By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina joined seven other ranked teams to lose Saturday and fall in the AP Top 25 poll, with the Tar Heels fell five spots to No. 18.
UNC (9–2, 6–1 ACC) was one of only three in that group to lose at home (also UCLA and Central Florida) and one of only two to fall against a team with a losing record (also Central Florida).
It’s the lowest ranking for the Tar Heels since they were No. 21 in Week 9.
Georgia Tech (5–6, 4–4 ACC) came to Kenan Stadium and stunned UNC (9–2, 6–1) to end the Tar Heels’ six-game winning streak and any hope of making the College Football Playoff. Carolina, which faces N.C. State (7–4, 3–4) in Chapel Hill at 3:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN2), can still win the ACC title by knocking off Clemson (10–1, 8–0) and earn an Orange Bowl berth.
If Carolina had beaten the Jackets, they probably would have moved up at least a couple of spots.
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The Tigers jumped from No. 9 to No. 7 after rolling to a 40–10 home victory over Miami.
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 12 was Brian Fonseca of the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. Two voters, Rick Wright of the Albuquerque Journal and former Herald-Sun sportswriter Mike Berardino of the South Bend Tribune, left UNC off their ballots.
Joe Giglio of WCMC (99.9 the Fan) in Raleigh has UNC No. 14, David Thompson of the Fayetteville Observer has the Heels No. 17 and Steve Wiseman of The News & Observer ranked UNC No 21.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Change | Poll points (first-place votes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia (11–0) | — | 1,574 (62) |
| 2 | Ohio State (11–0) | — | 1,507 (1) |
| 3 | Michigan (11–0) | — | 1,446 |
| 4 | TCU (11–0) | — | 1,395 |
| 5 | USC (10–1) | +2 | 1,293 |
| 6 | LSU (9–2) | — | 1,241 |
| 7 | Clemson (10–1) | +2 | 1,152 |
| 8 | Alabama (9–2) | — | 1,131 |
| 9 | Tennessee (9–2) | -4 | 1,058 |
| 10 | Oregon (9–2) | +2 | 1,009 |
| 11 | Penn State (9–2) | — | 994 |
| 12 | Washington (9–2) | +3 | 879 |
| 13 | Notre Dame (8–3) | +5 | 710 |
| 14 | Utah (8–3) | -4 | 709 |
| 15 | Kansas State (8–3) | +4 | 697 |
| 16 | Florida State (8–3) | +4 | 579 |
| 17 | UCLA (8–3) | -1 | 562 |
| 18 | North Carolina (9–2) | -5 | 464 |
| 19 | Tulane (9–2) | +2 | 441 |
| 20 | Ole Miss (8–3) | -6 | 395 |
| 21 | Cincinnati (9–2) | +1 | 353 |
| 22 | Oregon State (8–3) | =3 | 271 |
| 23 | Coastal Carolina (9–1) | — | 186 |
| 24 | Texas (7–4) | — | 128 |
| 25 | UCF (8–3) | -8 | 87 |
Others receiving votes: UTSA 85, South Carolina 44, Troy 34, Boise State 16, Illinois 12, Iowa 5, Louisville 5, South Alabama 3, Mississippi State 3, Oklahoma State 2, Arkansas 2, Purdue 2, Fresno State 1. Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first-place votes.
| 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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