By Steve Reed
AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE — The 21st-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels enter their opener coming off one of their best seasons in more than two decades — one that included a trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

That despite finishing the 2022 season on a four-game losing skid.

They’ll play Saturday night’s neutral site game against South Carolina as a team with high expectations behind a Heisman Trophy candidate in Drake Maye despite the shaky finish after a 9-1 start.

“It’s not a card I’m playing, it’s facts,” coach Mack Brown said heading into the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. “We won nine games and got less respect than a lot of people that won less than that because of the way we finished. … You’ve got to win games in this business. It’s a bottom-line business. If you don’t win, you don’t get credit, and you don’t deserve credit. So that’s just the way it is.”

UNC’s nine wins last season marked only the second time the program has reached that total since Brown’s first tenure ended in 1997.

Maye, a redshirt sophomore, enters the year as the Tar Heels’ unquestioned star, and he’s working under a new coordinator in Chip Lindsey. Maye is a big reason 45 NFL scouts from 24 different teams have been credentialed for the game, according to Duke’s Mayo Classic officials.

South Carolina enters the game just outside the AP Top 25, and a win will likely get them in.

WALKER UNCERTAINTY

The clock ticks as UNC awaits word on whether transfer wide receiver Devontez Walker from Kent State will be cleared to play.

The NCAA has denied the waiver for Walker to play immediately, citing revised rules limiting waivers for two-time transfers. The school has appealed for Walker, an in-state product from Charlotte who was projected to be Maye’s top target.

Walker enrolled at North Carolina Central but never played there as the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the fall 2020 season at the Championship Subdivision level, while the team opted out of a limited 2021 slate. Walker has cited family reasons in his UNC transfer, notably an ailing grandmother who had played a large role in raising him but has been unable to travel out of state to see him play.

REMEMBER ME?

South Carolina will again call on Dakereon Joyner against the Tar Heels, just not as a quarterback.

Joyner, in his sixth season, was 9 of 9 for 160 yards and a touchdown in a 38-21 Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina in this same stadium in 2021. On Saturday, Joyner will work at running back after switching to the position when the Gamecocks lost three of their top four rushers from a year ago.

“I still have some growing to do, I’m not perfect at all,” Joyner said of the switch. “But I’m growing to trust my training, my coaches, trust my eyes. I’ll be OK.”

NO RESPECT

Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer tempered his words when asked if he’s surprised that quarterback Spencer Rattler was not receiving the same attention as other top passers in college football like Maye.

Rattler has thrown for a combined 58 touchdowns and 24 interceptions during his time at Oklahoma and South Carolina.

“Spencer’s play on the field will speak for itself,” Beamer said. “Frankly, it’s pretty disappointing just to see maybe the lack of respect on the outside. But again, we worry about what we can control and I’m excited for Spencer.”

ANOTHER BALL COACH?

New Gamecocks offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains will get his first shot at calling plays in college.

One of the play-callers Loggains most admired was former Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier. Are there similarities between Loggains and the Ball Coach? “Yeah, I think both of them have a great understanding of defenses,” Beamer said. “How to attack it.”

Rattler said he’s more comfortable playing in Loggains’ offense.

“I feel like it suits me a lot better,” Rattler said. “I’ve got a coach who’s coached a long time in the NFL and I feel confident in him.”

DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT

UNC defensive coordinator Gene Chizik knows things must change in Year 2 of his tenure.

The Tar Heels struggled most of last season, surrendering 30.8 points and 436.5 yards per game — including a 40-point fourth quarter in a shootout win at Appalachian State. The only positive was UNC had a bit more bend-don’t-break success down the stretch, holding teams to 25.8 points in ACC play.

EMOTIONAL WEEK

UNC enters the game following an emotional week at the Chapel Hill campus after a shooting left a faculty member dead and put the school on lockdown Monday. UNC canceled three days of classes and the team called off two interview sessions with reporters, although the Tar Heels continued to practice.