North Carolina already has one win in the bag, and the schedule still gives it a couple of games that should be there for the taking.
The Tar Heels opened the season by knocking off TCU, and that result naturally changes the conversation about what the rest of the year might look like. With that first win secured, the next question is how many more clear chances are sitting in front of them.
Two of those stand out immediately. East Tennessee State in two weeks should be a game North Carolina handles, and UConn in early November also looks like a matchup the Tar Heels ought to win. Those are the kinds of games that should be counted as expected wins, even with the tougher stretch that follows.
That tougher stretch is where things get murkier. One writer from The Athletic recently projected North Carolina to finish 7-5, while also raising the possibility that 6-6 could be viewed as a success depending on how the season unfolds.
“North Carolina outperformed my expectations, so bowl eligibility feels like a viable goal. The schedule remains tricky (Notre Dame, Miami, Virginia and Louisville look tough, and I don’t know what to make of Clemson). Two toss-up type games, Pitt and Duke, are on the road.
“Here’s the related question: Should 6-6 qualify as a successful season? By North Carolina’s historical standards, the answer should be no, but the bar has been lowered so much that a trip to a bottom-tier bowl feels like a victory.
Before the game, I said 5-7 was the ceiling for UNC. After watching the defense perform pretty well - yes, TCU played a role in that - I’ll raise that mark to 7-5.
We’ll see whether that’s enough to inspire future confidence in Belichick and the program,” Matt Baker of The Athletic wrote.
When you lay out the rest of the slate, the path is pretty clear. Notre Dame and Miami look like losses right away.
After that, Virginia and NC State are games North Carolina should have a real shot to win. Duke is not expected to be as strong as it was a year ago, and Syracuse at home is the kind of game the Tar Heels should be able to take care of.
So while the schedule still has plenty of land mines, North Carolina has already put itself in position to stack a few more wins.
In Other News...
Carson Bertagnole Gives UNC An Early Chance To Make Noise In Knoxville
Carson Bertagnole has given North Carolina a promising opening at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, where the Tar Heels spent Friday hanging around the top of the board after a steady start in Tennessee. Bertagnole sits one stroke off the lead after rounds of 66 and 69, and his play helped UNC card a 3-under-par first day while staying within reach of the tournament front-runners.
The Tar Heels posted a 2-under 278 in the morning and followed with a 1-under 279 in the afternoon, leaving them five shots behind co-leaders Chattanooga and Memphis. With the field still early in the event, UNC has positioned itself for a weekend push, and Bertagnoles start gives the team a chance to make some noise if the scoring stays within reach. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Already Faces Early Pressure In A Major 5-Star Recruitment
The early buzz around Demarcus Henrys recruitment is already starting to take shape, and North Carolina is right in the thick of it. The 5-star small forward in the 2027 class is one of the marquee names on the board, and his first official visit is set for Louisville, the opening stop in what is expected to become a busy stretch of trips as his process develops.
For UNC, the challenge is simple enough to see and difficult enough to solve: Henry has a long list of heavy hitters around him, including Ohio State, Kentucky, BYU, UConn, Arkansas and Kansas. Louisville coach Pat Kelsey is also said to be making a major push in the recruitment, which adds another layer to a race that is only just beginning to heat up for the Tar Heels. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Found A Defensive Lineman Fans Never Saw Coming
Xavier Lewis was never the obvious name to watch when North Carolina started sorting through its defensive line options, but he has become one of the more intriguing success stories on the roster. A sophomore who was lightly recruited out of high school, Lewis had just one Power 4 offer from UNC and otherwise heard from smaller programs before initially signing with Austin Peay. He later took a preferred walk-on spot in Chapel Hill after Bill Belichick arrived as head coach, and the move has already started to pay off.
Lewis has since turned that opportunity into a scholarship and real defensive production, the kind of rise that speaks to both persistence and fit. His strong showing against TCU stood out as another reminder that UNC may have found a player who was easy to overlook at first but is becoming harder to ignore now. [Read more 🡒]