Spring practices are officially in the books as the wait for the start of the 2023 college football season continues.
For North Carolina, they are hoping to learn from last season in which they got off to a 9-1 start before losing the last four games including the Holiday Bowl. There is some hope that UNC can be better, the main reason being Drake Maye.
Ultimately, North Carolina’s defense has to step up. If the defense can improve drastically, the Tar Heels have a shot to get to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. But could they potentially pull off a TCU-like run?
Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY wrote on teams that could have a surprise run like TCU did a year ago. While Texas leads the way on Myerberg’s list, North Carolina isn’t far behind:
This might feel two years overdue for UNC, which was a trendy playoff pick heading into 2021 after reaching the Orange Bowl in coach Mack Brown’s second year. The Tar Heels went 6-7 in 2021 but rebounded to win nine games and the ACC Coastal last season. This year’s team has one of the nation’s top players in sophomore quarterback Drake Maye, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, and added in key transfers to bolster depth and production at wide receiver and in the secondary. But there are some big changes on offense with former coordinator Phil Longo off to the same position at Mississippi, and the Heels have to rebound from four losses in a row to end last season.
Now, UNC has some questions to answer as they have lost offensive coordinator Phil Longoa well as receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green to the NFL. The defense is also a concern as mentioned above.
But they do have a key piece in Maye, who is not only one of the best quarterbacks returning but one of the best players in all of college football.
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