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North Carolina

Tar Heels · ACC

GIE rank
#67
of 138 FBS
Rating
1557
2026 Week 11
Record
4-4
2026 season
Proj record
6-6
12-game season

Head coach Bill Belichick Year 2 with North Carolina

Year-2 HCs (2015-2024) averaged +0.09 W vs. preseason expectation

Season projection

2026 W11 · 10,000 sims
Expected wins
5.9
1.9 more wins in 4 left
Win range (90%)
4 to 8
Final rank (90%)
#67 (48–86)
Make playoff
0%
Win conference
0%

Path to glory

No remaining game changes North Carolina's playoff odds. Make playoff 0%

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Schedule and results
Week Opponent Result or win prob.Result or win probability
Wk 1 Aug 29 vs TCU Big 12 · neutral Win, 15-10 Final
Wk 2 Sep 12 vs East Tennessee State Non-FBS Win, 35-3 Final
Wk 3 Sep 19 at Clemson ACC Loss, 20-28 Final
Wk 4 Bye
Wk 5 Oct 3 vs Notre Dame FBS Independents Loss, 26-37 Final
Wk 6 Oct 10 at Pittsburgh ACC Win, 21-17 Final
Wk 7 Oct 17 at Duke ACC Win, 24-20 Final
Wk 8 Oct 24 vs Syracuse ACC Loss, 30-31 Final
Wk 9 Oct 31 vs Miami ACC Loss, 35-38 Final
Wk 10 Nov 7 at UConn FBS Independents Win probability: 52%
Wk 11 Nov 14 vs Louisville ACC Win probability: 32%
Wk 12 Nov 21 at Virginia ACC Win probability: 36%
Wk 13 Nov 28 vs NC State ACC Win probability: 71%

Latest stories

  • Recap

    North Carolina: 2026 Week 11 recap

    North Carolina sits at 4–4 with a rating of 3.7, holding steady at 58th overall after last week produced no movement. The Tar Heels' most recent outing—a 38–35 home loss to Miami in Week 9—epitomizes their season: competitive but…

  • Recap

    North Carolina: 2026 Week 7 recap

    North Carolina sits at 2–2 with a rating of 3, unchanged from last week despite the Week 5 home loss to Notre Dame (26–37). The Tar Heels' offensive efficiency remains a constraint—a red-zone TD rate of just 14 percent and third-down…

  • Recap

    North Carolina: 2026 Week 3 recap

    North Carolina opened the season with a road upset over TCU, claiming a 15-10 victory in Week 1—a result that GIE values at a 3.5 rating, placing the Tar Heels at 56th nationally. The rating held flat week-over-week, suggesting the model…

In the news

More coming. Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.

If QB1 is out

Giovanni Lopez

GIE projects a -4.1 rating drop and a -16.3pp shift in playoff probability if North Carolina loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=1 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Returning production · 2026

29 score

  • Quarterback 2% (3/6)
  • Offensive line 38% (6/16) players
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 54% (11/30)
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 37% (17/31)
  • Secondary 47% (11/19)
  • Special teams 8% (3/6)

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

−0.7 rating

19 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

North Carolina incoming transfers
Player From Impact
Trech KekahunaWR From Wisconsin Wisconsin 62
Mason HumphreyWR From Lehigh Lehigh 59
Jordan WashingtonTE From Texas Texas 43
Jaxxon WarrenTE From Colorado State Colorado State 37
Jelani ThurmanTE From Ohio State Ohio State 33
Ade WillieDB From Michigan State Michigan State 33

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 33.9%
    32th — below avg
  • Red-zone TD rate 13.9%
    40th — below avg
  • 4th-down aggression 35.3%
    46th — average
  • Late & close 4.4 yds/play
    29th — below avg

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.