Mack Brown: Time For Us to Grow Up Against Wake

Heels need to be able to follow up after a big win

Mack Brown wants to make sure the Tar Heels follow up on a win over Duke with a strong performance against Wake Forest this week.

“We beat Virginia Tech, lose to Florida State,” he said. “We beat NC State and play really well, lose to Virginia. We beat Duke, now its time for us to grow up, mature, make sure we grow from a win instead of having a setback.”

Wake Forest knocked off the Tar Heels last season in Winston-Salem.

“Last year, we were 2-0 and went to Wake, had a lot of confidence, and they jumped on us 21-0. They were more physical than we were. They had more energy than we did. They were better coached. The last 12, they’ve won seven. We’ve won five. They also beat Virginia and Virginia Tech in their last four and have won four straight.”

Brown is impressed with what he’s seen from the Deacs.

“You start looking at what Dave Clawson has done. They’re always well coached. I never thought he gets credit for the way his teams play. They always have really good players. They’re never ranked really high in recruiting, so they do a fantastic job evaluating and developing players. They always play hard. Start looking at what wins football games: They’re No. 1 in the country in turnover ratio. They’ve forced 15 and lost one. Sam Hartman hasn’t thrown an interception all year. They’re second in the league in penalties. They have nine returning starters on defense. (Carlos) Basham Jr. is a first-round draft choice at defensive end. They’ve got a lot of guys back that kept us from moving the ball last year. They’ve dominated games in time of possessions. They’ve been outstanding in the red zone, because they can run the ball. What they do well is what we haven’t done as well—control penalties and stop the run. So we have our hands full. I think the guys understand that this year. They can watch the video and it speaks for itself.”