UNC Football named a team that is a ‘threat’ to Clemson

The hype surrounding the UNC Football program is real going into 2021 as they are coming off a 2020 season in which they reached the Orange Bowl. Despite falling short against Texas A&M and losing key pieces on offense and defense, this is still a very talented Tar Heels’ team that many expect to take that next step.

And taking that next step is not only winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal division but giving Clemson a run for their money.

As the Tar Heels continue on with Fall training camp, one publication thinks that the program can take that next step and be a threat to Dabo Swinney and the Tigers this season.

In his most recent piece for CBS Sports, Dennis Dodd wrote on 21 intriguing storylines for the college football season as we are just about three weeks away from kickoff. In that article, one of the storylines centered around Clemson’s biggest threat in the ACC and their return to the College Football Playoff.

Dodd pointed to Mack Brown’s Tar Heels as that threat citing Sam Howell and Ty Chandler as reasons why but also stating that the defense needs to be better:

"It might be North Carolina where 69-year-old Mack Brown has turned into the veteran voice of college football. Oh, he can coach a little bit, too. Sam Howell led the ACC in touchdown passes (30, yup, more than Lawrence) and is poised for a Heisman run. The Tar Heels are going to have to be a bit more balanced with the loss of 109 combined receptions (Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome) and almost 2,400 rushing yards (Michael Carter, Javonte Williams). Tennessee graduate transfer Ty Chandler brings 2,000 career rushing to Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels gave up at least 31 points in six of their 12 games. That’s will have to improve with Florida State, Notre Dame and Miami on the schedule. And even if everything works out, there will still be a meeting with Clemson in the ACC Championship Game."

The Tar Heels haven’t been to the ACC Championship Game since 2015, losing to Clemson but it appears as if they are closing the game.

In Brown’s first season in 2019, they took Clemson down to the wire at home and were a two-point conversion away from pulling off the upset. UNC has gotten better since then and if the next step is taken, it could be a special year in Chapel Hill.

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