2011 Record: 7-6, 3-5 ACC
2011 Bowl: Independence Bowl vs. Missouri, L 24-41
Head coach: Larry Fedora
Odds to win BCS Championship: Ineligible
Odds to win ACC: Ineligible
Offense
UNC is in the process of undergoing a major team makeover under their new coach Larry Fedora. He likes to utilize the no huddle offense and the Tar Heels just want to pick up the pace in general so that they can wear opponents out and pounce on them late in games. Fedora will seek to keep a general balance between running and passing plays to keep opponents guessing.
Junior Bryn Renner will be the QB this year and he led the ACC in passing efficiency last year while throwing a UNC record 26 TDs last season as the starter. It’s not going to hurt having a tailback as talented as Giovani Bernard, who led all FBS freshman in rushing and became the first 1,000+ yard rusher for the Tar Heels since 1997. The Tar Heels also return four of their five starters up front, including LG Johathan Cooper and tackle James Hurst. Every lineman is at least 6’3″ and all weigh at least 305. UNC will have the QB and running backs well guarded this year.
Losing WR Dwight Jones will be a blow as Jones had almost 1200 receiving yards and 12 TDs in his senior season. They will now rely on Erik Highsmith and T.J. Thorpe to do most of the damage running pass routes. Sean Tapley and Todd Harrelson could also be big contributors, after playing cornerback in recent times.
Defense
The Tar Heels are changing their defense this year. They will be going from the traditional 4-3 to a 4-2-5 which will focus on creating confusion in opposing offenses while also being disruptive to the flow of plays. They will have to do this without having any big time NFL-level players in their defense, but they do have some heady players that should be able to make a difference.
Tackle Sylvester Williams and end Kareem Martin are both going to be key on the defensive line and they need to work on stopping the run. Last year they were great at it, ranking 3rd in the ACC in rush defense. That will serve them well against teams like Georgia Tech, as they face the Yellow Jackets on the 24th of September. Their pass defense could use some work, as it ranked 10th in the ACC last season. Overall, they still were not so hot, ranking 7th in the ACC while giving up 365 yards per game. That may be a problem again this year as both cornerbacks (Jabari Price & Tim Scott) have only 2 combined starts between them.
Special Teams
Casey Barth is one of the ACC’s best kickers which will be a big boon to Fedora and his staff this season, as the Tar Heels are going to look to control games with strong special teams efforts. Barth suffered a groin injury last season and is now a fifth year senior. He will be able to tie his brother Connor for the UNC record, but it won’t help that his snapper and place holder are both new. The aforementioned Thorpe led the league in kickoff return as a freshman. The Tar Heels must improve their punting, though, as they ranked 8th in the ACC in punt return average in 2011.
Outlook
The fact that they are precluded from bowl game action hangs a dark cloud over the Tar Heels heads. How can any season with such restrictions ever be considered a success?
Still, bowl game or ACC championship aside, Tar Heels fans realize this could be a good team and a good year. Their offense is strong and could put up huge yardage/points so it could be a momentum building season if the defense can at least play average defense. The thought is then, that moving forward, they could continue to attract top recruits.
We have plenty of college football betting picks available for the upcoming season and recommend getting aboard with our winning team of handicappers!
