The former Browns coach might get another chance at the college level
While Freddie Kitchens had an abysmal one year as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, he might be getting another shot at becoming a head coach.
After a 60-40 loss to James Madison, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown has reportedly told his team that he is exiting the program. Their next in line to take over as the interim head coach? None other than Kitchens, who is their run game coordinator and tight ends coach.
According to 247, the Tar Heels have hope that Brown will return to the locker room after vocally stepping away as he still has support of his players. However, they also reported that the brass at North Carolina want Kitchens to assume the role as interim head coach.
Kitchens has had one interim role that led to a full-time gig after taking over as the Browns’ interim offensive coordinator in 2018. Could this be Deja vu for the former Browns’ coach?
Despite the rumblings of a hard-fought game, the photographs of this game prove different.
North Carolina football’s undefeated season has come to an end as the team was routed by James Madison at home this week. The game looked tough from the start. The offense was clicking, but the defense was far from put together.
From interceptions to onside kickoff returns, UNC was letting James Madison have its way on the field today. The game ended 70-50 in favor of JMU as they pounded their way to 388 yards through the air and 223 yards on the ground.
UNC had 475 passing yards and 141 on the ground. This game is all around something that the Heels will need to remember and work on for next week.
These pictures prove how tough of a day it was for UNC.
North Carolina paying $10,000 per point in a 20-point loss isn’t great.
Surely this Week 4 Saturday played out differently for North Carolina when the Tar Heels envisioned it ahead of time. Because it was bad.
James Madison rolled into Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill on Saturday and hung 53 points on North Carolina after the first half to go on to win in dominant fashion, 70-50. Though, clearly defense was lacking on both sides.
The kicker: The Tar Heels paid the Dukes $700,000 to inflict this kind of damage to them, according to USA TODAY Sports‘ Steve Berkowitz. That’s a lot of money to lose so badly you spark jokes about mercy rules and running clocks.
This season at least 60 guarantee games will be played matching schools that play in the NCAA’s highest level of Division I, the Football Bowl Subdivision, with total payouts reaching $75 million, according to AP research.
In this instance, a James Madison win is less of a surprise than the scoring margin. The Dukes have been on the rise as one of the newer FBS teams, finishing 8-3 in 2022 and 11-2 in 2023. And now they’re 3-0, despite losing their coach and multiple players to Indiana.
So we have a new take on these payouts, and in honor of this incredible lop-sided Dukes win — they entered as 11-point underdogs on the road — here’s how that $700,000 breaks down in terms of game stats.
1. North Carolina paid $10,000 per point James Madison scored against the Tar Heels
Yeah, this is the big one, and if North Carolina’s defense existed, each point would probably be worth more.
2. North Carolina paid about $1,149 per yard allowed against James Madison
Eh, that doesn’t seem that bad, but that’s because 609 yards is outrageous. The Tar Heels, for what it’s worth, also racked up 616 yards, which breaks down to about $1,136 per yard they gained while still losing.
3. North Carolina paid about $23,333 per each of its 30 first downs, which was more than the Dukes
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 21: Alonza Barnett III #14 celebrates with Tanner Morris #58 of the James Madison Dukes after throwing for a touchdown against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of the game at Kenan Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
The Tar Heels earned five more first downs than James Madison but still lost. Not great.
4. North Carolina paid $140,000 per turnover to James Madison
Sep 21, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; James Madison Dukes safety Kye Holmes (12) and defensive lineman Immanuel Bush (15) react after the Dukes recover a fumble in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
North Carolina turned the ball over five times compared with James Madison’s one. A turnover margin that big isn’t going to win games.
5. North Carolina paid James Madison about $58,333 per Dukes penalty
James Madison finished with 12 penalties for 105 yards, notably more than the Tar Heels’ eight for 71 yards. Those are some expensive penalties.
James Madison handed UNC football its first loss of the season on Saturday after a historic 70-point performance.
The North Carolina Tar Heels didn’t just lose to James Madison at home on Saturday. They lost in historic fashion, giving up more than 600 yards of total offense in a 70-50 loss.
The Dukes blitzed out of the gates with 53 points in the first half. Quarterback Alonza Barnett III found the end zone five times (three passing, two rushing) before halftime, and James Madison also returned a blocked punt and an interception to the end zone to break the game apart before most of the crowd in Chapel Hill had even settled down.
Barnett finished with 487 total yards of offense for the game, averaging 11.4 yards per pass attempt and 7.6 yards per rushing attempt with seven total touchdowns. Two different James Madison wideouts finished with 100 yards, and all five of Barnett’s passing touchdowns went to different players.
The Tar Heels still managed 616 yards of offense themselves, but five turnovers doomed UNC’s chances of staying undefeated. Quarterback Jacolby Criswell, the third starter in four games for the Tar Heels, ended up with 475 yards and three touchdowns but two interceptions.
Duke football fans don’t need to wait long to take advantage of a vulnerable North Carolina team. The Tar Heels come to Durham for the first ACC game of the year next Saturday.
James Madison obliterated North Carolina during the first half of Saturday’s game between the Dukes and Tar Heels to the tune of 53 points.
It was already looking bad for North Carolina late in the second quarter, down 46-21, when Tar Heels quarterback Jacolby Criswell threw a pick-6 to Dukes cornerback TerrenceSpence to bring the James Madison lead up even more.
ACC Network broadcasters Jorge Sedano and Orlando Franklin brought the heat with a fantastic call of the James Madison pick-6.
The broadcasters really helped underscore how genuinely stunning it was to see North Carolina get destroyed so badly at home against a non-power opponent. Like, my goodness, what happened, Tar Heels?
While this may be more of a testament to how good James Madison is, these stats show just how historically abysmal the first half was for North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Saturday. They’ll make your jaw drop.
UNC looks to improve offense with a shift in the team’s starting quarterback for Saturday
It has been one thing after another for UNC football through just three weeks this season. First, after winning the quarterback battle this offseason, transfer Max Johnson started the season and played just three quarters before breaking his leg and ending his season right there.
Conner Harrell, who played more in camp than Criswell, took over for Johnson in the win against Minnesota and became the Heel’s starting quarterback.
He led the team to a 38-20 win over Charlotte in Week 2 with 219 yards and two touchdowns with an interception through the air. He started the game last week as well; however, after an extremely slow start to the passing attack, Mack Brown made a move and inserted Jacolby Criswell.
North Carolina is expected to shift to Jacolby Criswell as its starting QB when it faces JMU tomorrow, a source tells @247sports/@cbssports.
Criswell, a former four-star recruit who signed with UNC in 2020, returned to the Tar Heels this offseason after a year at Arkansas.… pic.twitter.com/JW1xvaSlo6
Criswell ended up finishing that game 14-of-23 through the air with 161 yards and a touchdown with another 16 yards on the ground. The team scored on almost all of the drives Criswell led, and inevitably, led to a controversy this week.
After a week of saying both players were being prepared to start against James Madison this week, it looks like Criswell is coming out on top and will gain his first start of the season.
Hopefully, we see an increase in passing offense against a much better opponent than Charlotte or NC Central.
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Despite the win, the Heels received less votes in this week’s AP Poll than last.
Week 3 was a roller coaster game for UNC football. NC Central came out and took seven minutes off the clock before scoring the first touchdown of the game and trailed by just seven points heading into the halftime break.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Heels finally broke loose in the fourth quarter with four, unanswered touchdowns, mostly on the ground, scoring 28 points and winning 45-10 in the game.
In the latest release of the AP Poll following Week 3, UNC football received just three votes. Last week, they weren’t in the Top 25, but they did receive seven votes which was up from Week 1.
The Longhorns are the top team in the country for the first time since 2008 🤘 pic.twitter.com/SwLkgH5qUL
In terms of the ACC, Miami is up to No. 8 in the rankings. Louisville sits at No. 19 and Clemson is No. 21 as the only conference representatives in the Top 25 teams in the country.
This is contrary to the Coaches Poll where UNC was up to 14 votes for a spot in the ranking. The schedule has been easy and the wins haven’t been pretty. It should be up from here as Carolina gets going for another undefeated week welcoming James Madison to Kenan Memorial Stadium next week.
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For the first time this season, the defensive backs led the way on defense in UNC’s Week 3 win.
North Carolina stayed home in Week 3 of the college football season and took on its first FCS opponent of the season beating NC Central 45-10.
The game started out slow and even with NC Central taking seven minutes to score first. UNC scored 17 unanswered points before NC Central hit a field goal to go into the halftime break 17-10.
After an underwhelming third quarter, UNC picked it up in the fourth scoring 28 points on four touchdowns to win the game.
Heading into the game with just three total tackles, defensive back Kaleb Cost led the team in tackles with eight total including four solo tackles on the night. He also had a pass deflect and a half-sack along the way.
Cost also intercepted NC Central in the fourth quarter for not only his first interception of his career but the first for UNC’s defense this season.
Teams have been targeting Cost this season due to his inexperience as Brown pointed out postgame:
“We’ve got to remember Kaleb didn’t play last year, really, and he missed spring practice. So he gets better every day,” Brown said.”And people pick on the star, they pick on the nickel, because he is a man cover guy, but doesn’t have the same number of snaps outside that those corners have. That’s all they do is cover. So I felt like he got a lot better tonight. I was really proud of the interception. He made some really good tackles.”
Antavious Lane was second to Cost and Amare Campbell in tackles with five total tackles including three solos. Jakeen Harris, the NC State transfer, had four tackles as well.
The defensive backs stepped up and led the defense in this game after getting carried by the line and linebackers for the first two weeks of the year.
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Kaimon Rucker’s shoes will be filled by two UNC frootball freshmen in the next few weeks.
Without a definite reason at the time, Kaimon Rucker was announced out before the first home game of the season for UNC football last weekend against Charlotte. Despite his absence, the team went on to dominate the weaker opponent in a 38-20 win.
However, the absence of Rucker was still felt, primarily because of the inexperience of those replacing him. The time was essentially split between Tyler Thompson and Jaybron Harvey in reserve, two redshirt freshmen.
The shoes that Rucker leaves empty are not easy to fill. In his first game this season, Rucker had four tackles with one sack and two tackles for a loss. He also dropped back and got himself a pass deflected as well.
Mack Brown said that while Thompson and Harvey didn’t make the “game-changing plays” that Rucker makes, they did well with what they were asked to do. Geoff Collins said that Thompson and Harvey benefited from seeing Rucker’s behind-the-scenes preparation.
The preparation that they will get in these next weeks while Rucker is sidelined will be invaluable to their success with the program in future years.
Defensive coordinator Geoff Collins also didn’t see the moment being too big for either player in Rucker’s absence.
“I didn’t feel like the moment was too big for them,” Collins said on Monday. “Tyler getting his first start in college, and then Jaybron playing a bunch of reps. I thought they handled it very well. There’s been a consistent maturation in both of them over the past eight months, and I think they were ready for the moment. They went out there and played really, really well. They both (are different) styles of player, but both very effective at what we’re asking them to do.”
Which one do we see step up this week?
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The postseason bowl that #UNC is projected to be in has changed, yet again, after another win.
North Carolina took down Charlotte at Kenan Stadium in Week 2 of the college football season for the team’s second win of the year. It was a dominant game led by a new starting quarterback in Conner Harrell.
Headlined not by the win but by injuries to Kaimon Rucker and Omarion Hampton, UNC football is going to need some new names to step up over the course of the season. The first one to do it was Davion Gause.
He finished the game with over 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in just over two-quarters of action since Hampton went down.
As a result of the team’s win, their bowl projection for the end of the year has shifted again says Erick Smith of USA Today.
In his newly released projections, Smith has North Carolina taking on Washington in the Sun Bowl on December 31st. In his last rendition of the bowl projections, Smith didn’t include North Carolina in any of his bowl games.
There is a long season to go, and hopefully, we continue to see the Heels climb in the rankings and win the ACC earning a birth in the College Football Playoffs.
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