sort things out. Virginia, a team who hadn’t scored more than 20 points against a Power 5 school all season long, already had 28 points.

Who’s to say that they didn’t have another two scores in them?

On the flip side, I had full confidence in Drake Maye and company to ice the clock. With the way Maye and running back Elijah Green ran the football, plus having the security blankets of Downs and Antoine Green on the outside, it was never a doubt that they could either run the majority of the clock out and score or ice the game altogether.

Both ways clearly have their pros and cons.

The offense could’ve coughed the ball up or struggled to pick up first downs.

Green could’ve scored and just allowed more time for Virginia to battle in an offensive slugfest.

Fortunately, it worked out well for the UNC football program, which we’re all happy about, but I have to disagree with one of my favorite coaches here: I’m glad it played out the way it did.

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