The expectations just keep on growing for the UNC football team in 2016.
Following an opening-game loss to South Carolina last season, it took the Tar Heels reeling off wins in its next seven straight games to finally break into the top 25.
Not this year.
This UNC group finds itself ranked 20th in the first Coaches Poll of the season–which was released Thursday afternoon.
That ranking will be put to the test early on, however, as the Tar Heels’ opponents in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game on Sept. 3–the Georgia Bulldogs–were ranked 16th.
Four weeks later, head coach Larry Fedora and his squad will then travel to Tallahassee to take on the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles.
The Seminoles were one of two ACC teams–including last season’s league champion No. 2 Clemson–ranked among the top 5.
Louisville (No. 23) was the fourth and final ACC team to make the cut.
Defending national champion Alabama (No. 1), Oklahoma (No. 3) and Ohio State (No. 5) rounded out the rest of the preseason favorites.
After last season’s 11-3 campaign where it won the ACC Coastal Division, UNC finished 2015 at No. 15 in the final polls.
The last time the Tar Heels were part of the preseason top 25 was in 2014–when they started the year at No. 23.
After winning its first two games that season, UNC traveled to Greenville and got blown out 70-41 by East Carolina.
From there, the team tumbled out of the rankings–and all the way down to a 6-7 record.
Despite the tough early-season schedule, this year’s group–led by junior quarterback Mitch Trubisky–should have enough talent to prevent that kind of fall from grace.
But as they prepare to open training camp Friday morning, these rankings prove to the Tar Heels that they have the rest of the college football world paying attention.
Now it’s time for them to show everyone why.
Full Preseason Coaches Top 25
1 | Alabama | ||
2 | Clemson | ||
3 | Oklahoma | ||
4 | Florida State | ||
5 | Ohio State | ||
6 | Louisiana State | ||
7 | Stanford | ||
8 | Michigan | ||
9 | Notre Dame | ||
10 | Tennessee | ||
11 | Michigan State | ||
12 | Mississippi | ||
13 | Houston | ||
14 | Texas Christian | ||
15 | Iowa | ||
16 | Georgia | ||
17 | Southern California | ||
18 | Washington | ||
19 | Oklahoma State | ||
20 | North Carolina | ||
21 | Baylor | ||
22 | Oregon | ||
23 | Louisville | ||
24 | UCLA | ||
25 | Florida |
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