CFB Fans Rip Mack Brown, UNC for Allowing 53 Points to James Madison in 1st Half

North Carolina endured a disastrous first half on Saturday against James Madison, falling behind 53-21 at halftime.

JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett III completed 14-of-21 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Barnett also rushed for 64 yards and two more scores. Omarion Dollison (two catches, 119 yards, one touchdown) and Cam Ross (6/109/1) both eclipsed the century mark by halftime. The Dukes also had 418 yards through two quarters.

The first quarter alone was a defensive and special team disaster.

And yet JMU led only 25-21 early in the second quarter. However, the Dukes then rolled off four unanswered touchdowns to continue the demolition. The last score was a Terrence Spence 33-yard pick-six.

It was a brutal 30 minutes for UNC and head coach Mack Brown, who caught much of the ire on social media afterward.

The 73-year-old Brown is in his second stint as UNC's head coach. He began in Chapel Hill in 1988, coaching there until 1997 before leaving for Texas. Brown coached the Longhorns from 1998-2013 and then returned to UNC in 2019. Brown has 285 career wins and notably led Texas to an undefeated season and the 2005 national championship. Eight of Brown's teams also finished top 10 in the Associated Press poll.

However, Brown's return to UNC has been a struggle. The Tar Heels entered Saturday at 41-27 overall under Brown since 2019 and 24-18 in the ACC. Only one of Brown's teams has finished Top 25 (2020), and four of the five teams lost in a bowl game.

This year's UNC squad started 3-0 with wins over Minnesota, Charlotte and UNC Central, but the JMU performance obviously leaves a lot to be desired and brings about questions regarding Brown's future.