The UNC football team heard its name called during the unveiling of the first College Football Playoff Poll of the season Tuesday night. The Tar Heels slotted in at No. 17 in the poll.

Joining Carolina in the poll are ACC peers Clemson at No. 4, Syracuse at No. 20, Wake Forest at No. 21 and NC State at No. 22. The Tar Heels are scheduled to play both Wake Forest and NC State in the final four weeks of the regular season, and could potentially meet Clemson in the ACC Championship Game in December.

Carolina is also ranked No. 17 in the latest edition of the AP Poll and No. 15 in the Coaches Poll, but the College Football Playoff rankings are used to determine bowl assignments at the conclusion of the regular season.

At 7-1, UNC is off to its best start since 2015, when the team won its only Coastal Division crown in program history. That year, the Tar Heels ranked as high as No. 10 in the College Football Playoff poll (its highest spot ever) before losing to Clemson in the conference championship.

As the second-highest ranked ACC team, Carolina would appear to have the inside track to another appearance in the Orange Bowl. Should this happen, it would be the program’s second Orange Bowl appearance in three seasons after having never appeared in the game prior to the 2020 season.

The Tar Heels will face Virginia on the road this weekend. The game is scheduled to kick off at noon and will be broadcast on ACC Network. For a full look at the College Football Playoff rankings, click here.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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 biweekly newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
UNC's Ja'Qurious Conley Has Entered the Transfer Portal. Here's the Complete List of Football Transfers
The college football transfer portal has re-opened with the conclusion of the spring practice season. Carolina already has players in the portal, in addition to the handful of Tar Heels who entered in the immediate aftermath of the season. Here’s a complete list of all of the transfers since last December: DB Ja’Qurious Conley An […]
Which Transfers Are Joining UNC Football Next Season? Here's a Complete Tracker
After losing several players to the NCAA transfer portal, the UNC football team is already working to plug the gaps. Here’s a complete tracker of which transfers have committed to play for head coach Mack Brown and the Tar Heels in 2023: DB Antavious Lane (Georgia State) A late addition to UNC’s transfer class, Lane […]
Drake Maye Wins Two Freshman of the Year Awards
UNC’s signal-caller keeps racking up awards. Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who already has an ACC Player of the Year award to his name, was named the National Freshman of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association of America and the winner of the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. Drake Maye is the […]
Art's Angle: Holiday Heartbreak
A gallant effort came down to another red-zone rebuff and a couple of coaching decisions, as the Tar Heels missed a chance to win their 10th game by a boink and a bounce at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Despite the 28-27 defeat to 15th-ranked Oregon, Mack Brown and his revamped coaching staff will […]
UNC Football Loses Late Lead in Holiday Bowl Defeat
An Oregon touchdown with 19 seconds remaining broke the hearts of the Tar Heels Wednesday night in San Diego, as Carolina couldn’t answer in the dying moments of the 2022 Holiday Bowl, a 28-27 loss. For UNC, it’s the third straight bowl loss and fourth straight loss this season, as the team will end 9-5 […]
Chansky's Notebook: Keep it Going!
Can North Carolina and the ACC stay bowl unbeaten? After NC Central and East Carolina won their bowl games, the Old North State and the also 2-0 ACC will try to keep their spotless postseasons going. The Big Four of North Carolina all qualified for bowl games from the ACC’s impressive total of nine teams […]
Chansky's Notebook: Whose Hangover?
Guess we could call this game the QB Bowl or the Meltdown Bowl. There are several themes of the Holiday Bowl Wednesday night at 8 when the unranked Tar Heels take on No. 15 Oregon in a game where you could play whoever has the ball last will win. The Ducks have quarterback Bo Nix, […]
Chansky's Notebook: Turnover, Tampering
Mack Brown had his pre-bowl press conference and let it all hang out. The Carolina football coach is excited about his new coaching hires, upset about what the transfer portal and NIL are doing to the game and is glad his team has a chance to beat 15th-ranked Oregon, which is a two-touchdown favorite in […]
UNC Football Names Chip Lindsey as Offensive Coordinator
Just one day after hiring Randy Clements as its new offensive line coach, the UNC football program has made another hire. The Tar Heels announced Chip Lindsey as their new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Thursday morning. Welcome to the Hill, Coach Lindsey 🐏 🔗 https://t.co/laddVCx0SM#CarolinaFootball 🏈 #UNCommon pic.twitter.com/uypJIbLr80 — Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) December 15, […]
UNC WR Josh Downs to Opt Out of Holiday Bowl, Declare for NFL Draft
Star UNC wide receiver Josh Downs is going pro. On Friday morning, Downs announced he would be opting out of Carolina’s Holiday Bowl game against Oregon later this month to prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft. born, bred, dead.. 💙 pic.twitter.com/3TEnDBryUz — Glory to God. (@JoshDowns) December 9, 2022 Downs is UNC’s single-season record holder […]
›