Expectations around the voting ACC media for UNC’s first season under head coach Bill Belichick are neither high nor low. In fact, they’re somewhere in the middle.

Almost exactly in the middle.

UNC was picked eighth out of 17 teams in the league’s annual preseason poll, which was released Wednesday afternoon.

At the top of the conference sits defending champion Clemson, which received 167 of 183 first-place votes and will visit Kenan Stadium on October 4. Following the Tigers were No. 2 Miami (seven first-place votes), No. 3 SMU (two), No. 4 Georgia Tech (two) and No. 5 Louisville. The Cardinals did not receive any first-place votes.

Elsewhere, Duke checks in at No. 6, NC State at No. 10 and Wake Forest at No. 16. Notably, two other schools received first-place votes: No. 6 Florida State received four despite finishing 2-10 in 2024, and No. 11 Virginia Tech received a single first-place vote.

Outside of Clemson, the next-highest ranked team on UNC’s schedule is Duke. The Tar Heels will also face No. 10 NC State, No. 12 Syracuse, No. 14 Virginia, No. 15 Cal, No. 16 Wake Forest and No. 17 Stanford this fall.

For a full look at the poll, click here.

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