We continue our series with UNC Football.
Best / Worse Case Record for :
Louisville | Virginia | Miami | Duke | Georgia Tech | Clemson | Florida State | Pittsburgh | NC State | Boston College | Virginia Tech | Syracuse | Wake Forest
North Carolina
Did North Carolina let a chance to join the ACC’s elite slip away with a somewhat disappointing 8-5 season? Sitting at 7-2, the Heels lost 3 of their last 4 games, and now enter 2017 without several of their top offensive stars. Maybe when you can have an 8-5 season and it be a down year, they you are doing something right. 2017 could tell us where the Tar Heels program is really headed.
Will Go 9-3 (5-3) if:
The Heels can somehow fill the holes left by QB Mitch Trubisky, RB Elijah Hood, RB T.J. Logan and WR Ryan Switzer. That’s a lot of offensive power to replace, but Larry Fedora is a good offensive coach. The offense will drop off, but maybe not all that much. If the Heels can get by Louisville in week 2, and at Georgia Tech on September 30, they could be looking at a 7-0 start.
The defense needs to better, especially against the run where the Heels were ranked 109 in the country. If the Heels get through a manageable opening 7 games no worse than 5-2, a 9 win season is possible.
Will Go 5-7 (2-6) if:
If the offense can’t find adequate replacements for all those offensive stars we mentioned. There’s very little proven offensive talent coming back, and that could spell big trouble for the Heels. Louisville, at Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, at Virginia Tech, Miami, at Pittsburgh, and at NC State are 7 very possible losses. We haven’t even mentioned dangerous games with Old Dominion and Duke. There aren’t many breathers in the schedule, and a struggling offense to go along with an already suspect defense could have UNC missing a bowl game.
