CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2019 North Carolina

7–⁠6 (4–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Mack Brown.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2019, game by game: won vs. South Carolina 24–20; won vs. Miami 28–25; lost at Wake Forest 18–24; lost vs. App State 31–34; lost vs. No. 1 Clemson 20–21; won at Georgia Tech 38–22; lost at Virginia Tech 41–43; won vs. Duke 20–17; lost vs. Virginia 31–38; lost at Pittsburgh 27–34; won vs. Mercer 56–7; won at NC State 41–10; won vs. Temple 55–13+49−7Won 24–20 vs. South Carolina+4South CarolinaWon 28–25 vs. Miami+3MiamiLost 18–24 at Wake Forest-6Wake ForestLost 31–34 vs. App State-3App StateLost 20–21 vs. No. 1 Clemson-1No. 1 ClemsonWon 38–22 at Georgia Tech+16Georgia TechLost 41–43 at Virginia Tech-2Virginia TechWon 20–17 vs. Duke+3DukeLost 31–38 vs. Virginia-7VirginiaLost 27–34 at Pittsburgh-7PittsburghWon 56–7 vs. Mercer+49MercerWon 41–10 at NC State+31NC StateWon 55–13 vs. Temple+42Temple
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsSouth CarolinaW 24–⁠2035%
Sep 7vsMiamiW 28–⁠2543%
Sep 13atWake ForestL 18–⁠2428%
Sep 21vsApp StateL 31–⁠3431%
Sep 28vs1ClemsonL 20–⁠2113%
Oct 5atGeorgia TechW 38–⁠2236%
Oct 19atVirginia TechL 41–⁠4337%
Oct 26vsDukeW 20–⁠1743%
Nov 2vsVirginiaL 31–⁠3845%
Nov 14atPittsburghL 27–⁠3427%
Nov 23vsMercerW 56–⁠785%
Nov 30atNC StateW 41–⁠1045%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsTempleMilitary BowlW 55–⁠1341%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Temple 55–⁠13 in the Military Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 51st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠5 10th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
430–⁠308
Coach
Mack Brown
Elo
1557 +131 this season
SP+ rating
10.3 No. 30 of 130; offense No. 25, defense No. 43, special teams No. 73
SRS
7.1 No. 35 of 130 in FBS
Returning
52% of last season’s EPA, No. 89 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 30 roster talent No. 28 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Phil Longo
Defensive coordinators
Jay Bateman and Tommy Thigpen
Captains
British Brooks, Myles Dorn, Charlie Heck, Sam Howell and Jason Strowbridge
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense21st of 130
  • Defense44th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted15th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted71st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2045%1.2921st of 130
Defense0.0743%1.1944th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.10 def		48% off
43% def		—15th off
71st 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
Offense4.0own 2820% allowed
Defense3.1own 2921% caused

CORE rating 11.2, 24th of 130 (offense 10.5, defense -0.7).

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 yardsSam Howell QB3,641 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Howell QB38 TD
Rushing yardsMichael Carter RB1,003 yds
Rushing touchdownsJavonte Williams RB5 TD
Receiving yardsDyami Brown WR1,034 yds
Receiving touchdownsDyami Brown WR12 TD
TacklesChazz Surratt LB115 tkl
SacksChazz Surratt LB6.5 sacks
InterceptionsMyles Wolfolk DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Sam Howell DUAL★★★★No. 93
Khafre Brown WR★★★★No. 214
Eugene Asante OLB★★★★No. 296
Triston Miller OT★★★★No. 342
Wisdom Asaboro DT★★★No. 498

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.958
Running backs13.00.879
Receivers53.20.872
Offensive line43.30.869
Defensive line43.00.860
Linebackers14.00.903
Defensive backs53.00.857
Athletes and specialists22.50.786
Whole class233.10.864

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 4Charlie Heck OTHouston Texans
Rd 5Jason Strowbridge DEMiami Dolphins

Roster 120

The 2019 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠014–⁠12
Virginia6–⁠29–⁠5
Louisville5–⁠38–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Wake Forest5–⁠48–⁠5
Pittsburgh4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠46–⁠7
Miami4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠46–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
NC State1–⁠74–⁠8

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