After consecutive losses to Clemson and Notre Dame, the UNC football team needs to re-discover its early-season magic that led to consecutive wins.
North Carolina (2-2, 0-1 ACC) played Notre Dame close for most of Saturday afternoon's matchup, but ultimately lost 37-26. The Fighting Irish (5-0) ran for a season-high 241 yards, while quarterback CJ Carr totaled five touchdowns.
In USA TODAY Sports' re-rank of all 138 FBS teams, the Tar Heels dropped 15 spots, falling from 53rd overall to 68th.
UNC is sandwiched between Air Force (67) and Syracuse, the latter of which comes to Kenan Stadium on October 24. Notre Dame remains third overall, while North Carolina's next opponent, Pitt, jumped 10 spots to 14th.
The Tar Heels have one of the country's toughest
schedules, already playing the Fighting Irish and a struggling, historically strong Clemson squad. UNC plays its second ranked team in the Panthers (5-0, 2-0 ACC) this coming weekend, possibly another ranked squad at Duke on October 17, then hosts Miami (FL) on Halloween.
After the results from Week 5 of the college football season, the SEC has dominated the top of the NCAA Re-Rank 1-138. https://t.co/XP7hS6go0K
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) October 5, 2026
North Carolina's offense looks much better under offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, thanks to big plays and a consistent scoring threat. Benjamin Hall leads a deep running back room, while Jordan Shipp and Jelani Thurman given the Tar Heels two deadly receiving options. Billy Edwards looks much more comfortable at quarterback than Gio Lopez, who ironically is now thriving at Wake Forest as a Top-15 passer.
UNC needs six wins to reach bowl eligibility, which is an attainable goal with eight games left. Can North Carolina re-start towards that goal with an upset win in the Keystone State?
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC suffers big drop in USA TODAY Sports' Week 5 CFB re-rank
