By james art 
Grant Halverson/Getty Images
North Carolina suffered a disastrous first half Saturday against James Madison, trailing 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 itself was a defensive and special team disaster.
Yet JMU only led 25-21 early in the second quarter. However, the Dukes then scored four unanswered touchdowns to continue the demolition. The final score was Terrence Spence with a 33-yard pick-six.
It was a brutal 30 minutes for UNC and head coach Mack Brown, who took much of the ire on social media afterward.
Avinash Kunath @avinashkunath
Mack Brown saw the power of Cal Twitter this week, saw a trip to Berkeley on the horizon in 2025, and started filling out his retirement paperwork because… pic.twitter.com/v2zkazedqW
Anthony Pagnotta (Flounder) @HTBAnthony
It’s on Mack Brown that this team isn’t ready week in and week out. Just brutal. https://t.co/8j5TNTjqVS
Tyler Gibbs @theGibbster3000
Bubba needs to look at this and make a decision today to fire Mack Brown. The program is already in a steep decline, and we’re certainly missing out on a few recruits, but we’re stopping putting off the rebuild. https://t.co/pugkfnlOLH
Ray Rudel @RudellRT
Mack Brown is awkwardly coached. this @UNCFootball the team is extremely unprepared for this match. It’s predictable, but disheartening.
Brown, 73, is in his second stint as UNC’s head coach. He started 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 national championship in 2005. Eight of Brown’s teams also finished in the top 10 in the Associated Press poll.
Brown’s return to UNC was rocky, however. The Tar Heels entered Saturday 41-27 overall under Brown since 2019 and 24-18 in the ACC. Only one of Brown’s teams has finished in the Top 25 (2020), and four of the five teams have lost in a bowl game.
This year’s UNC team is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Minnesota, Charlotte and UNC Central, but JMU’s performance clearly leaves a lot to be desired and raises questions about Brown’s future.