The North Carolina Tar Heels put themselves in a strong position to beat Clemson on Saturday, a statement you don’t hear very often.
UNC entered that ACC football opener between both teams with two wins to start 2026. The Tigers scuffled in at 1-1, coupling a blowout loss at LSU with a closer-than-expected win over Georgia Southern.
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North Carolina watched a 14-point lead turn into a 28-20 loss, creating more questions than answers. Despite their epic collapse, the Tar Heels (2-1, 0-1 ACC) only dropped two spots in USA TODAY Sports’ latest re-rank of all 138 FBS teams, falling to 56th.
Clemson (2-1, 1-0), on the other hand, surged 20 spots to 54th. The Tigers are a shell of their former glory, but they deserve a big jump after their massive comeback.
UNC entered halftime with a 17-6 lead, locking down defensively while generating just enough offense to keep Clemson guessing. North Carolina didn’t score again until the fourth quarter, when Aeron Burrell connected on a 22-yard field after a lengthy weather delay.
