Best / Worse Case Record for :
Clemson | Georgia Tech | Virginia | Miami | Louisville | Duke | Boston College | Pittsburgh | Florida State | Virginia Tech | NC State | Syracuse | Wake Forest
North Carolina
The North Carolina Tarheels had a breakthrough season in 2015 going 11-3, winning the ACC Coastal, and finishing in the top 15. Larry Fedora entered 2015 on the hotseat, and now enters 2016 with a team that is a darkhorse playoff candidate. Despite UNC’s great season, there’s still a bit of doubt about the Tar Heels. An early season loss in 2015 to a bad South Carolina team had people question the Tar Heels season.
Can the Tar Heels prove the skeptics wrong in 2016 and really turn into a legitimate ACC power?
Will Go 11-1 (7-1) if:
The Tar Heels beat Georgia in Game 1. I feel like it is that simple for North Carolina. It’s a classic put up or shut up game. There’s always a game that truly puts a program back on the map. When Clemson beat LSU in the 2012 Chick Fil A Peach Bowl, that was it for them. When Florida State pounded Florida 31-7 in 2010, you knew Jimbo Fisher was really building something.
If the Tar Heels go to Atlanta and knock off Georgia the sky is the limit on the season. Beat Georgia in the state of Georgia and only the game at FSU is tougher. The offense is loaded with play makers and Elijah Hood is quietly one of the best RB’s in the country. Here’s your chance Heels.
Will Go 8-4 (5-3) if:
The rush defense can’t improve. The Tar Heels gave up 247 yards a game on the ground. That ranked a frightening 122nd in the nation, and you face Nick Chubb of Georgia in game 1? If the rush defense is again that bad, you can chalk up losses to Georgia and FSU. Pittsburgh’s loaded backfield could give UNC all kinds of issues. Virginia Tech, Miami, and Georgia Tech should all have strong running games.
If you lose to Georgia and FSU, there a couple of more losses out there if the defense struggles. Mitch Trubisky is new at QB, but I think he’ll be fine. It comes down to improvement in the rush defense.
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