CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2022 North Carolina

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Mack Brown.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2022, game by game: won vs. Florida A&M 56–24; won at App State 63–61; won at Georgia State 35–28; lost vs. Notre Dame 32–45; won vs. Virginia Tech 41–10; won at Miami 27–24; won at Duke 38–35; won vs. Pittsburgh 42–24; won at Virginia 31–28; won at Wake Forest 36–34; lost vs. Georgia Tech 17–21; lost vs. NC State 27–30; lost vs. No. 10 Clemson 10–39; lost vs. No. 15 Oregon 27–28+32−29Won 56–24 vs. Florida A&M+32Florida A&MWon 63–61 at App State+2App StateWon 35–28 at Georgia State+7Georgia StateLost 32–45 vs. Notre Dame-13Notre DameWon 41–10 vs. Virginia Tech+31Virginia TechWon 27–24 at Miami+3MiamiWon 38–35 at Duke+3DukeWon 42–24 vs. Pittsburgh+18PittsburghWon 31–28 at Virginia+3VirginiaWon 36–34 at Wake Forest+2Wake ForestLost 17–21 vs. Georgia Tech-4Georgia TechLost 27–30 vs. NC State-3NC StateLost 10–39 vs. No. 10 Clemson-29No. 10 ClemsonLost 27–28 vs. No. 15 Oregon-1No. 15 Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 27vsFlorida A&MW 56–⁠2473%
Sep 3atApp StateW 63–⁠6132%
Sep 10atGeorgia StateW 35–⁠2844%
Sep 24vsNotre DameL 32–⁠4548%
Oct 1vsVirginia TechW 41–⁠1068%
Oct 8atMiamiW 27–⁠2448%
Oct 15atDukeW 38–⁠3559%
Oct 29vsPittsburghW 42–⁠2457%
Nov 5atVirginiaW 31–⁠2866%
Nov 12atWake ForestW 36–⁠3445%
Nov 19vsGeorgia TechL 17–⁠2185%
Nov 25vsNC StateL 27–⁠3060%
Dec 3vs10ClemsonSubway ACC ChampionshipL 10–⁠3929%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs15OregonHoliday BowlL 27–⁠2834%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon 28–⁠27 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 52nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 22
  2. Wk 9: 21
  3. Wk 10: 17
  4. Wk 11: 15
  5. Wk 12: 13
  6. Wk 13: 18
  7. Wk 14: 24

ACC Coastal null champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Led the nationDrake Maye: total offense (5,019 yds)

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 13
Points
482–⁠431
Coach
Mack Brown
Elo
1555 +52 this season
SP+ rating
7.8 No. 46 of 131; offense No. 11, defense No. 103, special teams No. 25
SRS
4.2 No. 51 of 131 in FBS
Returning
45% of last season’s EPA, No. 90 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 11 roster talent No. 16 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Phil Longo
Defensive coordinators
Gene Chizik, Charlton Warren and Tommy Thigpen
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5 or 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense18th of 131
  • Defense115th of 131
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted15th of 131
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted121st of 131
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2245%1.3218th of 131
Defense0.2148%1.18115th of 131
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
0.19 def		47% off
47% def		—15th off
121st 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
Offense4.5own 3014% allowed
Defense4.5own 2812% caused

CORE rating 1.6, 61st of 131 (offense 12.1, defense 10.4).

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 yardsDrake Maye QB4,321 yds
Passing touchdownsDrake Maye QB38 TD
Rushing yardsDrake Maye QB699 yds
Rushing touchdownsElijah Green RB8 TD
Receiving yardsJosh Downs WR1,029 yds
Receiving touchdownsJosh Downs WR11 TD
TacklesCedric Gray LB136 tkl
SacksKaimon Rucker DE3.5 sacks
InterceptionsStorm Duck DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Zach Rice OT★★★★★No. 13
Travis Shaw DL★★★★★No. 20
Andre Greene Jr. WR★★★★No. 74
George Pettaway RB★★★★No. 99
Omarion Hampton RB★★★★No. 134
Sebastian Cheeks LB★★★★No. 148
Tychaun Chapman WR★★★★No. 194
Mali Hamrick DE★★★★No. 199

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

The 2022 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.869
Running backs24.00.952
Receivers24.00.947
Offensive line43.50.887
Defensive line44.00.928
Linebackers23.50.906
Defensive backs23.50.903
Athletes and specialists13.00.879
Whole class183.70.912

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 2023

The 2023 draft
Rd 3Josh Downs WRIndianapolis Colts
Rd 5Asim Richards OTDallas Cowboys
Rd 7Antoine Green WRDetroit Lions
Rd 7Raymond Vohasek DTJacksonville Jaguars

Roster 118

The 2022 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2022 portal
Jacolbe Cowan DL★★★from Ohio State
Noah Taylor LB★★★from Virginia
Lejond Cavazos CB★★★from Ohio State
Spencer Rolland OT★★★from Harvard
Corey Gaynor OL★★★from Miami

Transfers out 16

Beau Corrales WR★★★to SMU
Eugene Asante LB★★★to Auburn
Trey Morrison CB★★★to Oklahoma
Tyrone Hopper LB★★★to Missouri
Josh Henderson RB★★★to Indiana
Khafre Brown WR★★★to South Florida
Stephen Gosnell WR★★★to Virginia Tech
Clyde Pinder Jr. DL★★★to South Florida
Emery Simmons WR★★★to Indiana
Trevion Stevenson LB★★★to Norfolk State
Kristian Varner DL★★★to Georgia Southern
Cameron Roseman-Sinclair S★★★★no new school on file

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2022 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠011–⁠313
North Carolina6–⁠29–⁠5
Florida State5–⁠310–⁠311
Duke5–⁠39–⁠4
Pittsburgh5–⁠39–⁠422
NC State4–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠48–⁠5
Syracuse4–⁠47–⁠6
Georgia Tech4–⁠45–⁠7
Wake Forest3–⁠58–⁠5
Miami3–⁠55–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠63–⁠9
Virginia1–⁠63–⁠7
Virginia Tech1–⁠63–⁠8

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