North Carolina had a fairly successful year in Larry Fedora’s 5th season as head coach. They played in the Sun Bowl (a narrow loss to Stanford), beat a couple of ranked teams from Florida, and were themselves ranked in the top 25 for 5 weeks. However, they’ve lost their starting quarterback, star runningbacks, and most of the offensive line. There’s plenty of talent on the roster, but it will most likely be bit of a rebuilding year in Chapel Hill.
2016 Record: 8-5 (5-3 ACC)
Certainly, UVa fans would love such results from their team this year, but a deeper look at the 2016 UNC season highlights legitimate reasons for disappointment:
- Losses to both instate rivals: Duke and NCSU in a year where both teams were disappointments
- Ending the year with a 1-3 stretch including a game against the Citadel as the only victory
While no one should be too distraught in an 8 win year, losing those rivalry games kept a good year from being a great (and ACC Championship Game level) year.