ACC Football: 3 teams that could dethrone Clemson in 2020

1. North Carolina Tar Heels

I think that the Tar Heels are not only one of the most intriguing teams in the ACC, but in the entire country.

North Carolina was another team that I was not very high on going into last season. After back-to-back three-win seasons, I thought that North Carolina was not heading anywhere and that Mack Brown was a poor, retread hire. Well, that shows you how much I know because North Carolina finished 7-6 with all of its losses by single-digits and were a two-point conversion stop away from pulling a massive upset against Clemson.

After bringing in a top 25 recruiting class and are top 20 in the entire country in returning production, including quarterback Sam Howell, North Carolina is looking to win their first Coastal division title since 2015.

I think that their offense will be one of the most exciting in the country with Howell, leading rusher Michael Carter, top two receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome and linebacker Chazz Surratt back to lead the defense.

I happen to believe that Sam Howell should be on everyone’s short list of Heisman Trophy dark horse candidates because I think that he’s in for a very big season.

We will find out about North Carolina very quickly with them having two big non conference tilts to start the season against UCF and Auburn. Splitting those games would be a win in my opinion.

It will be interesting to see how the Tar Heels deal with some expectations and pressure this season, but they are my early favorites in the coastal division and also to be Clemson’s biggest threat in the ACC (don’t worry the gap between Clemson and everyone else is still very big).