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It won’t be long before the 2023 college football season is here as we continue to countdown the days until the start of the regular season.
For the North Carolina Tar Heels, they are hoping to take the next step in another year under Mack Brown and will look to lean on quarterback Drake Maye who is a Heisman hopeful. After a 9-1 start last season, UNC finished 9-5 and lost the last four games including the ACC Championship and Holiday Bowl.
But going into this year, the Tar Heels could be a team to watch in the ACC.
Athlon Sports has released its preseason projections for the ACC and while they have Florida State winning it all, UNC is not far behind. The Tar Heels are No. 3 in the projections behind the Seminoles and Clemson:
After a 9-1 start last year, the Tar Heels slipped down the stretch by losing their last four games. Although the non-conference slate is challenging, coach Mack Brown’s team shouldn’t suffer any lingering effects from the late slide thanks to the return of quarterback Drake Maye – a second-team preseason All-American by Athlon Sports – and one of the ACC’s deepest backfields. Providing better protection (40 sacks allowed) for Maye is a must, and the Tar Heels are counting on transfers Devontez Walker (Kent State) and Nate McCollum (Georgia Tech) to alleviate the loss of Josh Downs at receiver. Also, this unit will have a new play-caller after Chip Lindsey was hired following Phil Longo’s departure to Wisconsin. North Carolina’s defense allowed the most points a game (30.8) in the ACC last year. With eight starters back and a solid haul of transfers, coordinator Gene Chizik should be able to generate some improvement from this group.
That’s a pretty fair projection for the Tar Heels especially with the question marks they have on both sides. Getting off to a great start will…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-athlon-sports-predicts-unc-031716264.html?src=rss
Author : Tar Heels Wire
Publish date : 2023-06-10 03:17:16
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