By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina, a win away from clinching the last ACC Coastal Division title, moved up two spots to No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
The Tar Heels (8–1, 5–0 ACC) can put away the Coastal title and a spot in the Dec. 3 ACC championship game against Clemson (8–1, 6–0) with a victory at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Wake Forest (6–3, 2–3). While UNC comes off a 31–28 road win over Virginia, the Demon Deacons lost at N.C. State 30–21.
Carolina moved up one spot to No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
Wake Forest fell from No. 21 to unranked while the Wolfpack (7–2, 3–2) moved from No. 21 to No. 17. Syracuse (6–3, 3–2) fell from No. 20 to unranked after a 19–9 road loss to Pittsburgh (5–4, 2–3).
The Orange’s loss clinched the Atlantic Division title and a spot in the ACC title game for Clemson on a night that the Tigers, who slipped from No. 4 to No. 12, got blown out 35–14 at Notre Dame. The Irish returned to the poll at No. 20 and Florida State is back at No. 25 after blowing out Miami 45–3.
Helping the Tar Heels move up in addition to their win was Illinois’ 23–15 loss to Michigan State, which dropped the Illini from No. 16 to No. 21.
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 11 is Stephen Hargis of the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. Five votes, including Brett McMurphy of Stadium, have the Tar Heels No. 12. Ranking the Tar Heels the lowest is Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News at No. 13.
Joe Giglio of WCMC (99.9 The Fan) in Raleigh has UNC No. 15, N.C State No. 17 and Wake Forest No. 19. David Thompson of the Fayetteville Oberver has UNC No. 15, N.C. State No. 17 and Wake Forest unranked. Steve Wiseman, the Duke beat writer for The News & Observer, has UNC No. 16, N.C. State No. 17 and Wake Forest unranked.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Change | Poll points (first-place votes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia (9-0) | — | 1,574 (62) |
| 2 | Ohio State (9-0) | — | 1,500 (1) |
| 3 | Michigan (9-0) | +1 | 1,455 |
| 4 | TCU (9-0) | +3 | 1,361 |
| 5 | Tennessee (8-1) | -3 | 1,339 |
| 6 | Oregon (8-1) | +2 | 1,258 |
| 7 | LSU (7-2) | +8 | 1,132 |
| 8 | USC (8-1) | +1 | 1,061 |
| 9 | UCLA (8-1) | +1 | 1,040 |
| 10 | Alabama (7-2) | -4 | 1,009 |
| 11 | Ole Miss (8-1) | — | 962 |
| 12 | Clemson (8-1) | -7 | 938 |
| 13 | Utah (7-2) | -1 | 881 |
| 14 | Penn State (7-2) | +2 | 735 |
| 15 | North Carolina (8-1) | +2 | 676 |
| 16 | Tulane (8-1) | +3 | 607 |
| 17 | N.C. State (7-2) | +4 | 547 |
| 18 | Texas (6-3) | — | 399 |
| 19 | Liberty (8-1) | +4 | 358 |
| 20 | Notre Dame (6-3) | — | 316 |
| 21 | Illinois (7-2) | -7 | 262 |
| 22 | UCF (7-2) | +3 | 257 |
| 23 | Kansas State (6-3) | -10 | 247 |
| 24 | Washington (7-2) | — | 187 |
| 25 | Florida State (6-3) | — | 78 |
Others receiving votes: Cincinnati 74, Kentucky 61, Coastal Carolina 46, Wake Forest 34, Oklahoma State 21, Baylor 19, Kansas 10, Mississippi State 8, South Carolina 6, Troy 5, UTSA 5, Louisville 3, Oregon State 3, San Jose State 1.
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Virginia | 7–1 | 10–2 |
| No. 12 Miami | 6–2 | 10–2 |
| No. 25 SMU | 6–2 | 8–4 |
| No. 24 Georgia Tech | 6–2 | 9–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 6–2 | 8–4 |
| Duke | 6–2 | 7–5 |
| Louisville | 4–4 | 8–4 |
| Wake Forest | 4–4 | 8–4 |
| California | 4–4 | 7–5 |
| Clemson | 4–4 | 7–5 |
| N.C. State | 4–4 | 7–5 |
| Stanford | 3–5 | 4–8 |
| Florida State | 2–6 | 5–7 |
| North Carolina | 2–6 | 4–8 |
| Virginia Tech | 2–6 | 3–9 |
| Syracuse | 1–7 | 3–9 |
| Boston College | 1–7 | 2–10 |
Friday’s result
No. 4 Georgia 16, No. 24 Georgia Tech 9
Saturday’s results
N.C. State 42, North Carolina 19
No. 12 Miami 38, Pittsburgh 7
Louisville 41, Kentucky 0
Clemson 28, South Carolina 14
Boston College 34, Syracuse 12
Duke 49, Wake Forest 32
Florida 40, Florida State 21
No. 16 Virginia 27, Virginia Tech 7
California 38, No. 25 SMU 35
No. 9 Notre Dame 49, Stanford 20
Saturday’s ACC championship game
No. 16 Virginia vs. Duke in Charlotte, 8 p.m., ABC
UNC season scores
| Date | Month/day | Time/score | Location | Opponent (current rank) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||||
| 27 | Saturday | W, 56–24 | Home | Florida A&M | 1–0 |
| September | |||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 63–61 | Boone | Appalachian State | 2–0 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 35–28 | Atlanta | Georgia State | 3–0 |
| 24 | Saturday | L, 45–32 | Home | No. 19 Notre Dame | 3–1 |
| October | |||||
| 1 | Saturday | W, 41–10 | Home | Virginia Tech | 4–1, 1–0 ACC |
| 8 | Saturday | W, 27–24 | Miami Gardens, Fla. | Miami | 5–1, 2–0 ACC |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 38–35 | Durham | Duke | 6–1, 3–0 ACC |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 42–24 | Home | Pittsburgh | 7–1, 4–0 ACC |
| November | |||||
| 5 | Saturday | W, 31–28 | Charlottesville | Virginia | 8–1, 5–0 ACC |
| 12 | Saturday | W, 36–34 | Winston-Salem | Wake Forest | 9–1, 6–0 ACC |
| 19 | Saturday | L, 21–17 | Home | Georgia Tech | 9–2, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Friday | L, 30–27, 2 OTs | Home | No. 25 N.C. State | 9–3, 6–2 ACC |
| December | ACC championship | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 39–10 | Charlotte | No. 10 Clemson | 9–4 |
| Holiday Bowl | |||||
| 28 | Wednesday | L, 28–27 | San Diego | No. 15 Oregon | 9–5 |
Photo via @UNCFootball
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