After late-season stumbles, North Carolina eager to get 2023 football season started

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Charlotte, N.C. — North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye was talking about his new receivers, and the Heisman Trophy candidate began wiggling in his seat. He started to mimic throwing a pass.

Actual football season can't get here fast enough for Maye, who became the first Tar Heel since Lawrence Taylor to win ACC Player of the Year honors.

"It gets me amped up," Maye told reporters Thursday at the annual ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. "I'm here talking about all this football and got another month to wait."

Maye and the Tar Heels opened last season 9-1, but dropped their final four games, including a double-overtime loss to rival NC State in the regular-season finale, a big loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game and a tight loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

Despite the disappointing finish, UNC is again in the spotlight as the season starts. Maye is back. North Carolina added several new coaches, including offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, and revamped its wide receiving corps with transfers Nate McCollum (Georgia Tech) and Tez Walker (Kent State).

Maye was talking about those guys when he got the itch to throw a ball.

"They'll make big dividends in this season," said Maye, who played a role in recruiting them to campus. "I'm just looking forward to having those guys out there and get back to throwing some passes."

Further adding to the preseason attention: The nationally televised primetime season opener against South Carolina in Charlotte. ESPN's "College GameDay" will be there

"When there's 130-something teams out there that are playing on the first day, and 'GameDay' decides that your game is the most important one for them out of all those schools, it's really cool," UNC coach Mack Brown said. "It enhances interest in your program."

UNC defeated South Carolina in the 2019 season opener in Charlotte, Brown's first game back with the Tar Heels.

But his players remember two more recent appearances in Charlotte: a 38-21 loss to South Carolina in the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl and the 39-10 loss to Clemson in the 2022 ACC title game.

South Carolina raced out to an 18-0 lead in the bowl game, which ended with coach Shane Beamer taking a mayonnaise bath. Some players remember the game.

"Having that bad taste in our mouths from two years ago here, I think that will really give us some motivation," UNC tight end John Copenhaver said. "It's an old rivalry, and I think it will be a great game. I don't think guys are going to have to be motivated for this."

For a program that is littered with Charlotte-area players, winning at Bank of America Stadium is an important goal.

"We need to try to find a way to win one here," said Maye, who is from Charlotte. "We haven’t played very well here in Charlotte so to try and change that narrative and have fun. This is what you dream of as a kid, so getting an opportunity to play here is awesome."

South Carolina, led by quarterback Spencer Rattler, finished the regular season with upset victories against Tennessee and Clemson before a tight bowl loss to Notre Dame. The Gamecocks finished the year ranked No. 23 in the AP poll.

"They came out of the season with a lot of momentum and we didn't," Brown said. "That's going to be one of the real challenges in the opener."