As North Carolina head football coach Mack Brown walked out of Bank of America Stadium in early December, he was far more optimistic about the program than a 29-point loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game would suggest.
The Tar Heels’ performance in the Holiday Bowl against Oregon this past week confirmed what Brown was thinking as he wraps up the fourth season of his second tenure in Chapel Hill.
“Clemson didn’t physically beat us down so as bad as that score was — because of three turnovers — I walked out of there saying, ‘You know what? We’re making progress,’ ” Brown said. “We’re getting better because Clemson’s as good as anybody in the country.”
