Greatness Awaits // Carolina vs. Miami Recap

The Tar Heels scoot past a ranked Miami team in an offensive shootout, ultimately putting us in the Top-10. We look ahead as we face the one-win Virginia Cavaliers, but have they got our number despite being down this season? Can the 2023 Tar Heels win out the rest of this season and go down as perhaps the greatest Carolina team of all time? 

​I would argue that this past weekend's win against Miami is the biggest win for the Tar Heels in the Mack Brown era. For the first time since his return to Chapel Hill, we are 6-0 and ranked in the Top-10. This is because it was a benchmark game that gives us a good idea of where Carolina is as a team, and by winning this game, I now have the confidence to say, the Tar Heels are freaking good, and they will continue to be freaking good. 

The biggest winner from this past weekend is Tez Walker! We Carolina fans were very excited to see a performance like that from the player we've all been behind this season. I'm happy to see him thriving and am excited to see how he performs the rest of the season. The Maye / Walker duo is scary, and if I were any defense, I'd be scared. 

Virginia's only win this season is against William & Mary; even still, that game was won in the fourth quarter. On paper, this should be a walk in the park for the Tar Heels. Virginia is down bad. Carolina is up good. Right? 

ESPN is giving the Tar Heels a 94.3% chance to win this Saturday, but Virginia worries me because we don't exactly dominate the Cavaliers. Four of the last six matchups with Virginia ended up in losses. Last season, the Tar Heels only won by three points. It wasn't until late in the third quarter that we went up and stayed up. Even still, with less than four minutes left to go, the Cavaliers shrunk our lead to just three points. 

Though I am more confident than I have ever been with the Tar Heels, I still worry about consistency. The one thing we have been consistent at is being inconsistent. Where I have had hope is that we have had several good quarterbacks come through Carolina in recent years. Mitch Trubisky, Sam Howell, and now Drake Maye. At some point, one of these outstanding quarterbacks has to win something bigger than the Military Bowl. 

Carolina is perhaps the best program in the last ten years to have (almost) nothing to show for it. A Belk Bowl (2013), Military Bowl (2019), a few seasons ending in the Top-25, and no ACC Championships. We are due for something big. That is not to be confused with we are entitled to win something big, but it is time for us to win something big. This is the season to do it. The path to greatness is right in front of us. It is our book to write.