UNC Football: Staff Picks: ACC Championship Game vs Clemson

The UNC football team gets their shot at Clemson and the ACC Crown on Saturday night in the Queen City.

North Carolina has a chance to win its first ACC Title of this century on Saturday night in Charlotte.  Can the Tar Heels knock off the Clemson Tigers and pick up what would be the biggest win of Mack Brown’s second stint in Chapel Hill?  Find out what our staff thinks below!

Nick Delahanty

As rough as the last two weeks have been, the fact that the UNC football program is in this game speaks volumes.

There have been plenty of times with this team where you could say “how is this team so good record-wise?” as they continued to defy the odds and prove everyone wrong.

I truly expect the ACC Championship game to be a good one between two quality teams. Ultimately, it’s going to be up to the Tar Heels offense to get back to their early-season form.

Although I fully have faith in Drake Maye (as the Tar Heels, in my opinion, have a significant quarterback advantage), I’m not sure I can trust the defensive unit to make some key stops.

This will be a close game, but I think Clemson will use its postseason experience to its advantage and win this one by a score.

I’d be very happy if I was wrong though!

Prediction: Clemson 38, North Carolina 31

Mark DeMott

This matchup has lost a TON of hype over the past two weeks.  Not only has UNC slipped up in back-to-back weeks against Georgia Tech and NC State, but Clemson was stunned on their home field by rival South Carolina last weekend as well.  Had the Tar Heels and Tigers continued to win out, this game would have had significant College Football Playoff implications, but that is not the case anymore.

On paper, I think Clemson is the better team.  They are better in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and their defense is more trustworthy than North Carolina’s.  However, I think UNC has two key advantages coming into this week’s matchup.

One, Carolina will have the best player on the field.  I expect Drake Maye to return to his old form (as long as his O-Line can give him time) and have a big day.  Clemson’s secondary is not as good as usual, and if Maye has time to go through his progressions both Josh Downs and Antoine Green could be in for big games.  On the other side of the ball, Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei was terrible last week to the point that many Tiger fans want him benched.

I also think that UNC has more to play for on Saturday night.  ACC Championships are no longer a big deal at Clemson, but the Tar Heels have a chance to make school history and win their first ACC title since 1980.  I think Carolina is more excited about this weekend’s opportunity, and they will play like it.

If Carolina can contain Clemson running back Will Shipley and force DJU (or Cade Klubnik, Clemson’s backup QB) to beat them they will have a shot.  On offense, if Carolina’s O-Line can protect Drake Maye and allow him to do his thing, he could have a lot of success against a Clemson defense that has underperformed this season.

As someone who has lived in the upstate of South Carolina for my whole life, I’ve been waiting for UNC to get another shot at Clemson for a while.  I’m going with heart over brain here and rolling with Drake and the Heels to pull off a huge win and finally break through on the national scene.

Prediction: North Carolina 35, Clemson 28

Aaron Conrad

UNC enters the ACC Championship game versus Clemson. I should say that UNC enters this game still trying to solidify and find its identity as a team.

After back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina State, the Tar Heels do not look like a team that can handle the experience and talent of a very good Clemson team. While they are not the College Playoff caliber Clemson team of the past, they have been there and done that.

I think this could be a tough day and end to the season for the Tar Heels.

Prediction: Clemson 45, North Carolina 28

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