So you want to be a college football fan in 2021? You better know what you’re signing up for. Heck, maybe even sign a consent form or waiver.
“We’re seeing so much parity in college football,” North Carolina head coach Mack Brown said. “It’s like a roller coaster when you hop on it and you feel like you’re in good shape. Then you go back down and come back.”
Look up the ride Judge Roy Scream at Six Flags Over Texas and you’ll relate to what Brown is talking about. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. That’s almost exactly what North Carolina’s season has been like.
Almost.
The only difference is that you would have to throw in an unexpected stall while the train car is climbing for the initial drop. That stall before the ride ever got going would symbolize UNC’s 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech in the season opener.
The car eventually got going again with back-to-back 59-point offensive outbursts in wins over Georgia State and Virginia, but then it was right back down with a 45-22 loss to Georgia Tech. Up again with a 38-7 win over Duke, down again with a 35-25 loss to Florida State.
The highs were emphatically high. The lows were devastatingly low. In their most recent game, a 45-42 win over Miami, the Tar Heels accomplished something that had Brown feeling hopeful about the future: they won a close game when adversity struck while the outcome was in doubt.
