North Carolina is entering its third year in the Larry Fedora era, and although things have gotten off to a rocky start this year—four players were recently suspended amid an investigation into an alleged hazing incident—the Tar Heels are still the lone ranked team in the Coastal and are many analysts' pick to meet Florida State in Charlotte this year for the ACC Championship game.
Last season the Tar Heels started off 1-5 and seemed to be going nowhere fast. But then North Carolina—kickstarted by the play of quarterback Marquise Williams and receiver/returner Ryan Switzer—hit its stride, churning out victories in five of its final six regular season games, the sole loss a 27-25 defeat at the hands of the Blue Devils.
One of the positions that stands out for North Carolina is its depth at running back. They boast a speed demon in Romar Morris and a bruiser of a freshman in Elijah Hood. Pair those two with Khris France and T.J. Logan and the Tar Heel backfield starts to look scarily good.
As it has always been, Fedora likes to play things close to the chest, so despite Williams' standout finish to last year's campaign, the Tar Heels still have yet to name their starting quarterback. But it can be expected that the dual-threat Williams will be the main signal caller when the season kicks off.
North Carolina will make the short trip to Wallace Wade Stadium Thursday Nov. 20 to take on Duke in primetime on ESPN. Being the next-to-last game on the schedule, this one will be just as big as the past two grudge matches between the two, and is sure to have ACC Coastal title implications riding on the outcome.
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