UNC Football: Tar Heels crack top 10 in ESPN preseason rankings

The most recent ESPN college football preseason rankings list view the UNC football program as a top 10 team heading into the season.

We’re officially under a month away from the start of the 2021 college football season.

With that in mind, ESPN recently released their top 25 college football power rankings. Their methodology is simple: 33 of their college football analysts created their own top 25 list, leading to a consensus list being put together based on the data collected.

The results are in, and the UNC football program is viewed as a top 10 team in the country.

North Carolina ranks No. 10 in ESPN’s initial college football rankings. Here’s what the article had to say in regards to the Tar Heels heading into the new season:

"“The state of play in the ACC has been all but etched in stone for the past five years: It’s Clemson and everyone else. But perhaps 2021 is the year a genuine contender to the throne emerges from that “everyone else” category, and no one seems better positioned to do it than North Carolina. On offense, UNC returns arguably the country’s best QB in Sam Howell, along with all five starters on the O-line. On defense, a unit that desperately needed a talent infusion two years ago now has legitimate blue-chip stars ready to contribute, including five-star corner Tony Grimes and five-star end Keeshawn Silver. Even the talent that left appears to have some ready-made replacements, as Tennessee transfer Ty Chandler looks to pick up where 1,000-yard backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams left off, and slot receiver Josh Downs appears poised to become the next Tar Heels superstar. Of course, UNC also suffered embarrassing losses to FSU and Virginia last year, so rather than focus on reaching Clemson’s elite status, the next big step for the Heels might just be finding some consistency.”"

Yes, Clemson has controlled the ACC for the last five years. Could this be the season that Mack Brown and company change that narrative?

For starters, it helps that the Tar Heels return quarterback Sam Howell along with his entire offensive line from a year ago. Although North Carolina lost some key contributors on offense, such as running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter and wide receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome, the Tar Heels should have added some much-needed talent to help fill the voids.

Defensively, the Tar Heels return a bulk of their unit from last season. Although the group had their fair share of struggles in 2020, it is expected that the defense can take a major step forward given the experience of the core as a whole.

Of course, Mack Brown’s team will have to be more consistent. As a team in hopes of making a run at the ACC title and the College Football Playoff, they have to avoid any losses that could be damaging toward their overall resume.

It’s great to see the Tar Heels listed among the best teams in the country, but expectations are so high for this team that fans of the program will definitely want to see them move up as the season progresses. If all goes well, the UNC football program has the potential to skyrocket up the rankings in the near future.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the UNC football program.