5 Reasons Why UNC Football Fans Should Be Optimistic

The ACC Coastal stinks

Sep 27, 2014; Clemson, SC, USA; A general view of the stadium prior to the game between the Clemson Tigers and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Quite possibly the biggest reason for optimism is the fact that the ACC Coastal, as a whole, stinks. Georgia Tech is currently leading the division with a 4-0 record and a 1-0 record in the ACC. They were picked to finish 5th in the division in the preseason ACC poll. Second place? Pittsburgh, picked to finish sixth. Third place is Virginia, picked to finish last. The ACC Coastal is all jumbled up right now, and UNC can get back on track to winning the division with a win against Virginia Tech this weekend. If the Tar Heels beat Va. Tech, they are back to .500 in the ACC and back to a winning record on the season.

After Tech, the ACC games left on the schedule are home against Georgia Tech, @Virginia, @Miami, Pittsburgh, @Duke and N.C. State. None of those teams are great passing teams, save for maybe Miami and N.C. State. They all don’t have dominant quarterbacks though. I don’t think that is too daunting a schedule and five wins in conference could be enough to win the Coastal. I think UNC can go 5-2 against that ACC slate.

Overall, there are a lot of reasons for optimism for the Tar Heels even with as poorly as the Tar Heels played the last two games. The UNC defense has allowed 44 points per game, ranking 126th in the nation. But, all UNC’s defense needs to do is give up less points than the Tar Heel offense scores and its all the same to me. Heck, UNC can allow 100 points to Virginia Tech as long as they score 101. Kidding aside, the UNC defense looked much better on Saturday against Clemson, and with a 2-2 record, Tar Heel fans should have plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the rest of the season.