Five things to watch in UNC’s football trip to Death Valley

UNC and Clemson face off Saturday in a rematch of 2022’s ACC Championship. Carolina will try and snap a 5-game losing streak to the Tigers.

For seemingly the first time in forever, UNC will be playing a football game on the road.

On Saturday, Nov. 18, the Tar Heels head down to Clemson for the first time since 2014. Carolina met the Tigers in last year’s ACC Championship game, with the latter dominating 39-10.

UNC, once a team with College Football Aspirations after six straight wins, is now just playing for a better bowl game. Clemson, also a formerly Top-10 team, watched its season go down the drain after losing to Duke in Week 1.

The Tar Heels aren’t hot, per se, but they have won their last two games after two straight losses. The Tigers JUST became bowl eligible last weekend, thanks to their defense smothering Georgia Tech in their sixth overall win.

Clemson has not been kind to UNC, winning the last five matchups in the series. Carolina hasn’t beaten the Tigers since 2010, a 21-16 victory in Chapel Hill, plus it hasn’t won consecutive games in the series since 1997.

If UNC wants to snap its long losing streak to Clemson, this might be the year to do it. The Tigers will almost surely reload next year, while Carolina is likely losing star quarterback Drake Maye to the NFL draft.