UNC Football: Tar Heels labeled as a CFP dark horse

The 2023 college football season is an important one for Mack Brown and the UNC football program. With a three-game bowl losing streak, the Tar Heels are attempting to turn around their fortunes especially with quarterback Drake Maye going into what is very likely his final year.

As we get set for the September opener between UNC and South Carolina, the Tar Heels are earning some national respect.

Pro Football Focus released its list of the 15 teams that could make the College Football Playoff for the season. And right there on the list as one of the three Atlantic Coast Conference programs are the Tar Heels. But their odds aren’t very high as PFF explains:

Of all the teams on this list, North Carolina probably has the lowest chance at making the playoff. However, the Tar Heels do have one big asset that could be the difference maker for them. That would be superstar quarterback Drake Maye. It’s going to come down to if Maye can carry this team to the playoff. He is truly that good of a player, one of the best quarterbacks in college football.

Maye essentially carried the Tar Heels all of last season and even had them at 8-1 before the team lost its final four games. So, it’s not totally unrealistic to imagine them getting back to the ACC championship with an 11-1 record. It will definitely take a Heisman season from Maye, but he is plenty capable of that, assuming he meshes well with his new weapons. It could ultimately take massive strides from Mack Brown’s defense to pull this off.

The Tar Heels join Clemson and Florida State as the ACC teams on the list and that’s been a common theme so far this offseason. Most of the media predictions have the Tigers and Seminoles battling it out in Charlotte for the ACC title with UNC as a contender as well.

For the Tar Heels to get to that College Football Playoff they would need to go unbeaten and win the ACC. That likely includes beating Clemson either twice or beating Clemson in the regular season and then Florida State in the conference title game.

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