UNC Football: Tar Heels to open 2021 season in primetime

The UNC Football program enters the 2021 season with a lot of hype and excitement. And rightfully so.

After an Orange Bowl appearance last season, Mack Brown has the program ready to take the next step in 2021 and hopefully contend for a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. While UNC loses a lot of production with the departures of Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown, they still return a lot of talent including almost every starter from that Orange Bowl game.

That includes quarterback Sam Howell who will enter this season as a Heisman favorite. 

The talent is there for the Tar Heels to compete for the ACC title and potentially be a darkhorse in the College Football Playoff. And as we continue to count down the days until kickoff, we have a key detail for Week 1.

We already knew that UNC will travel to Blacksburg on Friday, September 3rd but now we have the time and network. The conference announced earlier in the week that the Tar Heels and Hokie will meet at 6 p.m. EST on ESPN for their Week 1 showdown.

This won’t be an easy one for UNC either as the Hokies enter this season with a lot to prove in the Coastal Division. Last year, the Tar Heels were able to hold off the Hokies in Chapel Hill but Blacksburg will likely return to full capacity and that’s not an easy place to play for opponents.

The important thing is UNC will need to take it one game at a time and get off to a good start Week 1.

For more on the UNC Football program, please make sure to check back with Keeping It Heel.