It’s finally here. After months of waiting, the UNC football program returns to the field on Saturday night for Week 0 as they host Floria A&M to begin the season. This will be the first time UNC has played in Week 0 as they get set to host the Rattlers.
For Mack Brown and his Tar Heels, they enter this season with lower expectations compared to last season. The Tar Heels aren’t a preseason Top 10 team, they have a new quarterback in Drake Maye, questions on the offensive line, and a new defensive coordinator in Gene Chizik.
However, that might benefit them, especially taking the weight off their shoulders.
Saturday’s game against the Rattlers is one that the Tar Heels should win and it’s important that they get off to a good start. Following this game, UNC has road games at Appalachian State and Georgia State before hosting Notre Dame in Week 3. But they can’t overlook the Rattlers and fall behind early.
Florida A&M is coming off a season in which they dropped their season opener to Jackson State before winning seven in a row. They earned a trip to the FCS playoffs but were dropped by Southeastern Louisiana.
The Rattlers have some weapons on offense. Quarterback Rasean McKay returns after throwing 22 touchdown passes a year ago and has All-SWAC preseason selection Xavier Smith to throw too.
In the backfield, Terrell Jennings and Pitt transfer A.J. Davis will lead the way. It should be a good early test for UNC’s defense on Saturday night.