CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 North Carolina

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Mack Brown.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2023, game by game: won vs. South Carolina 31–17; won vs. App State 40–34; won vs. Minnesota 31–13; won at Pittsburgh 41–24; won vs. Syracuse 40–7; won vs. No. 25 Miami 41–31; lost vs. Virginia 27–31; lost at Georgia Tech 42–46; won vs. Campbell 59–7; won vs. Duke 47–45; lost at Clemson 20–31; lost at NC State 20–39; lost vs. West Virginia 10–30+52−20Won 31–17 vs. South Carolina+14South CarolinaWon 40–34 vs. App State+6App StateWon 31–13 vs. Minnesota+18MinnesotaWon 41–24 at Pittsburgh+17PittsburghWon 40–7 vs. Syracuse+33SyracuseWon 41–31 vs. No. 25 Miami+10No. 25 MiamiLost 27–31 vs. Virginia-4VirginiaLost 42–46 at Georgia Tech-4Georgia TechWon 59–7 vs. Campbell+52CampbellWon 47–45 vs. Duke+2DukeLost 20–31 at Clemson-11ClemsonLost 20–39 at NC State-19NC StateLost 10–30 vs. West Virginia-20West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsSouth CarolinaDuke’s Mayo ClassicW 31–⁠1748%
Sep 9vsApp StateW 40–⁠3462%
Sep 16vsMinnesotaW 31–⁠1353%
Sep 23atPittsburghW 41–⁠2450%
Oct 7vsSyracuseW 40–⁠770%
Oct 14vs25MiamiW 41–⁠3174%
Oct 21vsVirginiaL 27–⁠3186%
Oct 28atGeorgia TechL 42–⁠4671%
Nov 4vsCampbellW 59–⁠788%
Nov 11vsDukeW 47–⁠4563%
Nov 18atClemsonL 20–⁠3141%
Nov 25atNC StateL 20–⁠3939%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsWest VirginiaDuke’s Mayo BowlL 10–⁠3050%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to West Virginia 30–⁠10 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 53rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 21
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 20
  4. Wk 4: 17
  5. Wk 5: 15
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 17
  10. Wk 11: 24
  11. Wk 12: 22
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
449–⁠355
Coach
Mack Brown
Elo
1555 +18 this season
SP+ rating
7.4 No. 39 of 133; offense No. 21, defense No. 78, special teams No. 45
SRS
7.0 No. 36 of 133 in FBS
Returning
78% of last season’s EPA, No. 20 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 30 roster talent No. 17 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Chip Lindsey
Defensive coordinators
Gene Chizik, Charlton Warren and Tommy Thigpen
Offense
Up-tempo spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5 or 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense25th of 133
  • Defense75th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted25th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted74th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2046%1.3025th of 133
Defense0.1242%1.2775th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.12 def		46% off
42% def		—25th off
74th 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
Offense4.1own 3114% allowed
Defense3.4own 3216% caused

CORE rating 2.2, 52nd of 133 (offense 5.5, defense 3.2).

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 QB3,608 yds
Passing touchdownsDrake Maye QB24 TD
Rushing yardsOmarion Hampton RB1,504 yds
Rushing touchdownsOmarion Hampton RB15 TD
Receiving yardsJ.J. Jones WR711 yds
Receiving touchdownsDevontez Walker WR7 TD
TacklesCedric Gray LB121 tkl
SacksKaimon Rucker DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsAlijah Huzzie DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Chris Culliver WR★★★★No. 151
Jaybron Harvey DE★★★★No. 269
Tyler Thompson DE★★★★No. 290
Joel Starlings DL★★★★No. 311
Christian Hamilton WR★★★★No. 358
Tad Hudson QB★★★★No. 403

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.894
Running backs13.00.882
Receivers53.20.874
Offensive line33.00.869
Defensive line43.80.899
Linebackers33.00.860
Defensive backs43.00.873
Whole class213.20.877

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 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 1Drake Maye QBNew England Patriots
Rd 4Cedric Gray LBTennessee Titans
Rd 4Devontez Walker WRBaltimore Ravens

Roster 120

The 2023 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 69 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 10

The 2023 portal
Devontez Walker WR★★★★from Kent State
Alijah Huzzie CB★★★★from East Tennessee State
Armani Chatman CB★★★from Virginia Tech
Derrik Allen S★★★from Georgia Tech
Nate McCollum WR★★★from Georgia Tech
Willie Lampkin OL★★★from Coastal Carolina
Amari Gainer LB★★★from Florida State
Antavious Lane S★★★from Georgia State
Ryan Coe K★★★from Cincinnati
Tom Maginness Pfrom Monash University

Transfers out 18

Keeshawn Silver DL★★★★to Kentucky
Tony Grimes CB★★★★to Texas A&M
Jacolby Criswell QB★★★to Arkansas
Chris Collins DE★★★to Minnesota
Dontavius Nash S★★★to East Carolina
Tymir Brown CB★★★to East Carolina
Raneiria Dillworth LB★★★to East Carolina
Jonathan Kim K★★to Michigan State
Gabriel Stephens OLB★★★★no new school on file
Ja’Qurious Conley S★★★★no new school on file
Bryson Jennings LB★★★to Liberty
Devon Lawrence RB★★★no new school on file

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠013–⁠16
Louisville7–⁠110–⁠419
NC State6–⁠29–⁠421
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠49–⁠420
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Duke4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami3–⁠57–⁠6
Boston College3–⁠57–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠66–⁠7
Pittsburgh2–⁠63–⁠9
Virginia2–⁠63–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠74–⁠8

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