Where does UNC football fit nationally? It will find out against No. 2 Notre Dame.
North Carolina stands largely an empty campus as finals come to an end, unlike last season when No. 1 Clemson came to Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels were reminded every class, every walk across the yard, about the chance for a season-defining -- arguably even program-defining -- victory.
Don’t be fooled into thinking the lack of prerequisite hype has lessened the magnitude of Friday’s football game against No. 2 Notre Dame. Like many things during the COVID-19 pandemic, the hype has gone virtual and the ramifications are a hard reality.
“If we could get them off social media, that would really help, but they’re not gonna get off social media so they’re gonna know how big the game is,” UNC coach Mack Brown told reporters on a video call. “They’re going to be told all week how big the game is and that’s okay. It is big, so they need to understand that.”
To put it in broadcast terms, ESPN/ABC is sending its No. 1 team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor to Chapel Hill to announce the game. The only thing bigger would be if ESPN’s College GameDay was also in tow.
“We definitely understand this is a big opportunity for our team,” UNC quarterback Sam Howell told reporters on Sunday. “It’s a tremendous challenge and a team like Notre Dame, I mean, we know the impact a win like this can have on a program.”
How the Tar Heels stack up against top 5 teams
Brown said the game will give him a chance to “see where we fit” nationally. He has used different barometers throughout the season to gauge where the program is in his second season. The No. 25 Heels failed their biggest test back in October when he wondered how they would handle success and being ranked No. 5. They fell 31-28 at Florida State in a loss that looks worse each time it’s re-examined. The Seminoles haven’t won a game since, losing by an average score of 42-18 in three games.
The best way for UNC (6-2, 6-2 ACC) to erase the memory of that performance and its 44-41 loss at Virginia, would be to hand the Irish (8-0, 7-0 ACC) their first loss of the season. It would subsequently keep the Heels’ slim chance of reaching the ACC title game alive. With two conference losses, they have to win Friday and beat Miami while hoping the Irish or Clemson stumble at least once in their final games.
History isn’t on their side. North Carolina is just 2-18 against Notre Dame all-time and, technically, its win in 2008 was vacated due to NCAA sanctions so the official record is 1-18. UNC has been just as bad historically against top 5 opponents going 1-39-1. Brown contributed a pair of those losses himself, while guiding top 5 Texas teams past the Heels in 2001 and 2002. Carolina’s lone win was a 28-24 victory over No. 4 Miami in 2004.
Of course, none of that matters to the Tar Heels’ current roster of players who hadn’t been born for the majority of those games. What this team does know is they were a two-point conversion away from upsetting the top-ranked Tigers last season. Junior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel told reporters on a video call Sunday that 21-20 loss to Clemson taught them they can play with the best.
“There are no moral victories, but looking back and looking on film, we went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in the country,” Gemmel said. “And I feel like that spread throughout the locker room and everybody got a lot more confidence coming after that game. Even though we did lose the game, our team got a step of confidence.”
Some UNC players could return from injury
The Heels got a confidence boost in their off week with a few players getting healthy. Starting sophomore cornerbacks Kyler McMichael and Storm Duck returned to practice. McMichael is cleared to play against the Irish. Duck, who hasn’t played since UNC’s Oct. 3 win over Boston College, will be a game-time decision. Offensive starters junior center Brian Anderson and senior receiver Beau Corrales are also game-time decisions.
Carolina believes it has the offensive weapons to score on any team -- even Notre Dame, which enters the game No. 1 in scoring defense and total defense in the ACC. This game will let the Heels know if they can beat any team.
“We know where Notre Dame is -- they’re one of the best teams in the country,” Brown said. “They’re probably a playoff team. Right now people would project they’ll definitely be in the ACC championship game. They dominated most of the teams I’ve played. So everybody knows where Notre Dame is. Nobody knows where we are.”
Brown will get the answer he’s been waiting for on Friday night.
No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 25 UNC
When: 3:30 p.m., Friday
Where: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill
Watch: ABC
This story was originally published November 26, 2020 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Where does UNC football fit nationally? It will find out against No. 2 Notre Dame.."