North Carolina Football: Ranking 2020 opponents by toughness

North Carolina football heads into the 2020 season with as much hype as anyone not named Clemson in the ACC. Will the schedule help?

Mack Brown is back, folks. After taking some time away from coaching after leaving Texas, the legendary head coach went back to North Carolina in 2019 and turned the Tar Heels right around.

Not only did North Carolina shock people on the field last season with a 7-6 finish and a Military Bowl win over Temple, but the Tar Heels have been on an absolute tear on the recruiting trail. If there’s any reason for excitement in Chapel Hill, it has to be attributed to the fact that Brown is one of the best coaches out there.

This quick turnaround after a disastrous end to the Larry Fedora era is surprising, but now the Tar Heels are taking that next step and there’s plenty of ACC title talk now.

Clemson is the clear favorite to win the conference again, but if there’s going to be a team to rise up and bite the Tigers, it would have to be someone like North Carolina or Louisville. The Tar Heels nearly upset the Tigers last season in Chapel Hill, taking Clemson down to the wire before losing 21-20. Clemson isn’t on the schedule for the regular season in 2020, but a meeting in the ACC title game is very possible.

Let’s take a look at the road North Carolina has to travel in order to get there, ranking the Tar Heels’ 2020 opponents by toughness.