CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2020 North Carolina

8–⁠4 (7–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Mack Brown, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2020, game by game: won vs. Syracuse 31–6; won at Boston College 26–22; won vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech 56–45; lost at Florida State 28–31; won vs. No. 23 NC State 48–21; lost at Virginia 41–44; won at Duke 56–24; won vs. Wake Forest 59–53; lost vs. No. 2 Notre Dame 17–31; won vs. Western Carolina 49–9; won at No. 9 Miami 62–26; lost vs. No. 5 Texas A&M 27–41+40−14Won 31–6 vs. Syracuse+25SyracuseWon 26–22 at Boston College+4Boston CollegeWon 56–45 vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech+11No. 19 Virginia TechLost 28–31 at Florida State-3Florida StateWon 48–21 vs. No. 23 NC State+27No. 23 NC StateLost 41–44 at Virginia-3VirginiaWon 56–24 at Duke+32DukeWon 59–53 vs. Wake Forest+6Wake ForestLost 17–31 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame-14No. 2 Notre DameWon 49–9 vs. Western Carolina+40Western CarolinaWon 62–26 at No. 9 Miami+36No. 9 MiamiLost 27–41 vs. No. 5 Texas A&M-14No. 5 Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsSyracuseW 31–⁠661%
Oct 3atBoston CollegeW 26–⁠2243%
Oct 10vs19Virginia TechW 56–⁠4557%
Oct 17atFlorida StateL 28–⁠3161%
Oct 24vs23NC StateW 48–⁠2167%
Oct 31atVirginiaL 41–⁠4458%
Nov 7atDukeW 56–⁠2458%
Nov 14vsWake ForestW 59–⁠5363%
Nov 27vs2Notre DameL 17–⁠3136%
Dec 5vsWestern CarolinaW 49–⁠994%
Dec 12at9MiamiW 62–⁠2638%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs5Texas A&MOrange BowlL 27–⁠4141%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas A&M 41–⁠27 in the Orange Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 3: 12
  3. Wk 4: 11
  4. Wk 5: 12
  5. Wk 6: 8
  6. Wk 7: 5
  7. Wk 8: 14
  8. Wk 9: 15
  9. Wk 13: 25
  10. Wk 15: 20
  11. Wk 16: 16
  12. Final: 18

Led the nationMichael Carter: yards per carry (8.0)

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠3 tied for 4th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 5
Points
500–⁠353
Coach
Mack Brown
Elo
1642 +104 this season
SP+ rating
18.0 No. 11 of 130; offense No. 3, defense No. 47
Returning
94% of last season’s EPA, No. 6 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 19 roster talent No. 23 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Phil Longo
Defensive coordinators
Jay Bateman and Tommy Thigpen
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense3rd of 127
  • Defense87th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted99th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3550%1.473rd of 127
Defense0.1742%1.3787th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.16 def		49% off
42% def		—3rd off
99th 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
Offense4.8own 2915% allowed
Defense3.8own 2715% caused

CORE rating 12.4, 19th of 127 (offense 17.7, defense 5.3).

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 QB3,586 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Howell QB30 TD
Rushing yardsMichael Carter RB1,245 yds
Rushing touchdownsJavonte Williams RB19 TD
Receiving yardsDyami Brown WR1,084 yds
Receiving touchdownsDyami Brown WR8 TD
TacklesChazz Surratt LB91 tkl
SacksTomon Fox LB7 sacks
InterceptionsCameron Roseman-Sinclair DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Tony Grimes CB★★★★★No. 28
Des Evans WDE★★★★No. 44
Josh Downs WR★★★★No. 95
Myles Murphy SDE★★★★No. 150
Ja’Qurious Conley S★★★★No. 151
Kedrick Bingley-Jones DT★★★★No. 152
Cameron Roseman-Sinclair S★★★★No. 226
Jacolby Criswell DUAL★★★★No. 267

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.907
Running backs23.00.864
Receivers73.30.885
Offensive line52.80.848
Defensive line63.70.909
Linebackers13.00.883
Defensive backs44.00.918
Athletes and specialists13.00.872
Whole class273.40.887

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 2Javonte Williams RBDenver Broncos
Rd 3Chazz Surratt ILBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Dyami Brown WRWashington Football Team
Rd 4Michael Carter RBNew York Jets
Rd 6Dazz Newsome WRChicago Bears

Roster 119

The 2020 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Notre Dame9–⁠010–⁠25
Clemson8–⁠110–⁠23
Miami7–⁠28–⁠322
North Carolina7–⁠38–⁠418
NC State7–⁠38–⁠4
Pittsburgh5–⁠56–⁠5
Boston College5–⁠56–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠55–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠55–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠44–⁠5
Georgia Tech3–⁠63–⁠7
Louisville3–⁠74–⁠7
Florida State2–⁠63–⁠6
Duke1–⁠92–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠91–⁠10

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