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.
ACC standings
| ACC | All | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal | W | L | W | L |
| X-No. 13 North Carolina | 6 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Duke | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| Pittsburgh | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Miami | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Georgia Tech | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Virginia | 1 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Virginia Tech | 1 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| ACC | All | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | W | L | W | L |
| X-No. 9 Clemson | 7 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| No. 20 Florida State | 5 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Syracuse | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| N.C. State | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Louisville | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Wake Forest | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Boston College | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
X-Clinched division title
Saturday’s results
North Carolina 36, Wake Forest 34
Duke 24, Virginia Tech 7
Pittsburgh 37, Virginia 7
Miami 35, Georgia Tech 14
Clemson 31, Louisville 16
Boston College 21, N.C. State 20
Florida State 38, Syracuse 3
Saturday’s games
Louisiana at Florida State, noon, ESPN3
Virginia Tech at Liberty, noon, ESPN+
Duke at Pittsburgh, noon, ACC Network
Boston College at Notre Dame, 2:30, NBC
Miami at Clemson, 3:30, ESPN
N.C. State at Louisville, 3:30, ACC Network
Coastal Carolina at Virginia, 3:30, ESPN3
Georgia Tech at North Carolina, 5:30, ESPN2
Syracuse at Wake Forest, 8 p.m., ACC Network
| 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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