The UNC football team will lose plenty of talent in 2017–including defensive tackle Naz Jones (pictured)–but should have an easier non-conference schedule. (Smith Cameron Photography)
Carolina must prove it’s better than fifth in the Coastal Division.
Were you surprised at the drop in 2017 expectations for UNC’s football team, two years removed from the ACC championship game and last season possessing one of the most explosive offenses in the nation? On paper, the prediction looks about right to me.
The Tar Heels are one of only three ACC teams without a single selection on the preseason all-conference offense, defense or special teams. They will open with questions marks at quarterback, running back and wide receiver, not to mention also losing three regulars from the offensive line.
But it’s not exactly hopeless when you study their schedule. Unless Carolina is flat-out terrible, I see five wins right now, with the home opener against Cal and two other non-conference opponents, football sub-division foes Western Carolina and Old Dominion. Larry Fedora’s retooled team could also beat both Duke and Virginia, picked to finish sixth and seventh respectively in the Coastal, both in Kenan Stadium.
There are other winnable games as long as some of the unproven players step up. Georgia Tech and Pitt are lumped with UNC and Duke in the middle of the division picks, and all four teams were relatively close in the polling and received multiple votes to actually win the Coastal. Problem is the games against the Yellow Jackets and Panthers, as well as Virginia Tech, are on the road and all three look like L’s.
Carolina does have division favorite Miami at home, plus Louisville with reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and Notre Dame, which one national poll picked as the 82nd best team in the country. UNC was 43rdin the same rankings. Another possibility is at N.C. State, where the Tar Heels have won in their last two trips to Raleigh.
So 2017 could surprise, and Carolina has a chance for a fast start with three home dates and a trip to ODU in September. In fact, with home games against UVa and Notre Dame in weeks six and seven, starting out 5-2 could almost assure a fifth straight bowl bid with winnable games still left on the schedule. With an unknown team, upsets are always looming.
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