CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 North Carolina

3–⁠9 (1–⁠7 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Larry Fedora.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2017, game by game: lost vs. California 30–35; lost vs. No. 17 Louisville 35–47; won at Old Dominion 53–23; lost vs. Duke 17–27; lost at Georgia Tech 7–33; lost vs. No. 21 Notre Dame 10–33; lost vs. Virginia 14–20; lost at No. 14 Virginia Tech 7–59; lost vs. No. 8 Miami 19–24; won at Pittsburgh 34–31; won vs. Western Carolina 65–10; lost at NC State 21–33+55−52Lost 30–35 vs. California-5CaliforniaLost 35–47 vs. No. 17 Louisville-12No. 17 LouisvilleWon 53–23 at Old Dominion+30Old DominionLost 17–27 vs. Duke-10DukeLost 7–33 at Georgia Tech-26Georgia TechLost 10–33 vs. No. 21 Notre Dame-23No. 21 Notre DameLost 14–20 vs. Virginia-6VirginiaLost 7–59 at No. 14 Virginia Tech-52No. 14 Virginia TechLost 19–24 vs. No. 8 Miami-5No. 8 MiamiWon 34–31 at Pittsburgh+3PittsburghWon 65–10 vs. Western Carolina+55Western CarolinaLost 21–33 at NC State-12NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsCaliforniaL 30–⁠3568%
Sep 9vs17LouisvilleL 35–⁠4750%
Sep 16atOld DominionW 53–⁠2340%
Sep 23vsDukeL 17–⁠2762%
Sep 30atGeorgia TechL 7–⁠3335%
Oct 7vs21Notre DameL 10–⁠3340%
Oct 14vsVirginiaL 14–⁠2057%
Oct 21at14Virginia TechL 7–⁠5921%
Oct 28vs8MiamiL 19–⁠2425%
Nov 9atPittsburghW 34–⁠3132%
Nov 18vsWestern CarolinaW 65–⁠1073%
Nov 25atNC StateL 21–⁠3328%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to NC State 33–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; 14th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 88th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠7 14th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
312–⁠375
Coach
Larry Fedora
Elo
1477 −105 this season
SP+ rating
4.3 No. 55 of 128; offense No. 56, defense No. 58, special teams No. 30
SRS
0.7 No. 63 of 130 in FBS
Returning
16% of last season’s EPA, No. 127 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 29 roster talent No. 27 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Gunter Brewer and Chris Kapilovic
Defensive coordinator
John Papuchis
Captains
Nathan Elliott, Cole Holcomb, Donnie Miles, Bentley Spain and M.J. Stewart
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense113th of 130
  • Defense91st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted109th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted87th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0338%1.28113th of 130
Defense0.1544%1.2891st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.13 def		40% off
42% def		—109th off
87th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.4own 3219% allowed
Defense3.3own 3217% caused

CORE rating -6.2, 91st of 130 (offense -4.1, defense 2.1).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsChazz Surratt LB1,342 yds
Passing touchdownsNathan Elliott QB9 TD
Rushing yardsJordon Brown 613 yds
Rushing touchdownsMichael Carter RB8 TD
Receiving yardsAnthony Ratliff-Williams WR630 yds
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Ratliff-Williams WR6 TD
TacklesCole Holcomb LB93 tkl
SacksMalik Carney DE5.5 sacks
InterceptionsMyles Dorn DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Jonah Melton OG★★★★No. 144
Jake Lawler WDE★★★★No. 175
C.J. Cotman ATH★★★★No. 276
Tre Shaw CB★★★★No. 313
J.T. Cauthen WR★★★No. 360

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.798
Running backs23.00.869
Receivers23.00.864
Offensive line53.20.876
Defensive line33.30.894
Linebackers23.00.854
Defensive backs23.50.876
Athletes and specialists53.20.831
Whole class223.20.861

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 2M.J. Stewart CBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Andre Smith ILBCarolina Panthers
Rd 7Austin Proehl WRBuffalo Bills

Roster 106

The 2017 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson7–⁠112–⁠24
Miami7–⁠110–⁠313
NC State6–⁠29–⁠423
Virginia Tech5–⁠39–⁠424
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Georgia Tech4–⁠45–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠57–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠56–⁠7
Pittsburgh3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
North Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9

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