By R.L. Bynum
Carolina moved up two spots to No. 22 in the AP Top 25 after the Tar Heels’ thrilling 47–45 double-overtime homecoming victory on Saturday night.
The senior night win, with its twists and turns, maintained an outside chance at making the ACC championship game for UNC (8–2, 4–2 ACC), which visits resurgent Clemson (6–4, 3–4) after its 41–21 home victory over Georgia Tech.
It’s the 11th week that UNC is as an AP ranked team this season, the most since making the poll 13 times in the 2020 season.
The Tar Heels jumped three spots in the Coaches Poll to No. 20.
Unlike the previous week when several ranked teams lost to unranked teams, that happened only twice this weekend, with Oklahoma State (which fell from No. 15 to No. 24) falling to Central Florida 45–3 and Kansas (which was No. 16 but dropped out of the poll) losing to Texas Tech 16–13.
Florida State stayed at No. 4 and Louisville moved up two spots to No. 9.
Ranking UNC the highest at No. 15 was Jack Ebling of WSYM in Lansing, Mich.
Steve Wiseman, the Duke beat writer for The News & Observer, voted UNC No. 17. WNCN’s Jordan Crammer ranked the Tar Heels No. 22 and WTVD’s Kate Rogerson had them No. 23.
Five voters didn’t rank UNC.
AP Top 25
| Rank | School (1st-place votes) | Poll points | Previous | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia (54) | 1,540 | 1 | 10-0 |
| 2 | Michigan (7) | 1,464 | 2 | 10-0 |
| 3 | Ohio State (1) | 1,433 | 3 | 10-0 |
| 4 | Florida State | 1,366 | 4 | 10-0 |
| 5 | Washington | 1,322 | 5 | 10-0 |
| 6 | Oregon | 1,218 | 6 | 9-1 |
| 7 | Texas | 1,180 | 7 | 9-1 |
| 8 | Alabama | 1,141 | 8 | 9-1 |
| 9 | Louisville | 1,002 | 11 | 9-1 |
| 10 | Oregon State | 934 | 12 | 8-2 |
| 11 | Missouri | 917 | 16 | 8-2 |
| 12 | Penn State | 857 | 9 | 8-2 |
| 13 | Ole Miss | 810 | 10 | 8-2 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 733 | 17 | 8-2 |
| 15 | LSU | 703 | 18 | 7-3 |
| 16 | Utah | 543 | 13 | 7-3 |
| 17 | Tulane | 412 | 20 | 9-1 |
| 18 | James Madison | 405 | 21 | 10-0 |
| 19 | Arizona | 387 | 23 | 7-3 |
| 20 | Notre Dame | 359 | 22 | 7-3 |
| 21 | Tennessee | 333 | 14 | 7-3 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 265 | 24 | 8-2 |
| 23 | Kansas State | 240 | NR | 7-3 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 178 | 15 | 7-3 |
| 25 | Liberty | 133 | 25 | 10-0 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Iowa 111, Kansas 83, Toledo 51, Fresno State 13, Southern California 5, UNLV 4, SMU 4, NC State 2, Miami (OH) 1, Texas A&M 1.
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
UNC schedule
| Month/ date | Opponent/event | 2023 record | UNC record in series |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | |||
| 20 | Spring game, 3 p.m. | — | — |
| August | |||
| 29 (Thurs.) | at Minnesota | 6–7 | 1–0 |
| September | |||
| 7 | Charlotte | 3–9 | 0–0 |
| 14 | N.C. Central | 9–3 | 0–0 |
| 21 | James Madison | 11–2 | 3–0 |
| 28 | at Duke | 8–5 | 65–40–4 |
| October | |||
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 3–9 | 12–5 |
| 12 | Georgia Tech | 7–6 | 22–33–3 |
| 26 | at Virginia | 3–9 | 66–58–4 |
| November | |||
| 2 | at Florida State | 13–1 | 3–17–1 |
| 16 | Wake Forest | 4–8 | 72–36–2 |
| 23 | at Boston College | 7–6 | 6–2 |
| 30 | N.C. State | 9–4 | 68–39–6 |
Photo via @UNCFootball
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