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UNC-South Carolina Pre-Game Notes

andrew jones

Hall of Famer
Staff
Jul 21, 2014
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NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS VS.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS


BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM • CHARLOTTE, N.C.
AUG. 31, 2019 • 3:30 PM ET

Series vs. UofSC: UNC leads 34-19-4
Series Streak: UofSC won three
Last Meeting vs. UofSC: 2015 (L, 13-17)
Last UNC Win: 1991 (W, 21-17)

TAR HEELS AND GAMECOCKS
North Carolina and South Carolina will meet on the football field for the 58th time on Saturday, Aug. 31 in Charlotte, N.C. However, this will only be the fourth head-to-head meeting since 1991.
• Once conference rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the two schools met at least twice every decade from 1900-1980, but have met just five times since 1990. While members of the ACC (South Carolina left in 1971), the two schools played every year from 1953-70 with the exception of 1965 and 1966. In those 16 meetings as ACC opponents, North Carolina won nine times.
• The rivalry will continue in 2023 in Charlotte on opening weekend from Bank of America Stadium.


BROWN VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
• Head coach Mack Brown went 1-3 against South Carolina between 1988 and 1991. The Tar Heels won the '91 match-up 21-17.


UNC VS. SOUTH CAROLINA AT NEUTRAL SITES
• This year's season opener is just the fourth neutral site game between the two border-state rivals. The first neutral site meeting came in 1910 in Durham, N.C. (a 27-6 UNC win), the 1955 game was played in Norfolk, Va. (a 32-14 UNC victory) and the 2015 game was also played in Charlotte, a 17-13 Tar Heel setback.


TAR HEELS FROM THE PALMETTO STATE
• Carolina has five players that hail from the state of South Carolina: junior wide receiver Roscoe Johnson (Jonesville), sophomore OL Marcus McKethan (Barnwell) and freshmen Parks Cochrane (Charleston), Storm Duck (Boiling Springs) and Wyatt Tunall (Chester).


SEASON OPENERS
• Carolina is 82-42-4 in season opening games and 35-31 since the ACC began in 1953.
• Head coach Mack Brown is 24-6 all-time in season openers, 8-2 at Carolina.
• The last season-opening win was a 56-29 victory over Liberty on Aug. 30, 2014.
• The last season-opening win over a Power 5 team was a 23-6 victory over Indiana on Sept. 6, 1997.


CAROLINA 30TH ON ALL-TIME WINS LIST
• North Carolina enters the 2019 campaign with 691 wins in its 131 years of football. The 691 victories rank 30th on the NCAA’s all-time list and sixth in the ACC. The Tar Heels sit one victory behind Army on the list.


CAROLINA ALL-AMERICANS
• The Carolina football program has developed 69 student-athletes, who combined to earn 86 All-America honors. Of those 86 honors, 16 were earned under Mack Brown’s guidance from 1988-97. Of note, current cornerbacks coach Dre Bly garnered three first-team honors, two of which came with Brown at the helm.


CAROLINA AND THE NFL DRAFT
• The Carolina football program has produced 246 NFL Draft picks. Of those selections, the Tar Heels have produced 24 first-round selections, which are the most of any school in the state of North Carolina, ahead of NC State (17), Duke (6) and Wake Forest (5).


MACK IS BACK
• Head coach Mack Brown is back on the sidelines with the North Carolina football program for the first time in 21 years, nine months and 10 days, or 7,953 days when UNC takes on South Carolina Aug. 31.
• Brown's last game at the helm of the Tar Heel program was a 50-14 victory over Duke on Nov. 22, 1997.
• Brown was 23-3 over his final 26 games in Chapel Hill before moving on to the University of Texas. He spent 16 years with the Longhorns from 1998-2013, and won the 2005 BCS National Championship.


FAMILIAR FOES
• Not only will Saturday, Aug. 31 serve as head coach Mack Brown's first game on the Tar Heel sideline in almost 22 years, adding more intrigue to the matchup is that Gamecock's head coach Will Muschamp was Brown's defensive coordinator at Texas from 2008-10.
• The Longhorns went 30-9 in those three seasons and played for the National Championship, finishing with a 13-1 record.


UNC SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S MOST DIFFICULT
• North Carolina's 11 FBS opponents combined for a 92-54 (.630) record in 2018.
• All 11 opponents competed in a bowl game during the 2018 campaign. Appalachian State (New Orleans), Clemson (CFP National Champion), Duke (Independence), Georgia Tech (Quick Lane), Miami (Pinstripe), NC State (Gator), Pitt (Sun), South Carolina (Belk), Virginia (Belk), Virginia Tech (Military) and Wake Forest (Birmingham).
• 10 of the 11 opponents finished with a .500 or better record, and two (Appalachian State, Clemson) had a double-digit win total.
• Five of the 11 opponents won at least eight games last season: Clemson (15-0), Appalachian State (11-2), NC State (9-4), Duke (8-5) and UVA (8-5).
• Carolina's crossover opponents in the ACC Atlantic Division are defending national-champion Clemson and local rival NC State.


FACILITY FACE LIFT
• With the new era of Carolina football underway, the program has seen a number of renovations and upgrades since Mack Brown took the helm in November 2018. The new football practice complex was completed providing the team with three fields, two AstroTurf RootZone 3D3 synthetic grass fields and one natural grass field.

• One of the synthetic grass fields is housed in the Indoor Practice Facility with the other two practice fields being outdoors. Inside Kenan Stadium, the same synthetic grass surface was installed following Carolina’s spring game. Inside the Kenan Football Center, upgrades were made to the player’s lounge, locker room and weight room, which were accompanied by a number of wall graphics and photos throughout the building.


SUCCESS IN THE TRENCHES (2018)
• Carolina ranked 19th nationally in sacks per game with 32 in 11 games (2.9 per game).
• Offensively, Carolina allowed only 10 total sacks, the lowest total in the ACC and tied for fourth nationally.
• UNC rushed for 5.3 yards per carry, fourth-best in the ACC behind Clemson, Georgia Tech and Pitt.


SPECIAL HOME GAME DESIGNATIONS
• Kenan Stadium will host Carolina's home opener on Sept. 7 vs. Miami following a neutral site game with South Carolina to open 2019.
• Below is a list of UNC's special events and dates for the 2019 football season.
- Sept. 21 vs. Appalachian State: Family Weekend
- Sept. 28 vs. Clemson: Rams Club Day
- Oct. 26 vs. Duke: Homecoming; Monogram Day
- Nov. 2 vs. Virginia: Military Appreciation Day
- Nov. 23 vs. Mercer: Senior Day
 
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Watching the sunrise over the City of Portland imagining the excitement hustle and bustle all you gals and guys are engaged in as you prepare for our first game under Mack. I’ll be watching. Give ‘em hell! Eat a bbq sandwich for me. GDTBATH
 
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