CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 North Carolina

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Bill Belichick.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2025, game by game: lost vs. TCU 14–48; won at Charlotte 20–3; won vs. Richmond 41–6; lost at UCF 9–34; lost vs. Clemson 10–38; lost at California 18–21; lost vs. No. 16 Virginia 16–17; won at Syracuse 27–10; won vs. Stanford 20–15; lost at Wake Forest 12–28; lost vs. Duke 25–32; lost at NC State 19–42+35−34Lost 14–48 vs. TCU-34TCUWon 20–3 at Charlotte+17CharlotteWon 41–6 vs. Richmond+35RichmondLost 9–34 at UCF-25UCFLost 10–38 vs. Clemson-28ClemsonLost 18–21 at California-3CaliforniaLost 16–17 vs. No. 16 Virginia-1No. 16 VirginiaWon 27–10 at Syracuse+17SyracuseWon 20–15 vs. Stanford+5StanfordLost 12–28 at Wake Forest-16Wake ForestLost 25–32 vs. Duke-7DukeLost 19–42 at NC State-23NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsTCUL 14–⁠4844%
Sep 6atCharlotteW 20–⁠353%
Sep 13vsRichmondW 41–⁠669%
Sep 20atUCFL 9–⁠3445%
Oct 4vsClemsonL 10–⁠3845%
Oct 17atCaliforniaL 18–⁠2134%
Oct 25vs16VirginiaL 16–⁠1741%
Oct 31atSyracuseW 27–⁠1035%
Nov 8vsStanfordW 20–⁠1570%
Nov 15atWake ForestL 12–⁠2840%
Nov 22vsDukeL 25–⁠3244%
Nov 29atNC StateL 19–⁠4231%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to NC State 42–⁠19; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 112th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 13th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
231–⁠294
Coach
Bill Belichick
Elo
1426 −66 this season
SP+ rating
-6.6 No. 91 of 136; offense No. 123, defense No. 58, special teams No. 31
SRS
−6.7 No. 94 of 136 in FBS
Returning
16% of last season’s EPA, No. 109 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 41 roster talent No. 31 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Freddie Kitchens
Defensive coordinator
Stephen Belichick
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense108th of 136
  • Defense97th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted99th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted105th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0138%1.19108th of 136
Defense0.1642%1.2197th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.16 def		40% off
43% def		—99th off
105th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense42%8.7 yds13%2.9016%
Defense42%7.3 yds12%3.0013%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.3own 2917% allowed
Defense3.6own 2815% caused

CORE rating -7.5, 94th of 136 (offense -4.0, defense 3.5).

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 yardsGiovanni Lopez QB1,747 yds
Passing touchdownsGiovanni Lopez QB10 TD
Rushing yardsDemon June RB464 yds
Rushing touchdownsDavion Gause RB3 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Shipp WR671 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Shipp WR6 TD
TacklesKhmori House DB73 tkl
SacksMelkart Abou-Jaoude DL10.5 sacks
InterceptionsAndrew Simpson LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Bryce Baker QB★★★★No. 86
Austin Alexander DL★★★No. 478
Jaylen McGill RB★★★No. 493
Chinedu Onyeagoro DE★★★No. 573
Au’Tori Newkirk QB★★★No. 784

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.50.915
Running backs53.00.860
Receivers23.00.850
Offensive line33.00.866
Defensive line113.00.853
Linebackers23.00.869
Defensive backs13.00.874
Athletes and specialists43.00.843
Whole class303.00.860

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.

Roster 109

The 2025 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 39

The 2025 portal
Daniel King OT★★★★from Troy
Pryce Yates DL★★★★from UConn
Thaddeus Dixon CB★★★★from Washington
D’Ante Robinson DL★★★★from Florida
Khmori House LB★★★★from Washington
Mikai Gbayor LB★★★★from Missouri
Smith Vilbert DE★★★★from Penn State
Isaiah Johnson DL★★★from Arizona
Christo Kelly OL★★★from Holy Cross
Gregory Smith S★★★from Florida
Adrian Wilson WR★★★from Colorado
Aziah Johnson WR★★★from Michigan State

And 27 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 55

Amare Campbell LB★★★★to Penn State
Beau Atkinson DE★★★★to Ohio State
Travis Shaw DL★★★★to Texas
Howard Sampson OT★★★to Texas Tech
Aidan Banfield OL★★★returned to North Carolina
Joel Starlings DL★★★to Maryland
Christian Hamilton WR★★★to West Virginia
Deandre Boykins S★★★to Oklahoma State
Evan Haynes WR★★★to Georgia Tech
Michael Merdinger QB★★★to Liberty
Michael Short LB★★★to Virginia Tech
Ryan Browne QB★★★to Purdue

And 43 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia7–⁠211–⁠316
Miami6–⁠213–⁠32
SMU6–⁠29–⁠4
Georgia Tech6–⁠29–⁠4
Duke6–⁠29–⁠5
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
NC State5–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest4–⁠49–⁠4
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠47–⁠6
Stanford3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida State2–⁠65–⁠7
North Carolina2–⁠64–⁠8
Virginia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College1–⁠72–⁠10

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