North Carolina won’t make players available to media ahead of Duke matchup
Published:
North Carolina will not make players available to local media this week as the Tar Heels prepare to face rival Duke on the road.
That decision was confirmed by a team spokesman on Monday. The team also didn’t make players available to reporters following UNC’s embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison on Saturday night.
Per Inside Carolina, the spokesperson said the decision was made allow players to “focus on Duke.”
UNC football team spokesman says Carolina players won’t be made available this week prior to the Duke rivalry game. “Just letting them focus on Duke,” he tells us.
UNC players weren’t made available for postgame interviews on Saturday after the Tar Heels’ 70-50 loss to JMU.
— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) September 23, 2024
It’s been a tumultuous 2 days for the North Carolina football program. Head coach Mack Brown reportedly told his team he would retire in the locker room after the loss, but he clarified those remarks on Monday.
“As I was walking off the field, I thought: ‘I’m responsible for all this, it’s on me, so I should ask the players about leadership, if they feel good about me moving forward.’ That’s something I shouldn’t do,” Brown said during Monday’s weekly press conference.
The loss to James Madison marked UNC’s 8th loss as a double-digit favorite since Brown took over as head coach in 2019. The Tar Heels are 12-8 in such games. All FBS teams have combined to win over 87% of their games as double-digit favorites over that same span.
North Carolina is a 3-point underdog on the road this week at Duke, according to bet365. This marks the first time UNC will be an underdog vs. the Blue Devils since 2014.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
