North Carolina hits historic low of Mack Brown era after giving up 70 points to James Madison

North Carolina reached the absolute lowest point of Mack Brown's tenure with a 70-50 home loss to James Madison on Saturday afternoon. And that was after the Tar Heels (3-1) entered the game as 10.5-point favorites against the Sun Belt Conference school, which lost its coach and most of its starting players in the offseason.

This is only the second time since 2014 that an ACC team – also North Carolina – has allowed 70 points in a non-conference game. JMU's 53 first-half points broke the school record for points in a half for both teams and was the most allowed by a Power Four team against a Group of Five opponent since 2012.

And that from a James Madison team that scored a total of 43 points in its first two games against Charlotte and Gardner-Webb.

North Carolina had no answer for Dukes quarterback Alonza Barnett III, who rushed for 388 yards and five touchdowns on 22 successful passes and also ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

James Madison scored on nine of its 15 possessions, not including halftime or game-ending goals. The Dukes averaged just under nine yards per play and had at least eight plays where they went over 20 yards. But North Carolina's defensive woes overshadowed an equally pathetic performance on the other side of the ball. The Tar Heels did pick up the pace in the final 30 minutes, scoring 29 points, but by then it was far too late to climb out of the huge hole they had put themselves in with their lackluster early performance.

Quarterback Jacolby Criswell had two interceptions in the first two quarters, one of which James Madison returned for a touchdown late in the first half. Barnett had more total yards as an individual in the first half (352) than North Carolina as a team (311).

North Carolina's other quarterback, Conner Harrell, came in for a play in the second quarter when Criswell lost his helmet. Harrell dropped the ball, allowing James Madison to jump on the ball and then score what was then their fifth consecutive offensive touchdown.

To be clear, North Carolina looked completely unprepared and uninterested against a team they were supposed to beat handily. That second-half surge might be a cause for encouragement for a clear underdog, but it rings hollow when you're a double-digit favorite at home.

In many ways, Saturday's game was a microcosm of the Brown era. Defense has been a constant problem. The Tar Heels are on their third defensive coordinator since 2019 — including their second in the last three years — and Geoff Collins may not be in Chapel Hill much longer based on this result.

It's not like Sam Howell or Drake Maye are walking through the door to save the Tar Heels. North Carolina has used three quarterbacks in four games. Injuries have been a problem – Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson was out for the season in Week 1 – but a clear successor is not yet in sight.

History doesn't offer much hope for a turnaround anyway. Last season, the Tar Heels started 6-0 but finished the year 2-5, which was due to a home loss to a much inferior Virginia team. North Carolina is 0-4 in its last four games of 2022 and 2-4 in its last six games of 2021.

The remaining schedule is manageable, though. The Heels don't have to play a single team currently ranked in the AP Top 25, and road games against Duke, Virginia and Boston College aren't the most difficult of conditions.

It's hard not to feel, though, that the loss to James Madison is a point of no return for the program. No matter what the Tar Heels do from here on out, such an outcome will hang over them like a dark cloud – one that could be a grim omen for the rest of Brown's tenure.