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UNC Football: Where Tar Heels rank in SportingNews preseason Top 25

By Zack Pearson

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 12: Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drops back to pass against the Syracuse Orange during their game at Kenan Stadium on September 12, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 12: Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drops back to pass against the Syracuse Orange during their game at Kenan Stadium on September 12, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The 2021 college football season is still months away but the hype continues to build around the UNC football program as we get set to hit the Summer months.

And rightfully so.

Following an Orange Bowl appearance last year, the Tar Heels are looking to take that next step and contend for the Atlantic Coast Conference title. UNC does return Sam Howell and almost all of their starters from that Orange Bowl game but do lose a lot of production with Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome all gone on offense. They are going to need some key guys to step up and help Howell if they really want to be contenders.

As we get set for Summer, SportingNews decided to update their preseason Top 25 following Spring practices. And SportingNews, like other publications, thinks highly of the Tar Heels.

The site has the Tar Heels as a top 15 team, ranking No. 14 overall and the second-best ACC program in the rankings:

"Mack Brown led the Tar Heels to a New Year’s Day 6 Bowl in his second season — a testament to his near-instant rebuild in Chapel Hill. Junior Sam Howell could be the first quarterback taken in the 2022 NFL Draft, and that’s a good start for an offense that needs to rebuild the running game without Javonte Williams and Michael Carter and their combined 2,557 yards and 33 touchdowns from scrimmage in 2020. Senior British Brooks will be counted on early in the season. The secondary should be a strength too, though North Carolina still needs to be more consistent on a week-to-week basis. The Friday night opener at Virginia Tech is a tone-setter, but five of the next six are at home. A run to the ACC championship game is possible, where another shot at Clemson would be worth watching."

The ranking is a fair one for a team that lost a lot of production and UNC still has to prove that they belong. They will be tested early on against Virginia Tech in Week 1 and the schedule sets up for UNC to potentially make a run to get into the Top 10 and be considered a College Playoff candidate.

But first things first, UNC has to have a solid offseason with practices and take it one game at a time.

Next. Latest bowl projections for UNC. dark

For more on the Tar Heels football program, please make sure to check back with Keeping It Heel.

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