We're officially a few weeks away from the start of the 2025 college football season, as all eyes will be on the UNC football program ahead of Bill Belichick's first season as the team's head coach.
While Belichick comes to Chapel Hill with quite the resume, some within the media aren't buying into believing that the results will show in year one of this new regime.
In fact, USA Today projects the UNC football program to finish in the bottom half of the ACC standings.
UNC picked to finish 12th in the ACC, behind Duke (6th) and NC State (10th), per a group of ACC writers for @USATODAY. NC State TE Justin Joly, Duke OL Brian Parker II and DBs Chandler Rivers and Terry Moore made preseason All-ACC. https://t.co/shnzeLgBkw
— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) July 21, 2025
The Tar Heels are projected to finish 12th in the conference, a ranking that puts them behind both Duke (6th) and NC State (10th). Not a single UNC football player made these particular preseason All-Conference teams.
Without a doubt, there's plenty of uncertainty leading up to the 2025 season. The Tar Heels have a whole new look operation brewing essentially from top to bottom, as there's no guarantee that the drastic changes will lead to instant success.
However, Belichick and his staff will do whatever they can to ensure the most amount of success from the roster they've pieced together this offseason.
The media isn't buying into the Tar Heels just yet, as they will need to prove it on the field before anyone buys stock that this will work out. For the UNC football program, the lower expectations are probably a really good thing, especially considering the amount of attention the program has already garnered since the hiring of Belichick.
It's simple: the UNC football program will determine the outcome once games get underway.