Mack Brown on Duke, Victory Bell

Coach impressed with what he's seen on tape

Mack Brown and the Tar Heels are preparing for a rivalry game against Duke this weekend. A NCAA-mandated day off on Tuesday changed the practice schedule a bit.

“It’s been a strange week with the different schedule,” Brown said, “but the players have handled it well. We’ve had great practices, very spirited, focused. I think getting out there on Monday, while they were still sore from the game and Tuesday being off was better for them this week.”

Brown is impressed with what he’s seen from Duke on tape.

“Duke has really good,” he said. “Their run game (is good), and we haven’t stopped the run well. They’ve got very good special teams. We haven’t been very good, haven’t been consistent. Their front seven is really good. Their two ends are as good as we’ll play. Their secondary is much improved over last year. Their team, to me, is v much like the situations we had with Virginia and Florida State. They’re better teams than their record. If Duke hadn’t turned the ball over so many times, their record would be much better. We’ve got our hands full. We’ve got to play good on Saturday to have a chance to win.”

The two teams had a post-game skirmish last year, when the Tar Heels rushed to the Duke sideline to take possession of the Victory Bell. Brown has not spent much time worrying about how to prevent that.

“I’ve got a whole lot on my plate. I’ve got a lot of things I’ve got to fix,” he said. “The Victory Bell is not one of them, where it is during the game. I did suggest last year that they keep it away from the bench of one of the two teams, so after the game, one’s not fighting with the other over it. I hadn’t thought about it, but I’ll bring it up to administration.”