Carolina 19th in Preseason Coaches Poll
The preseason college football Coaches Poll was released on Thursday. For the first time since 2016, the Tar Heels are ranked. Carolina is 19th, the program’s highest preseason ranking since starting the 2010 season as number 16.
Joining Carolina in the top 25 are three other ACC schools. Clemson is the top-ranked team in the nation, Notre Dame comes in at 10th, and Virginia Tech rounds out the ACC contingent at 24th.
Additionally, five other ACC schools are in the others receiving votes category. Those schools include Louisville (33rd), Miami (34th), Virginia (37th), Pittsburgh (t-48th), and Duke (t-48th).
The ACC also released the official schedule for the 2020 college football season on Thursday. As a reminder, each ACC team will play 10 conference games, plus one non-conference game. The Tar Heels are yet to announce their non-conference game, but we have the opportunity to see which of Carolina’s conferences foes are named in the Coaches Poll.
Two opponents on the 2020 roster are among those listed in the Coaches Poll top 25:
- vs. Virginia Tech | Ranking: 24 | October 10 | Saturday
- vs. Notre Dame | Ranking: 10 | November 27 | Friday
A further three opponents fall into the “others receiving votes” category:
- at Virginia | Ranking: 37 | October 31 | Saturday
- at Duke | Ranking: t-48 | November 7 | Saturday
- at Miami | Ranking: 34 | December 5 | Saturday
Keep in mind, there’s also the possibility that Carolina’s non-conference opponent (slated for September 19) could also be a ranked team.
Looking at the breakdown of when the Tar Heels will play these five teams who are either ranked or receiving votes, the tail end of the season projects to be the most difficult. Four of the final five games will be against teams named in the preseason Coaches Poll.
After back-to-back weeks playing at Virginia and Duke, Carolina will host Wake Forest, then enjoy a much-needed bye week before finishing out the regular season hosting Notre Dame and traveling to Miami.
How will Sam Howell and company handle the back-loaded schedule? Assuming the college football season comes to fruition, we’ll find out in four months.
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