In the second half of Sunday’s AFC Championship game in Denver — a snow-filled slugfest — Drake Maye turned to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and muttered, “It’s hard… good God.”

Sunday’s second half in Mile High Stadium featured three points, six punts, temperatures in the low teens, and snowfall so heavy that the grounds crew used snowblowers after every change of possession just to make the yard markers visible.

McDaniels laughed and looked up at his quarterback from one knee, telling him, “Look at me — it’s gonna be hard. But this will be the most rewarding six and a half minutes of our lives if we can get it done.”

The clip, which surfaced on social media in the days following the Patriots’ eventual victory, struck a chord with Hubert Davis.

So much so, in fact, that the UNC head coach shared it with his team on Thursday at practice in an effort to motivate his group. 

“I referenced that (video clip), and I said, ‘Guys, it’s hard, it’s hard to win, it’s hard to practice, it’s hard to box out, it’s hard to talk on defense, hard to sprint to offense,’” Davis told reporters Friday. “‘It’s hard to get to the offensive glass. It’s hard to make open shots. It’s hard to get to the free throw line. It’s hard to play here, it’s hard. And that’s good, and that hardness is something that you have to walk towards and embrace.’”

Absent a midweek opponent, the Tar Heels find themselves at the tail end of the final open week of their 2025-26 campaign, and the message from Davis and his staff has been clear: keep pushing.

“And I told the guys, ‘I know it’s hard, but if we can figure out how to get this done for the next two months, this is something that could be impactful for the rest of your life,’” Davis said. 

After dropping three of their first four games in January, the Tar Heels got up off the mat last week, rattling off back-to-back wins over Notre Dame and Virginia on the road, setting up Saturday’s matchup with the Yellow Jackets as an opportunity to close out the month with a winning record.

“I think when you have that momentum, you have to fight to keep that momentum,” Davis said. “And when you don’t, you have to fight to get it, and throughout this week of practice, during the bye week, just been a constant message on trying to continue that momentum and try to improve on the things that we need to improve on.”

Saturday’s game in Atlanta should not be overlooked. While Georgia Tech owns the second-lowest KenPom rating in the ACC (127), the Yellow Jackets have already notched a road win over NC State (24) and were locked in a three-point game at the final media timeout at Cameron Indoor after leading Duke (3) by as many as seven.

That’s not even accounting for UNC’s historic struggles on the road against Georgia Tech. McCamish Pavilion will be sold out for the No. 16 Tar Heels’ visit and has been designated as the Yellow Jackets’ “Wear White” game, setting the stage for what should be a rowdy environment.