By R.L. Bynum
After capturing the final ACC Coastal Division title with Saturday night’s 36–34 victory at Wake Forest, North Carolina moved up two spots in the AP Top 25 poll to No. 13.
It’s the Tar Heels’ highest ranking since they were No. 5 in Week 7 of the 2020 season. UNC moved up three slots to No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Carolina (9–1, 6–0 ACC), which is host to Georgia Tech (4–6, 3–4) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and N.C. State (7–3, 3–3) at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 25, will meet Clemson (9–1, 7–0) in the ACC championship game in Charlotte at 8 p.m. on Dec. 3.
“It’s an awesome feeling heading to Charlotte,” said redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who is looking forward to playing in the Charlotte Panthers’ stadium for the first time. He’s only played in a seven-on-seven tournament at the facility.
It’s UNC’s second appearance in the game after losing to the Tigers 45–37 in 2015.
The Tigers moved up from No. 10 to No 9 after a 31–16 win over Louisville and the Wolfpack fell from No. 16 to unranked after a stunning 21–20 home loss to Boston College. Florida State (7–3, 5–3) jumped from No. 23 to No. 20 after blowing out Syracuse 38–3.
Helping UNC move up were losses by UCLA (fell from No. 12 to No. 16 after a 34–28 loss to unranked Arizona) and Ole Miss (fell from No. 11 to No. 14 after a 30–24 loss to Alabama.)
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 8 was Brian Fonseca of the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., and ranking the Heels the lowest at No. 23 is Dave Reardon of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Joe Giglio of WCMC (99.9 the Fan) in Raleigh and David Thompson of the Fayetteville Observer each had UNC No. 15 and N.C. State No. 17. Giglio had the Deacs No. 19 and Thompson left them off his ballot. Steve Wiseman, the Duke beat writer for The News & Observer, had UNC No. 16, State No. 17 and didn’t rank Wake Forest.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Change | Poll points (1st-place votes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia (10-0) | — | 1,574 (62) |
| 2 | Ohio State (10-0) | — | 1,501 (1) |
| 3 | Michigan (10-0) | — | 1,453 |
| 4 | TCU (10-0) | — | 1,374 |
| 5 | Tennessee (9-1) | — | 1,341 |
| 6 | LSU (8-2) | +1 | 1,218 |
| 7 | USC (9-1) | +1 | 1,152 |
| 8 | Alabama (8-2) | +2 | 1,140 |
| 9 | Clemson (9-1) | +3 | 1,055 |
| 10 | Utah (8-2) | +3 | 965 |
| 11 | Penn State (8-2) | +3 | 882 |
| 12 | Oregon (8-2) | -6 | 856 |
| 13 | North Carolina (9-1) | +2 | 843 |
| 14 | Ole Miss (8-2) | -3 | 797 |
| 15 | Washington (8-2) | +9 | 693 |
| 16 | UCLA (8-2) | -7 | 648 |
| 17 | UCF (8-2) | +5 | 537 |
| 18 | Notre Dame (7-3) | +2 | 495 |
| 19 | Kansas State (7-3) | +4 | 468 |
| 20 | Florida State (7-3) | +5 | 386 |
| 21 | Tulane (8-2) | -5 | 273 |
| 22 | Cincinnati (8-2) | — | 237 |
| 23 | Coastal Carolina (9-1) | — | 143 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State (7-3) | — | 85 |
| 25 | Oregon State (7-3) | — | 81 |
Others receiving votes: N.C. State 77, Texas 65, UTSA 51, Troy 22, Duke 16, Liberty 15, Illinois 13, Minnesota 7, Florida 6, Boise State 5, South Alabama 1. Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first-place votes.
ACC standings
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| X — No. 5 Florida State | 8–0 | 12–0 |
| X — No. 9 Louisville | 7–1 | 10–2 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 9–3 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–3 | 6–6 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–3 | 6–6 |
| Clemson | 4–4 | 8–4 |
| North Carolina | 4–4 | 8–4 |
| Duke | 4–4 | 7–5 |
| Miami | 3–5 | 7–5 |
| Boston College | 3–5 | 6–6 |
| Syracuse | 2–6 | 6–6 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–6 | 3–9 |
| Virginia | 2–6 | 3–9 |
| Wake Forest | 1–7 | 4–8 |
Friday’s result
Miami 45, Boston College 20
Saturday’s games
Kentucky 38, No. 9 Louisville 31
Duke 30, Pittsburgh 19
Syracuse 35, Wake Forest 31
No. 1 Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 23
Virginia Tech 55, Virginia 17
Clemson 16, South Carolina 7
No. 5 Florida State 24, Florida 15
N.C. State 39, North Carolina 20
Next Saturday’s ACC championship game in Charlotte
No. 9 Louisville vs. No. 5 Florida State, 8 p.m., ABC
| 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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