North Carolina Tar Heels: Not in Palm’s Playoff Projection
Though absent from Jerry Palm’s playoff projection, the fate of the North Carolina Tar Heels football season still lies in their hands.
What exactly should the goal of the North Carolina Tar Heels be this upcoming season? Should they try to breakthrough to the College Football Playoff? Should they aim for that elusive conference title? Or should they simply try not to take too many steps back?
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports released his bowl playoff predictions the other day and they shed some light on the subject. First off he had Clemson in the playoff. Secondly he had Florida State in the New Years Day games. Finally he had Notre Dame with another playoff bid. The Tar Heels were to be found in what used to be called the Gator Bowl, the TaxSlayer.com Bowl.
This means that we have not gotten very far from last season at all. Other than the Fighting Irish, Clemson and Florida State played to exactly the same form last year. Both Atlantic Division squads were ranked ahead of the Heels throughout the year. Both filled the slots that Palm now sees them in a year later.
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The difference is that this year the Heels will at least have a say in the comparison. Last year’s schedule was bereft of top 25 competition to sort out the Heels’ true strength. It didn’t help that the Heels then went 0-2 in their final two games against such competition.
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This year the Heels play the Seminoles directly, and that has the possibility to give the Heels the leg up they needed so badly last year. There are several games that will decide the ultimate course of the North Carolina season, and FSU has to rank right up there.
In fact FSU and Georgia will need to be wins for the Heels because the Coastal Division has once again done no favors for whomever emerges on top. No Coastal team besides the Heels was ranked, with Miami the closest. Palm agrees since his bowl predictions are missing Duke and Virginia from any bowl invite.
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So the Heels will need to build credibility outside their division schedule and not screw up inside of it. Beat Georgia and Florida State and hold the Coastal. That will get the Heels back to Charlotte. If they can play a little defense then perhaps they might even have playoff stakes riding on the outcome.