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No. 3 Carolina and No. 12 Alabama waged a physical battle that didn’t include many good scoring chances, and the Crimson Tide’s press got the best of the Tar Heels for much of the night. The Tide drew 12 fouls and three yellow cards, making it tough for UNC as the teams played to a 1–1 draw Sunday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
There was room to grow for Washington quarterback Sam Howell in his first NFL start as QB1 on Sunday, but at least he got a victory. Howell rebounded from an interception and a costly fumble to throw for one touchdown and run for another as the Commanders earned a 20–16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in the opener for both teams.
Carolina’s thrilling 40–34 double-overtime victory over Appalachian State didn’t impress AP voters enough for the Tar Heels to move up in the Top 25 poll. Barely beating a Sun Belt Conference team cost them in the rankings. UNC (2–0) fell three spots to No. 20 in the latest AP Top 25, released Sunday afternoon, heading into its 3:30 Saturday game against Minnesota (2–0) in a game that ESPN will televise.
Last Saturday seems so far away. Just one week ago, UNC manhandled South Carolina in a physically dominating show by the defense. On Saturday night against Appalachian State, the ghosts of Tar Heel defenses past came to haunt Kenan Stadium in Carolina’s home opener.
Watch Carolina players Omarion Hampton, Drake Maye and Cedric Gray talk about the Tar Heels’ victory over Appalachian State.
Watch Coach Mack Brown’s press conference after Carolina’s double-OT victory Saturday over Appalachian State.
By R.L. Bynum CHAPEL HILL — On a night when Carolina struggled to find a rhythm on offense, sophomore running … More
While Drake Powell continues to rise in the ESPN rankings impressively, the other five players committed to Carolina’s men’s and women’s basketball teams all dropped with the latest list. ESPN has changed Powell from a four-star to a five-star and elevated him from 34th in the Class of 2024 to 12th.
A pair of top-10 SEC teams haven’t been able to overcome the No. 3 North Carolina women’s soccer team. Five days after the Tar Heels were the better Carolina on the football field, they proved the same on the soccer pitch. Four days after a two-goal win over No. 7 Arkansas in Chapel Hill, the undefeated Tar Heels won 2–1 in Columbia, S.C., on Thursday night to give No. 10 South Carolina its first loss.
You’re likely frustrated if you are a Spectrum cable customer who can’t make it to Kenan Stadium for Saturday’s 5:15 UNC home football opener against Appalachian State. ACC Network, one of the 26 channels currently off Spectrum’s menu because of a carriage dispute between Charter Communications and Disney, will televise the game.
Undefeated Carolina moved up in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 women’s rankings, and the Tar Heels’ dominant defense continues a stranglehold on the ACC Defensive Player of the Week honor. The Tar Heels (4–0–2) went up one spot to No. 3 in the poll.
After an impressive defensive performance in an opening-game victory in Charlotte over South Carolina, North Carolina jumped four spots to No. 17 in the latest AP Top 25 football poll to continue the Tar Heels’ best early-season ranking stretch in 40 years.
The biggest spotlights will be on Sam Howell and Javonte Williams as the NFL season starts this week, but rookies such as Josh Downs will also be worth watching. Dyami Brown may get more chances early this season, and three other UNC alums moved up on depth charts leading up to this weekend’s openers.
In the first Top 20 NFHCA poll since North Carolina garnered the top preseason ranking, the Tar Heels fell to No. 2 in the poll released Tuesday morning. The Tar Heels rebounded from a 3–2 Aug. 27 home overtime loss to Iowa, their first setback since 2021, to sweep a pair of games last weekend at the ACC-Ivy Challenge in Philadelphia. UNC beat Penn 4–0, then knocked off Princeton 2–1 in overtime, dropping the Tigers from No. 10 to No. 15.
Mack Brown says college sports decision-makers make big moves with an eye on money, with little consideration of the other effects of the changes. The veteran North Carolina coach says that one of those times was Friday, when the ACC college presidents voted to add Stanford, Cal and SMU to the league over the objections of his school’s leadership.
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