North Carolina is suddenly in the bowl picture, and the projections are starting to point in a familiar direction: Charlotte.
After missing the postseason in Bill Belichick’s first season, the Tar Heels are now just two wins away from bowl eligibility at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. That turnaround has come on the heels of back-to-back road wins over then-No. 25 Pittsburgh and rival Duke, capped by last Saturday’s 24-20 comeback at Duke that brought the Victory Bell back to Chapel Hill.
Several outlets now have UNC headed to a December bowl, with possible stops in Charlotte, The Bronx or Annapolis, Md. Those projections were published before Thursday’s ACC announcement that a league team will play a Sun Belt Conference team on Dec. 16 in Puerto Rico at the San Juan Bowl.
The most eye-catching forecast comes from CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford and Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer, both of whom have Carolina meeting Penn State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 26 at Bank of America Stadium. That game is set for 3:30 and will air on ABC.
That projection would line up Belichick’s team against a Penn State program that has stumbled through an unexpectedly rough season. The Nittany Lions are 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten after a 21-18 loss at Michigan last Saturday. Penn State entered the year with much bigger expectations, and its remaining schedule still gives it a path to recover and get bowl-eligible.
There’s also the small matter of mayo. If UNC wins the game, Belichick could be the one getting dumped in it.
Charlotte isn’t the only destination being floated. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and College Football News’ Pete Fiutak both project the Tar Heels to face No.
24 Northwestern in Charlotte instead. The Wildcats are 5-1 and need one more win to lock up bowl eligibility after rallying past Michigan State 24-21 last weekend.
Northwestern was ranked No. 25 in the AP poll entering the week.
Another ESPN bowl forecaster, Kyle Bonagura, has UNC going north for the Pinstripe Bowl against Wisconsin at Yankee Stadium in New York. That game is scheduled for noon on Dec. 26 and will air on ABC.
Wisconsin is 4-2 after a 17-7 loss at No. 9 UCLA.
Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan sees a different route altogether, projecting Carolina against Navy in the Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Dec. 28.
The Tar Heels have already matched their 2025 victory total before the end of October, with wins over Pitt and Duke balancing losses to Clemson and Notre Dame. That has put them in position to clinch a postseason berth without a late-season scramble.
UNC still has six regular-season games left, starting with two 7:30 p.m. Saturday home games against teams sitting at opposite ends of the ACC standings: Syracuse this week, then No.
1 Miami on Oct. 31.
Two more wins would make Carolina bowl-eligible, but where it ends up will depend on its final record, how many ACC teams qualify, the conference’s bowl arrangements and how the rest of the postseason board falls. The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is set for 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 26 on ESPN. The Pinstripe Bowl is scheduled for 2 p.m. that same day on ESPN.
The Military Bowl is set for 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28 on The CW.
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