North Carolina Football: 2017 season preview, predictions

North Carolina football faces 2017 without all of their stars on the offensive side of the ball from the past few seasons, but how will it turn out?

In five seasons, head coach Larry Fedora has done an amazing job of taking the North Carolina football program from the sanctions and scandal of the Butch Davis era to heights it hasn’t seen since Mack Brown roamed the sidelines in Chapel Hill.

Fedora’s Tar Heels have been bowl eligible in all five seasons since he has come to Chapel Hill, including in 2012 when they won eight games and tied for first in the Coastal Division but had to serve a one-year bowl ban for the sins of the previous administration.

The high point for UNC was two years ago with an 11-1 regular season, a Coastal title, and a trip to the ACC Championship game. Unfortunately, the Heels dropped that game and their bowl game, but the season was still an unmitigated success. Fedora showed Carolina was a force to be reckoned with not just in March Madness but on the gridiron as well.

Last year was somewhat strange. Carolina entered the season with a quarterback that everyone had high hopes for but played a limited role behind Marquise Williams during their dominant 2015. Junior Mitch Trubisky ended up dazzling scouts with the help of the plethora of weapons surrounding him. The Bears took him second overall in the draft.

However, with all that talent the Heels had coming off an 11-3 season, the 2016 season felt like somewhat of a disappointment with an 8-4 regular season and another bowl loss.

The Battle of North Carolina

UNC is sneakily a pretty great job for a college football coach. The expectations are low and outshined by the basketball team. However, they have money to throw around for facilities and coach salaries. Boosters and alumni want a football program that is fun to watch and tailgate because they need something to do on those beautiful North Carolina fall days before Carolina basketball starts.

Fedora has been the best coach Carolina has had since Mack Brown. Butch Davis would be in the discussion if not for the whole vacated wins thing. Fedora has exceeded nearly every expectation Carolina fans have for their football team.

There is one area where UNC fans are uncompromising–beat the in-state rivals. Duke, NC State, and UNC fans hate each other and are forced to interact daily because of the proximity of the schools and the population density of alumni and fans. While basketball is the main contention in those year-round bragging rights discussions, football definitely has a place of prominence.

Carolina fans are not thrilled about the 1-3 bowl record, but basketball starts by the time any bowl game rolls around. Rival fans don’t let them hear the end of a loss to Duke or NC State. Fedora is 2-3 in games against Duke and 3-2 against NC State. Last season, he lost to both of them which kept the Heels from making a return trip to the ACC Championship game. He’s also 1-2 against East Carolina and lost to South Carolina in 2015 to see who is the real “Carolina.”

In what will be a down year for the Tar Heels, Fedora will still have most fans calling 2017 a success if they take care of NC State and Duke.