Mack Brown: 'We're lucky to be tied at halftime'

North Carolina coach Mack Brown was not pleased with what he saw from his team in the first half against Appalachian State. The Tar Heels entered halftime tied at 10 with the Mountaineers and Brown said in his halftime interview on the ACC Network that they are “lucky” not to be down.

He pointed to several missed opportunities on both offense and defense, saying UNC has to eliminate those errors in the second. The Tar Heels had the ball for just 11 minutes in the first half and failed to convert a fourth down on its opening drive at the Appalachian State 14-yard line.

“We’ve gotta get the defense to get them off the field,” Brown said. “Their game plan is working perfectly. They stopped us on the fourth-and-short, which they can’t do. They stopped us on the third-and-1. That’s two opportunities to score down on their side of the field. Then they kept the ball 19 minutes. So their game plan is to keep the ball away from Drake and they’re doing a great job of it.

“…We’ve made entirely too many mistakes. We’re lucky to be tied at halftime. They get the ball in the second half. We’ve got to start the game over and we’ve got to play better.”

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye finished with just 43 yards passing in the first half. The Tar Heels were somewhat saved by a productive rushing attack that managed 165 yards and a touchdown. However, it’s clear they’ll need to do a better job staying on the field in the second so Maye can make plays.

In order to do so, the defense will have to find a way to come up with stops. UNC allowed the Mountaineers to go 5-for-10 on their third down conversions in the first half, including a third-and-goal from the 5-yard line in which they scored their only touchdown.

“You’re playing hard,” Brown said. “You’re not playing smart. You’re not playing good. They’ve stopped us on critical plays. They’ve made the critical plays and we’re not finishing on either side and that’s what we talked about all week.”

North Carolina at least ended its final two drives of the first half with a touchdown, so perhaps it can carry some of that momentum over into the second half against Appalachian State. The Tar Heels narrowly escaped the Mountaineers in a 63-61 shootout this past season and it appears this one could come down to the wire as well.