Carolina Football Aim Higher; Reach No. 8 in AP Poll

Two years into Mack Brown's return to North Carolina, the Heels place in the top 10 in the Associated Press Poll since 1997.

After successfully defeating Boston College (2-1, 1-1 ACC) on the road, 26-22, North Carolina (2-0, 2-0 ACC) moves up in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll to No. 8; Up four spots from the previous week. In an intense match-up, the game was won in the fourth quarter with a late pick by Trey Morrison with Tyrone Hopper pressuring the Eagles' quarterback, Phil Jurkovec.

The Tar Heels have remained unbeaten for six weeks and one of five teams who remain unbeaten in the ACC and ranked in the top 25, No. 1 Clemson, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 7 Miami, No. 8 North Carolina, and No. 19 Virginia Tech. 

Over the college football weekend, four teams inside the top 25 lost, which contributed to the Heels gain, No. 11 UCF, No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 24 Pitt, No. 25 Memphis.

In just two years, head coach Mack Brown created a winning football culture in Chapel Hill. North Carolina has not been ranked in the top ten since his last season at UNC in 1997; The team was No. 6, which was the highest rank since 1948 at No. 3 under coach Carl Snavely (9-1-1) in the Southern Conference. 

As the season continues, UNC's schedule will intensify, facing some of the best in the ACC. The Heels face-off with Virginia Tech at home Saturday, October 10th at noon as the look for redemption after a tough loss in 6 overtimes, 43-41. The Hokies (2-0, 2-0 ACC) are coming in after a win against Duke, 38-31.

Before discussing the possibility of moving up in polls, head coach Mack Brown wanted to savor the difficult win over BC. Brown remarked that the was going to enjoy this win,

"I'm going to enjoy this one. I'm going to appreciate winning."

Check out the full AP Top 25 poll below:

1. Clemson (52 first-place votes)
2. Alabama (8)
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Notre Dame
6. Ohio State (2)
7. Miami
8. North Carolina
9. Penn State
10. Oklahoma State
11. Cincinnati
12. Oregon
13. Auburn
14. Tennessee
15. BYU
16. Wisconsin
17. LSU
18. SMU
19. Virginia Tech
20. Michigan
21. Texas A&M
22. Texas
23. Louisiana
24. Iowa State
25. Minnesota

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