UNC Football: 247 Sports September Record Prediction

This sports outlet is projecting the UNC football team to have a .500 record when September comes to a close.

College football is one of the only sports where the beginning of the schedule can make or break a team’s season.

For example, look no further than last year’s UNC football team, which began the season in the Top 10 nationally and as the favorite to win the Coastal Division.  Fast forward to the end of September, and North Carolina was unranked and an afterthought in the ACC after early-season road losses to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

While Tar Heel fans are hoping for a much better September this season, one media outlet is expecting more of the same.  Earlier this week, 247 Sports released a prediction for every ACC team’s record through the month of September, and they have Mack Brown’s squad starting out the season at 2-2 again.

As a reminder, the Tar Heels early season slate is as follows:

August 27th vs. Florida A&M

September 3rd at Appalachian State

September 10th at Georgia State

September 24th vs Notre Dame

This projection gives the Tar Heels wins over Florida A&M and Georgia State while predicting two losses against Appalachian State and Notre Dame.

The Rattlers are an FCS team that will be coming to Chapel Hill, and the Tar Heels beat Georgia State by 42 in Chapel Hill a year ago.  Losses to either of these teams would be extremely disappointing, although the game against the Panthers could be tricky with it coming on the road.

The game against App State is being viewed by many as a true toss-up.  It should be an electric atmosphere in Boone, as a power conference foe is coming to town and the Mountaineers will not be scared of North Carolina, having won in Chapel Hill back in 2019.  The road crowd will put a ton of pressure on whoever the Tar Heels quarterback is, but if either Drake Maye or Jacolby Criswell can stay under control, this is a winnable game for the Heels.

The biggest test of the month is clearly the home game against Notre Dame.  The Irish are ranked 5th in the Coaches Poll that was released earlier this week, and they will likely be at least a touchdown favorite when they come to Chapel Hill.  The bye week prior to this game should be an advantage for North Carolina, as the Irish will be playing for the fourth straight week (including a road game at Ohio State).

The weeks prior to this matchup will likely determine how UNC football fans feel heading into the showdown with Notre Dame.  If the Tar Heels have already taken a loss (or more) by this point, fans will be desperate for a big-time win to prove that the progress on the recruiting trail is translating to the gridiron.

However, if the Tar Heels enter this one undefeated, Chapel Hill will be rocking and North Carolina could be a ranked underdog looking to make a statement to the rest of the nation.

Regardless of how the first month of the season goes, UNC football fans should keep from getting way too high or way too low.  All four of the contests played through September are non-conference games, which means they will not impact the ACC standings.  With that being said, a winning record after the season’s first month would be very significant given how last year started.

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC football news, updates, and recruiting.