Tag: 2024 UNC football schedule

UNC football players make special trip to Children’s Hospital before flight to Minnesota

The North Carolina Tar Heels begin their football season on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Minnesota. Players first made a special visit on Monday.

College football season is finally here – and the North Carolina Tar Heels are ready to press the reset button after last year’s late-season collapse.

UNC has a golden opportunity to get a rare, season-open road win at Minnesota on Thursday, Aug. 29. North Carolina still doesn’t have a starting quarterback, but instead, head coach Mack Brown said the Tar Heels will roll with both Max Johnson and Conner Harrell in the opener.

There will no doubt be some Carolina Blue in the stands at Huntington Bank Stadium Thursday night, but it won’t be the same as playing in front of the passionate crowd at Kenan Stadium.

Earlier Monday before boarding their flight to Minnesota, players took time to thank some of their greatest supporters earlier Monday, visiting the UNC Children’s Hospital.

One of those supporters even included a young Duke fan, who was overjoyed that several Tar Heels took time out of their days to visit with the children.

According to ESPN, North Carolina is a 2-point underdog entering its rematch with Minnesota. UNC handled the Golden Gophers last year, 31-13, when they came to Chapel Hill and fell victim to a 400-yard Drake Maye passing game.

When the Tar Heels return home on Saturday, September 7 to face Charlotte at 3:30 p.m., those same kids are hoping the Tar Heels will be 1-0.

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UNC football program bringing back this cool tradition for 2024 season

UNC football helmets might look a little different during gamedays this fall.

After nearly eight months of waiting, how lucky are we to be blessed with the start of college football season?

More teams will have something meaningful to play for this year, as the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams. Every program aims to make a bowl game, but ones outside of the CFP landscape just don’t have the same excitement surrounding them.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are hoping to making something out of their season, in which very few outside of Chapel Hill have high expectations for them. UNC returns star running back Omarion Hampton and sack machine Kaimon Rucker, but does not have a clear-cut starting quarterback.

Even if North Carolina doesn’t make the CFP, head coach Mack Brown is giving his players something to play for.

In a performance-based motivator, the Tar Heels will bring back an old tradition of adding stickers to their helmets. This dates back to the 1970s, when Bill Dooley was the head coach.

“We felt like visible rewards were something to help motivate the guys and show who was doing well,” Brown told Lee Pace. “Everything we’re doing now is trying to get from winning eight or nine games to winning every game,” Brown says. “So, we’re pulling out every little stop we feel might help our guys to get better.”

Incentives that players can gain stickers for include: winning the opener at Minnesota, a running back hitting 100 total yards or 50 yards after contact, an offensive lineman executing a pancake block, a linebacker recording 10+ tackles, pinning an opponent inside its own 20-yard line and earning Player of the Week honors.

Will this incentive-based performance system actually help UNC win more games? North Carolina has a fairly favorable schedule, so there’s a solid possibility players exceed expectations.

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North Carolina Tar Heels projected to win how many football games according to USA Today?

With the college football season upon us, check out how many games USA Today predicts UNC to win this fall.

The UNC football team may not have Drake Maye, Devontez Walker or Cedric Gray anymore, but it has an extremely talented, eager group led by sack machine Kaimon Rucker and All-Pro running back Omarion Hampton.

North Carolina also has a considerably easier football schedule this coming fall. After facing Minnesota on the road Thursday, Aug. 29, the Tar Heels return home to Kenan Stadium and face Charlotte, NC Central and James Madison in consecutive weeks.

UNC ends September at archrival Duke, then plays Pitt and Georgia Tech before its first bye week. North Carolina has a winnable game at Virginia, then ends its regular season with a tough stretch that includes Florida State, Boston College, and NC State.

Wake Forest is in the season-ending slate, but the Demon Deacons are coming off their worst year since 2015.

With all this being said, USA Today predicts the Tar Heels finish with an 8-4 (5-3) record. Check out what Paul Myerberg had to say about UNC’s chances:

“Miami and North Carolina have the talent to surge past our eight-win projections, though the Hurricanes could just as easily disappoint, as we’ve seen.”

Speaking of Miami, this year will be the first time – since 2003 – the Tar Heels don’t face Miami.

Can UNC exceed expectations and possibly compete for an ACC Championship?

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Where do Tar Heels land in USA Today’s Preseason Rankings of all 134 FBS teams?

An easier schedule might play into the UNC football team’s favor in 2024. Check out where CBS Sports has the Tar Heels ranked amongst FBS programs.

College football fans everywhere can finally celebrate, because the season is finally upon us.

We’ll get an appetizer with four games this coming weekend, headlined by the Aer Lingus Classic featuring Florida State and Georgia Tech on Saturday, Aug. 24, but the full slate drops over Labor Day Weekend.

Our North Carolina Tar Heels will be featured in one of the first Week One matchups, as they travel to the Minnesota Golden Gophers for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff on Thursday, Aug. 29. This is a rematch of last year’s Week 3 matchup in Kenan Stadium, when Drake Maye threw for 400 yards in UNC’s 31-13 victory.

Looking at how North Carolina stacks up against its FBS counterparts, North Carolina lands 32nd in USA Today’s preseason rankings of all 134 FBS programs.

Entering 2024, the Tar Heels no longer have star quarterback Drake Maye or star wide receiver Devontez Walker. The Tar Heels do return star running back Omarion Hampton, sack machine Kaimon Rucker and sport a new defensive coordinator in Geoff Collins.

UNC’s schedule gets considerably easier after its opener in Minnesota, as UNC hosts Charlotte and NC Central in consecutive weeks. North Carolina then welcomes James Madison to Kenan Stadium – while this is a winnable game, the Dukes play in a tough Sun Belt Conference.

Can the Tar Heels take advantage of their easier schedule and, for once, actually finish the year on a winning streak?

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North Carolina DC Geoff Collins has Georgia Tech players hungry for October clash

There’ll be more than just a game on the line when the UNC and Georgia Tech football teams face off in October.

No matter how the North Carolina Tar Heels perform during any given football season, Georgia Tech always has their number.

Last season was no exception. After a 6-0 start, which vaulted UNC to 10th in the polls, North Carolina lost to the Yellow Jackets a week after falling to Virginia. The Tar Heels had all the chances last year, taking an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but ended up losing 46-42.

If you guessed it already, UNC plays Georgia Tech again this season: Saturday, Oct. 12 in Kenan Stadium. North Carolina will have plenty of new starters in this game – within the 2024 season as a whole – while the Yellow Jackets return several starters led by former Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King.

One of many new faces amongst the Tar Heels will be defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who actually coached at Georgia Tech from the 2019-2022 seasons. The Yellow Jackets went 10-29 overall under Collins, leading to his dismissal early in 2022.

As you can imagine, facing Collins has a couple Georgia Tech players fired up, including starting running back Jamal Haynes, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2023.

I believe Haynes’ sincerity in his statement, but I think this game has more meaning. The Yellow Jackets underwent their worst stretch of the 21st century under Collins – if I’m a player, I’m eager to prove to Collins how much better my program is since his departure.

UNC, on the other hand, will search for its first win against Georgia Tech since before COVID.

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UNC football players dabble in golf with Thursday afternoon team bonding session

Several North Carolina Tar Heels took up golf Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t members of the golf team.

I think I speak for college football fans across the country when I say this: August can’t get here soon enough.

ACC programs Florida State and Georgia Tech officially kick off the regular season on Saturday, Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland as part of the Aer Lingus Classic. There’ll be three other matchups that Saturday, including new ACC school SMU, but the big slate doesn’t start until five days later.

If you’re reading this article and excited about college football, you’re probably thinking: when do our North Carolina Tar Heels start playing?

Good question. We have an answer – Thursday, Aug. 29 at the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

This year is going to look a lot different for UNC, highlighted by a new quarterback. That competition is between Texas A&M and former LSU transfer Max Johnson, last year’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl starter Conner Harrell, who impressed in North Carolina’s Spring Game, plus Jacolby Criswell, who transferred back into Chapel Hill from Arkansas.

While the Tar Heels try to finalize their starters and overall depth chart for the 2024 campaign, they took to TopGolf for some team bonding on Thursday afternoon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9SYIthuior/

If you’re unfamiliar with TopGolf, it’s a multiple-story driving range with a variety of games people can play. Some choose to whack the ball as far as they can, others try to hit the “holes” with netting surrounding the flags, while you even have the option to play a full round.

Before UNC players dial down for the last month of their offseason, it’s refreshing to see them laughing, smiling and enjoying themselves.

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UNC football’s projected 2024 win total according to College Football News

Can the gridiron Tar Heels take advantage of their easy schedule for the upcoming season?

Replacing your starting quarterback, number one wide receiver, star linebacker and defensive coordinator can all spell problems for plenty of college football teams.

If you have a star player amongst a team with plenty of question marks, though, he can usually win you a couple games alone.

All of the above describe – you guessed it – the North Carolina Tar Heels.

UNC lost quarterback Drake Maye, starting wide receiver Tez Walker and starting linebacker Cedric Gray to the NFL draft. North Carolina swapped defensive coordinators, ousting Gene Chizik and bringing in former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins.

To help offset these changes, UNC has one of the game’s best running backs in Omarion Hampton, who rushed for over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first full season as a starter. Hampton, who will be the featured player in the Tar Heels offense, will certainly make life easier for whoever the new starting quarterback is.

Even with a largely new roster and DC, North Carolina is projected to win eight games this fall by College Football News.

UNC’s likely wins are in its home opener against Charlotte (Sept. 7) and NC Central (Sept. 14). CFN has toss-ups listed as Minnesota (Aug. 29), James Madison (Sept. 21), Duke (Sept. 28), Pitt (Oct. 5), Georgia Tech (Oct. 12), Virginia (Oct. 26), Wake Forest (Nov. 16), Boston College (Nov. 23) and NC State (Nov. 30), while Florida State (Nov. 2) is listed as a likely loss.

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Sporting News has UNC football team projected to this popular Florida bowl game

If North Carolina can win the minimum six games needed to make a bowl in the winter, they could be heading to the Sunshine State in these projections.

If you’re a college football fan and have been waiting for games since New Year’s Day, your wait is almost over.

On Saturday, Aug. 24 as part of “Week Zero,” eight schools will take the field for the official start of college football season. Fellow ACC rivals Florida State and Georgia Tech highlight the Week Zero slate, kicking off at 12 p.m. ET in Dublin, Ireland for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

Just five days later on Thursday, Aug. 29, your North Carolina Tar Heels begin their season on the road with a rematch against Minnesota. For those who remember last season, Drake Maye threw for 400 yards in UNC’s 31-13 win over the Golden Gophers.

North Carolina has one of the ACC’s easiest schedules, as it doesn’t play another Power 5 team until Duke on Saturday, Sept. 28. The Tar Heels toughest games will be Saturday, Nov. 2 at FSU, then Saturday, Nov. 30 for senior day against in-state rival NC State.

With the way its schedule pans out, UNC should be able to make a bowl game this coming winter.

In Sporting News’ latest predictions for 2024-2025 bowl games, Bill Bender has North Carolina facing Oklahoma in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 2.

The Tar Heels are no stranger to the Gator Bowl, having played in its seven times and most recently in 1998, a 42-3 domination of ACC rival Virginia Tech.

The Sooners are coming off a much-improved season under second-year head coach Brent Venables, finishing 10-3 (7-2 Big 12) and losing to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.

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Mack Brown’s stock slips dramatically in coach rankings

If Mack Brown’s Tar Heels sustain yet another late-season collapse this fall, it might be his final year in Chapel Hill.

Has anyone ever told you to stop reminiscing on past successes?

New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys fans do that all the time. Doc Rivers won one NBA championship[, but he has been a proven playoff choker since.

One coach who can join this list is current UNC football boss Mack Brown. He coached at North Carolina from 1988-1997, left and won the 2005 BCS National Championship with Texas, then returned to Chapel Hill with hopes of championship success.

Instead, Brown’s Tar Heel teams have shown a penchant for cooling off after hot starts, particularly in recent years. Last year was arguably the greatest collapse since Brown’s return – starting 6-0, then finishing 8-5.

With all the talent Brown has failed to utilize, such as Drake Maye and Devontez Walker last season, he slipped 15 spots – to 37th –in CBS Sports’ college football coach rankings.

“When Brown returned to North Carolina ahead of the 2019 season, he was a top-10 coach due to having won a national title at Texas,” Tom Fornelli wrote. “His stock has dropped every season since, and he tumbled all the way out of the top 25 this year. Brown is 38-27 in his second stint with the Tar Heels, which isn’t terrible, but when you look at the talent the Heels have had at QB in that time and how open the Coastal had been while it existed, you’re left with the feeling the results should’ve been better.”

This year might be a bit of a challenge for Brown, who’s dealing with an almost entirely new quarterback room and wide receiver group.

If UNC doesn’t win a bowl game or finish .500, though, I think Brown is shown the door.

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UNC football adds coach to unit that needs improvement

The UNC football team will be getting some much-needed coaching help on the special teams staff. Who did the Tar Heels hire on Monday?

We’re still over five months away from the start of college football season, but on Monday, the North Carolina Tar Heels have added another staff member.

And it addresses a unit that struggled in 2023 for the Tar Heels.

Per Inside Carolina, the Tar Heels are adding  Eric Mele as a special teams analyst.  Mele comes from Mississippi State, where he was the special teams coordinator in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

In terms of kickoffs and punts, North Carolina was among the ACC’s worst in 2023. They ranked 13th in kickoffs, second-worst among all programs, plus dead-last in punting.

“Put a good gameplan in, hope we can execute, and change the game in a positive fashion,” Mele said about the impact of special teams in an interview last year with 247Sports. “Get us on the board and get that momentum. Special teams is all about momentum, so if we can it in our favor that would be a good deal.”

Mele has a solid kicker to work with in Noah Burnette, who made 19 field goals and all 43 of his extra-point attempts. If Ben Kiernan is healthy for Week 0, Mele will likely spend more time coaching him than Tom Maginness.

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