NC State beats rival North Carolina 35-30 in Mack Brown's final game at UNC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Hollywood Smothers slipped through the middle of the line for a 2-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left to help N.C. State beat rival North Carolina 35-30 on Saturday night in the Tar Heels' final game under Mack Brown.

Smothers' short TD run capped the go-ahead 75-yard drive that pushed the Wolfpack (6-6, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) to bowl eligibility. The key play was CJ Bailey's deep ball to Noah Rogers, who snagged a 44-yard catch while taking contact from two defenders to set up the go-ahead score.

That capped a wild finish that saw the Tar Heels (6-6, 3-5) take a 30-29 lead on Omarion Hampton's 47-yard catch and run to the end zone with 1:51 left in a huge day for UNC's top weapon. Hampton ran for 185 yards and a touchdown to go with four catches for 78 yards.

WATCH | Mack Brown exits Kenan Memorial Stadium one last time

'Not the way I imagined'

Mack Brown sounded firm in his intent to return for another season as North Carolina's coach. A day later, the school announced it was time for a change, sending shockwaves throughout the Triangle sports scene.

The school said Tuesday that the 73-year-old Brown won't return for the 2025 season, putting an endpoint on the second tenure of the program's winningest coach and a College Football Hall of Fame member who won a national championship at Texas.

Athletic director Bubba Cunningham informed Brown that there would be a coaching change, though Brown will coach the regular-season finale on Saturday against rival NC State. A decision hasn't been made about whether Brown will coach a bowl game.

Brown released this statement Tuesday: "While this was not the perfect time and way in which I imagined going out, no time will ever be the perfect time," Brown said. "I've spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships (wife) Sally and I have built while serving as head coach. We've had the chance to coach and mentor some great young men, and we'll miss having the opportunity to do that in the future."

Brown has 288 career victories, including 113 at UNC and all but six of his overall wins came at the top level of college football to rank as the winningest active coach for the Bowl Subdivision ranks. The 2005 title winner with the Longhorns, led by quarterback Vince Young, put Brown alongside Georgia's Kirby Smart and Clemson's Dabo Swinney as the only active FBS coaches with a national title.

Brown spent 10 seasons at UNC from 1988-97 and built the Tar Heels into a top-10 program before he departed for Texas, where he remained until 2013 followed by five years in broadcasting.

His 2018 return to Chapel Hill offered a reconnection to past success under a rejuvenated Brown, coming as UNC had lost 21 of its last 27 games under Larry Fedora. The gains included an Orange Bowl trip in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the program's second trip to the ACC title game.