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The North Carolina Tar Heels have been close over the last couple of seasons. How close? Just reaching a bowl game should not be good enough for Tar Heel fans. UNC finished toward the top of the Atlantic Coastal Conference in the past couple of seasons. This year, the Tar Heels are primed for a run.
Quietly, UNC's quarterback position has become a coveted position in college football. Sam Howell and Drake Maye have excelled in head coach Mack Brown’s program. This year's battle is between fifth-year transfer Max Johnson, who played with Texas A&M last year, and redshirt sophomore Conner Harrell, who has had limited playing time. Regardless of who wins, they’ll inherit an offense ranked seventh in college football last season led by offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey. He orchestrated the North Carolina offense and was Maye's QB coach.
Gene Chizik is out as defensive coordinator. Geoff Collins takes over a defense that ranked 94th in the country. Six defensive returners, including three defensive linemen, are back. Collins was recently head coach at Georgia Tech and Temple. How UNC improves defensively could be the deciding factor in whether this team has a successful season or not.
Week 1: at Minnesota Golden Gophers
These two met in Week Three last year, resulting in a 31-13 home win for UNC. UNC should garner another victory this year. No matter who the quarterback is, UNC’s offense should overmatch the Golden Gophers in this game.
Record: 1-0
Week 2: Charlotte 49ers
The first home game of the season features the Charlotte 49ers. There is little reason for UNC to lose this game. UNC talent-wise and coaching-wise is the better team. The Tar Heels that should dominate this game from an offensive standpoint with the passing attack being their biggest weapon.
Record: 2-0
Week 3: NC Central Eagles
An FCS team comes to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play UNC in a big game for the Tar Heels. Even though UNC shouldn’t take the Eagles lightly, this won’t be one that Tar Heels fans will have to “sweat out” too much.
Record: 3-0
Week 4: James Madison Dukes
Last year against James Madison’s Sun Belt Conference counterpart Appalachian State, the Tar Heels won in overtime 40-34 at home. The Dukes will be a different team this year. It's not as experienced as last year when they took the FBS by storm in just their second season. UNC should handle business again in Week Four, but don’t be surprised if the Dukes don’t give them a good game.
Record: 4-0
Week 5: at Duke Blue Devils
It’s Manny Diaz’s first season with the Duke Blue Devils and his first ACC conference game. UNC should expect a tough defense from the Blue Devils. With their offensive line, the Tar Heels could create some noise in their first conference game and come away with the Victory Bell for Chapel Hill.
Record: 5-0
Week 6: Pitt Panthers
This is the first home conference game for UNC. At this point, the Tar Heel faithful should have a familiar feeling like they had last season as they should be undefeated.
It’s always interesting when you face head coach Pat Narduzzi’s Pitt Panthers because you never can tell what Panthers team you’ll face. What should happen is the offense will overpower Pitt. The Pitt offense struggled last season and that’s a major question mark heading into this year.
Record: 6-0
Week 7: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Last year, Georgia Tech upset the Tar Heels at home. It was a 46-42 loss, the second loss in a row for UNC. This year could feature the same result with the Yellow Jackets returning six starters from the 34th-ranked offense last year. They also have seven players returning for a 120th-ranked defense from last year. But it should improve. For the first time this year, the Tar Heels will be tested.
Record: 6-1
Week 8: at Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia was far from a team that anyone would have thought the Tar Heels would have lost to last year. It was the first of back-to-back losses for the Tar Heels. At the time, UNC was ranked 10th in the country and featured Maye at QB. Unfortunately last October, the Cavaliers managed to score enough to beat the Tar Heels. This time, the Tar Heels should take out their anger from last year’s loss onto Virginia. Virginia is not a team that UNC should struggle against. Even if they get off to a tough start, the offense should provide enough to get ahead. The defense at this point will be improved enough to get stops.
Record: 7-1
Week 9: at Florida State Seminoles
This could be North Carolina's biggest game to this point. UNC last beat Florida State back in 2016. The Seminoles seem dead set on another College Football Playoff run. There are tons of doubt that UNC will pull this win out. It will take a spirited defensive effort for UNC to be victorious.
Record: 7-2
Week 11: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Coming off the bye and perhaps a loss against Florida State, the Tar Heels will be looking to take down the Demon Deacons at home. It's going to be a hostile crowd for this in-state rivalry game. Wake Forest should have a decent record at this time. It could decide the trajectory for the rest of Wake Forest’s season. This game should be competitive and might be tight throughout. If UNC’s defense can come up with some key stops against a team that will be inconsistent defensively, the Tar Heels should pull a win out.
Record: 8-2
Week 12: at Boston College Eagles
At this point, Boston College should be looking to make a bowl game. The Eagles’ season most likely will feature about five to six losses at this point. A home game in Chestnut Hill, Mass., will present an opportunity for another “trap game” for UNC. Heading up north this late in the season it doesn’t feel like a Tar Heels win is going to happen. Boston College’s defensive front is one of the most experienced in the ACC. I’ll expect them to get to the quarterback early and often. That will be a key factor in an upset win for BC.
Record: 8-3
Week 13: North Carolina State Wolfpack
An opportunity is there for North Carolina to reach the ACC title game. However, this Wolfpack team might be in the running to face Florida State in the ACC championship game, which could make this a fun matchup to promote.
Record: 9-3
North Carolina Overview
Overall, a 9-3 record and 5-3 ACC record means that the Tar Heels will be near the top of the ACC this season. This could be the best season for UNC since 2015. That was the last time the Tar Heels made the ACC Championship game.
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