With the calendar now into August, we’re firmly in the preview portion of the buildup to college football season. Every website, podcast, or college football outlet around is talking about what might happen in 2026. That includes us here at Tar Heel Blog, as we’ve been trying to figure out what the hell his year’s Carolina team is.
Considering what happened in 2025, it’s plenty fair to be skeptical about this team being good. Last year was a mess, and it’s arguable that this year’s team is worse on paper. Plus, there’s the issue of the schedule being a lot tougher than last year.
However, it’s never fun to go into your favorite team’s new season feeling pessimistic. At the same time, it’s difficult to imagine this team making the College Football Playoff or anything like that. So, as we continue the run up to the new football season, I want to know: what is a realistic goal that UNC can achieve in 2026?
As mentioned, I’m not particularly optimistic about this team, so even the high end of what I think they can achieve isn’t massive. I think stuff like a CFP playoff bid, an ACC Championship, and 10 wins are out of the question. Frankly, with this year’s schedule, that would be tough to do even if I had positive vibes about this team.
For me, the one thing that I think this team could possibly do that would leave me actually feeling pretty good is make a bowl game. If the team plays like they did last year, six wins probably isn’t on the table, but that’s not to say there aren’t winnable games there. Sure, many of the games are coin flips, but winning a couple of coin flips shouldn’t be impossible. Sure, going 6-6 is far from ideal, and the Bill Belichick hire was made because some people thought he could elevate them past that level, but after last season it would be a pretty genuine step forward.
That’s my genuine hope for the new season, but now we want to hear from you. What do you think should be a (reasonable) goal for this year’s UNC football team?