UNC's Mack Brown Says He's 'Not Resigning' After 'Embarrassing' JMU Loss amid Rumors

Grant Halverson/ UNC head coach Mack Brown says it was "embarrassing" to see his Power Four team lose 70-50 to visiting JMU on Saturday.

"Embarrassing day. Shocking day. You shouldn't be at North Carolina and lose to a Group of Five team, period," Brown said after the loss. "There are no excuses. Our defense, who played great all spring, all preseason, and played outstanding for the first three games, looked awful today."

Brown also told ESPN's Chris Low that he's not resigning following a report from Adam Smith of Inside Carolina that "he was walking away from the job after the Tar Heels' embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison on Saturday at Kenan Stadium."

"I'm not resigning. I'll be back at work Monday," Brown told Low.

Brown also told Low that he told UNC players that Saturday's loss to JMU was his fault and that he "would step away if he couldn't get things fixed."

UNC reportedly paid the Dukes $500,000 to travel to Chapel Hill for Sunday's game.

JMU, after being held to 43 total points through the first two games of the season, responded by setting a program record with 53 points in the first half alone.

The Tar Heels defense wasn't the only part of his team's game Brown criticized following the historic loss.

"We had communication problems, we had missed tackles," Brown said (transcription h/t Inside Carolina's Evan Rogers .) "We had guys wide open for a touchdown. Our special teams, who had been better than the three teams we had played the first three games, had an onside kick that hit us in the chest and they get it for a score. Had a blocked punt that they get a score from."

UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell got the start on Saturday after Brown previously said he would split snaps with Conner Harrell against JMU. Criswell went 28-of-48 for 475 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss.

Harrell, who entered for Criswell in the second quarter, turned over the ball on the Tar Heels' 27-yard line on his first snap. The Dukes ran in a touchdown on the next drive.

"Jacolby, I thought, played really, really well. He even had an interception for a touchdown right before the half," Brown said. "And Conner came in for one play and fumbled the ball, and that ended up being a touchdown. So it can only come back to one person, and that's me. I've hired everybody on this staff. I hired everybody that works in this building, and I've signed every player on this team. So I mean, the people that want to blame me, they should, because I am at fault 100 percent."

The UNC coach concluded: "Again, there's only one place to put it, and that is on me, 100 percent, I got big shoulders, and I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed for our whole program that we would put a product like that on the field. I feel really bad about that."

Brown said that he told his players they "deserved" the boos from the fans at Kenan Memorial Stadium as the Tar Heels left for halftime trailing 53-21.

"Play bad and people are gonna boo," Brown said.

Saturday's loss marked the most points given up by a Power Four program to a Group of Five team since 2012, per CBS Sports . The game also tied a UNC record for the most points given up in a single game, set by East Carolina in 2014, although JMU is the only visiting team to have achieved the feat in Kenan Stadium.