Game 3 - North Carolina

In the Cat's third game of the fall season, Western Carolina travels to Chapel Hill for the third meeting with the Tar Heels in four years.

The Cats dropped the 2018 season's game to the Tar Heels in a 26-49 setback for the Catamounts.  Since that time, the Tar Heels have rehired former head coach, Mack Brown. 








UNC at Chapel Hill

When: Saturday, December 5 (Time -  12 noon)
Where: Kenan Stadium (63,000) - Natural Grass -  Chapel Hill, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network

- announcers: Gary Ayers (PxP), Daniel Hooker (Color), Greg McLamb, & Jeff Bryson
TV / Video: ACC Network

- announcers:  Wes Durham, Roddy Jones, & Lericia Harris

The Series: Third meeting on the football field between these two UNC system sister schools, the Cats dropped the last two games to the Tar Heels

Game Notes:   Western Carolina     -    UNC-Chapel Hill

The last game played vs. UNC:  Nov. 17, 2018 -  Adams Hits Milestone in 49-26 Road Loss at North Carolina   Chapel Hill, N.C. – Western Carolina quarterback Tyrie Adams took his head coach Mark Speir's weekly charge to heart on Saturday afternoon in the season-finale at North Carolina – go play until there are zeroes on the clock at Kenan Stadium.

On the final play of regulation, long after the final result of Saturday's game had been determined, Adams scrambled 18 yards and etched his name into the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record books. Adams became just the 10th player in FCS history to throw for over 2,000 yards while also amassing over 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.

Head Coach:  Mack Brown, whose charismatic style and disciplined approach propelled the University of North Carolina to the Top Five and the University of Texas to the 2005 BCS National Championship, began his second stint as head coach in Chapel Hill on Nov. 27, 2018, with the goal of leading another Carolina resurgence.  A 42-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Brown has served as a head coach for 31 seasons with stops at Texas (1998-2013), North Carolina (1988-97, 2019), Tulane (1985-87), and Appalachian State (1983). Over his 31 seasons, Brown has posted a record of 251-128-1 (.662). Those 251 career victories rank ninth on the FBS all-time list and are the most among active coaches. The 2005 Paul W. “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year and the 2008 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, Brown is one of a handful of coaches in college football history to lead two separate programs to Top-Five national finishes. 

-Mack Brown has faced Western Carolina once in his 32-year head coaching career. At the helm of Appalachian State in 1983, Brown lost 41-15 to the Catamounts in the regular-season finale on Nov. 19 in Cullowhee, N.C.  

Last season's Record (Tar Heels):  7-6 overall, 3-3 home, 2-3 away, 4-4 ACC - The Tar Heels wins came over South Carolina, Miami, Georgia Tech, Duke, Mercer, NC State, Temple 

2020 Record (Tar Heels): 6-3 overall, 4-1 home, 2-2 away, 6-3 ACC - The Tar Heels have wins this season over Syracuse, Boston College, NC State, Duke, & Wake Forest
 

UNC is second in the ACC to Clemson in scoring offense with 43.1 points per game. That figure is 7th nationally among teams playing at least four games.  Carolina ranks fourth nationally and leads the ACC with 563.4 yards per game of total offense.  UNC is on pace to break a school record of 486.9 yards per game set in 2015.  The Heels are 10th in the country with 233.5 rushing yards per game among FBS teams that have played at least four games.

Carolina has probably the top running back tandem in college football in senior Michael Carter and junior Javonte Williams. Carter and Williams are the only pair of teammates nationally to average more than 100 yards rushing per game. The two have combined to average 209.4 yards on the ground this season. Among ACC backs, Williams leads with 108.5 yards per game, while Carter is 4th with 100.9 yards.

Sam Howell leads the ACC with 23 passing touchdowns (T4th nationally) and 328.9 passing yards per game. Howell has thrown 13 touchdown passes over the last three games, and seven have gone for 20 yards or longer,

2020 UNC Statistics:
Rushing Offense: 2230 yards
Yards per game: 217.2
Yards per rush: 5.4 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 101
TDs rushing: 24
Passing Offense: 2850 yards or 316.67 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 10.29 yards
Passing 1st downs: 118
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 277-187-6
TDs Passing: 24
Total Offense: 4805 yards or 533.9 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 8 - 3
3d Down Conversions: 45.7%
4th Down Conversions: 53.9%
Field goal attempts: 6 - 13
On-side kicks: 0-0
Red Zone Scores: 35 of 40
Red Zone Touchdowns: 30 of 40
Punts - Yards: 30 - 1244


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