UNC Football: Tar Heels Left Off USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll

The UNC Football program is not ranked on the USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll, released on  Monday, August 8.

The Preseason USA Today top 25 coaches poll was released on Monday, August 8, and, as expected, the Tar Heels were left out of the top 25. The UNC football program is, however, in the “Others Receiving Votes” category, landing at No. 33 overall with 34 votes.

Why Did UNC Get Left Out?

North Carolina was ranked in the preseason coaches poll in each of the past two seasons, slotting in at No. 9 in 2021 and No. 19 in 2020. Carolina’s unexpected down year in 2021 (6-7 overall, 3-5 ACC), including back-to-back losses to close out the season against NC State and South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, certainly contributed to UNC’s lack of inclusion.

Another factor keeping the Tar Heels out of the top 25 is the sheer number of personnel and coaching question marks surrounding the Tar Heels ahead of this season. Who will be the starting quarterback? Will there be a wide receiver or tight end to take focus away from Josh Downs? How serious is Antoine Green’s injury? Is Andre Greene, Jr. for real? Will British Brooks be the lead running back or will one of the talented freshmen take over? Will the offensive line stand firm under the direction of new line coach Jack Bicknell, Jr.? How quickly can the defense turn things around under the return of Gene Chizik?

ACC Teams Ranked

While North Carolina isn’t ranked, five other full-time ACC members and Notre Dame are all in the top 20.

Clemson leads the way, having been selected fourth overall by the 66 head coaches who vote. The Irish are right behind the Tigers, coming in fifth. NC State (No. 13) is the first of two North Carolina ACC schools ranked, the other being Wake Forest at No. 19. Sandwiched between those two schools are No. 16 Pittsburgh, who will be looking to replace Kenny Pickett, and No. 17 Miami.

ACC Teams in “Others Receiving Votes”

North Carolina isn’t the only ACC team landing in the group just outside the Top 25. Louisville and Florida State each received one vote.

While not an ACC team, there is another North Carolina school in “others receiving votes”. Appalachian State picked up 10 total votes to tie with UCLA and Boise State for No. 40 overall.

Teams on UNC’s Schedule

Of the 12 opponents on North Carolina’s 2022 schedule, exactly half of them are either ranked in the top 25 or others receiving votes. The Tar Heels will play five of the six top 25-ranked teams mentioned above, with Clemson being the only team not on the schedule. Interestingly, literally every other game on the schedule is against a team either ranked in the preseason top 25 or others receiving votes.

In Game 2, UNC travels to Boone to take on Appalachian State (Others Receiving Votes). As far as the ranked teams are concerned, here’s the every other week schedule: Game 4 (Sept. 24) is at home against No. 5 Notre Dame, Game 6 is at No. 17 Miami (Oct. 8), Game 8 is homecoming against No. 16 Pittsburgh (Oct. 29), Game 10 is at No. 19 Wake Forest (Nov. 12), and the regular season finale is at home against No.13 NC State, the day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 25).

Of the six games against teams in the top 40, three are in Kenan Stadium (Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, NC State) and three are on the road (Appalachian State, Miami, Wake Forest).

Full Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Clemson
5. Notre Dame
6. Michigan
7. Texas A&M
8. Utah
9. Oklahoma
10. Baylor
11. Oklahoma State
12. Oregon
13. NC State
14. Michigan State
15. USC
16. Pittsburgh
17. Miami
18. Texas
19. Wake Forest
20. Wisconsin
21. Kentucky
22. Cincinnati
23. Arkansas
24. Ole Miss
25. Houston

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