What North Carolina's Win Means For Bowl Game Chances In Bill Belichick's First Year

4 jam yang lalu

The tide appears to person turned successful Chapel Hill.

After a disastrous commencement to Bill Belichick’s tenure arsenic nan caput coach of UNC, nan Tar Heels person responded pinch back-to-back wins against Syracuse and Stanford.

Since reports emerged astir dysfunction nether Belichick’s lead aft North Carolina endured a 38–10 blowout nonaccomplishment to Clemson successful early October and Belichick reiterated his committedness to nan team, UNC has turned things around. While nan Tar Heels dropped their adjacent 2 games to autumn to 2–5 connected nan season, they showed overmuch amended conflict successful constrictive losses to Cal and Virginia.

Over nan past 2 weeks, North Carolina has translated those performances into wins. A week ago, nan Tar Heels took down nan Orange successful a 27–10 win. On Saturday, they earned a 20–15 triumph complete Stanford arsenic they sacked nan Cardinal 9 times and forced 2 turnovers.

At 4–5, nan Tar Heels person fixed themselves a chance to make a vessel game. Here’s a look astatine what North Carolina needs to do to go vessel crippled eligible.

To go vessel crippled eligible, a squad needs to decorativeness nan play pinch astatine slightest a .500 record, aliases triumph a minimum of six games and decorativeness nan regular play 6–6. Only 1 triumph against an FCS squad will count to that total, and only if that schoolhouse has fixed retired astatine slightest 90% of nan scholarships nan FCS has allowed it to complete nan past 2 years.

UNC presently has 4 wins, pinch 1 of those coming against Richmond, an FCS program. Since location are 3 games remaining connected nan Tar Heels’ schedule, they request to triumph astatine slightest 2 of those to go eligible for a vessel game.

While each 3 of UNC’s upcoming opponents clasp winning records, they are beatable foes. The Tar Heels will return connected 6–3 Wake Forest, earlier facing 5–4 Duke and 5–4 North Carolina State complete nan last weeks of nan regular season.

If UNC only wins 1 much crippled and finishes 5–7, location still is simply a chance, albeit a importantly little one, that it qualifies for a vessel game. In seasons erstwhile location aren’t capable vessel eligible teams to capable each vessel crippled spot, teams tin beryllium chosen to play successful a vessel crippled if they (in order) fell beneath .500 aft losing successful nan convention title game, would person been vessel eligible had an FCS force they faced gave retired capable scholarships, were a 6–7 squad that did not play successful a convention title game, moving from nan FCS to FBS, aliases went 5–7, selected successful bid of their Academic Progress Rate.

UNC has played successful a vessel crippled successful six consecutive seasons, but person not won 1 since 2019.