Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
Even with Belichick, the Tar Heels are getting no respect.
The preseason college football polls are out, and Carolina is nowhere to be found.
The ACC has fewest teams listed of any power conference in the AP Top 25. Clemson is No. 4 and, as usual, carrying the banner of the league. Miami is No. 10 and stepchild SMU is No. 16. “Others receiving votes” are Louisville, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Duke, FSU and Pitt.
That’s a total of nine ACC teams listed, behind the SEC, the Big Ten and the Big 12. And no Carolina anywhere is embarrassing.
With ESPN giving a big whoop about the opener against TCU, which is among the “others,” what in the Belichick is going on?
This is just another example of how top-heavy the sport is with the SEC and Big Ten, which have 16 of the top 25 in the poll. With Oklahoma, Missouri, Auburn, Arkansas and even Vanderbilt also listed, the only of the SEC’s total of 16 that was snubbed is Mississippi State, which is still pretty good.
Texas is the top-ranked team with 25 votes. No. 5 Georgia got the only other No. 1 vote in the SEC. The Longhorns are the first preseason No. 1 to be underdog in their season opener, which is at No. 3 Ohio State.
In the Big Ten, Penn State is ranked No. 2 (with 11 votes for No. 1) followed by the defending national champion Buckeyes at No. 3 with 11 No. 1 votes. Then comes Oregon at No. 7 with one first-place vote, followed by No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Michigan and No. 22 Indiana. Southern Cal, Iowa, Nebraska, Washington and Minnesota are others receiving votes, which gives 11 of the Big Ten’s 18 teams recognition.
The Big 12 sneaks ahead of the ACC by virtue of having four teams in the top 25 – Arizona State at No. 11, Kansas State at 17, Iowa State at 22 and Texas Tech at 23. The Big 12 has nine teams also getting votes, which means its total of 13 beats the ACC’s total of 12.
So, with the local media and sports blogs drowning in ink over Belichick’s boys and young men, Carolina heads into its opener as a three-point underdog and obviously did not impress most of the voters who must know that 70 Tar Heels are taking the field for the first time in Kenan Stadium.
And whatever scouting the writers, bloggers and broadcasters have done is way more optimistic than the AP and coaches’ polls. That’s another reason why the TCU game is so tricky.
Let’s say the Hoodie establishes himself as a great college coach to follow his golden NFL days, all the posters were misinformed, bad researchers or guessed wrong. That would be ideal.
But if the Heels lose to – or, worse, get smoked by – the Horned Frogs, their next and likely last chance of getting ranked is October 4 vs. Clemson.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
