CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1953 North Carolina

4–⁠6 (2–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by George Barclay.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 1953, game by game: won vs. NC State 29–7; won vs. Washington and Lee 39–0; won at Wake Forest 18–13; lost vs. No. 3 Maryland 0–26; lost at Georgia 14–27; lost vs. Tennessee 6–20; lost at South Carolina 0–18; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 14–34; won at Virginia 33–7; lost at Duke 20–35+39−26Won 29–7 vs. NC State+22NC StateWon 39–0 vs. Washington and Lee+39Washington and …Won 18–13 at Wake Forest+5Wake ForestLost 0–26 vs. No. 3 Maryland-26No. 3 MarylandLost 14–27 at Georgia-13GeorgiaLost 6–20 vs. Tennessee-14TennesseeLost 0–18 at South Carolina-18South CarolinaLost 14–34 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-20No. 1 Notre DameWon 33–7 at Virginia+26VirginiaLost 20–35 at Duke-15Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26vsNC StateW 29–⁠769%
Oct 3vsWashington and LeeW 39–⁠068%
Oct 10atWake ForestW 18–⁠1339%
Oct 17vs3MarylandL 0–⁠2634%
Oct 24atGeorgiaL 14–⁠2740%
Oct 31vsTennesseeL 6–⁠2046%
Nov 7atSouth CarolinaL 0–⁠1833%
Nov 14vs1Notre DameL 14–⁠3420%
Nov 21atVirginiaW 33–⁠751%
Nov 28atDukeL 20–⁠3519%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Duke 35–⁠20; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 97th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

Record
4–⁠6
Conference
2–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
173–⁠187
Coach
George Barclay
Elo
1466 −9 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−1.6 No. 62 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Ken Yarborough

1953 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke4–⁠07–⁠2–⁠118
Maryland3–⁠010–⁠11
South Carolina2–⁠37–⁠3
North Carolina2–⁠34–⁠6
Wake Forest2–⁠33–⁠6–⁠1
Clemson1–⁠23–⁠5–⁠1
NC State0–⁠31–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.