North Carolina will enter the 2026 college football season outside the AP Top 25, but Monday's release of the preseason poll provided another reminder of just how challenging the Tar Heels' schedule could be.
UNC received no spot in the initial Top 25, hardly a surprise after a 4-8 first season under Bill Belichick. What matters more for Carolina is who did show up in and around the rankings.
Three teams on UNC's 2026 schedule landed in the preseason Top 25: No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 7 Miami and No. 24 Louisville. Notre Dame even received six first-place votes, while Miami received one.
Four additional Tar Heel opponents received votes without cracking the Top 25. Clemson was the first team out at an unofficial No. 26 with 112 voting points, followed among UNC opponents by TCU at No. 30, Pitt at No. 36 and Virginia tied for No. 46.
Clemson's absence is particularly noteworthy. The Tigers are unranked in the AP preseason poll for the first time since 2011, snapping a streak of 14 consecutive seasons beginning the year inside the Top 25. Clemson barely missed extending that streak, finishing only five voting points behind No. 25 Missouri.
That creates an intriguing early measuring stick for Belichick's second Carolina team.
UNC opens the season against TCU on Aug. 29 in Dublin before returning home to play East Tennessee State on Sept. 12. From there, the difficulty increases dramatically. Carolina travels to Clemson for its third game on Sept. 19 before welcoming No. 4 Notre Dame to Kenan Stadium on Oct. 3.
In other words, games three and four come against a Clemson team sitting directly outside the Top 25 and one of the preseason national championship contenders.
The challenge doesn't disappear later in the year.
After trips to Pitt and Duke and a home matchup with Syracuse, UNC welcomes No. 7 Miami to Chapel Hill on Oct. 31 (it might get spooky). The Hurricanes are the highest-ranked ACC team in the preseason poll after finishing as the national runner-up last season. No. 24 Louisville comes to Kenan Stadium two weeks later on Nov. 14, followed immediately by a road game against Virginia, another team receiving preseason votes.
Altogether, seven of North Carolina's 11 FBS opponents received at least one AP preseason vote.
Preseason rankings are ultimately just projections, and the complexion of UNC's schedule will inevitably change as the season unfolds. But heading into Week 0, the initial AP poll confirms what was already apparent: Belichick and the Tar Heels will have no shortage of opportunities to prove themselves against nationally respected competition.
And if Carolina wants to return to the Top 25 itself, there will be plenty of chances to earn its way there.