UNC football’s tough road

With less than three months until the start of the college football season, fans of the North Carolina football team are ready to see if their team can improve on an impressive 2015 campaign.

After losing their first game a season ago — a 17-13 defeat to South Carolina in Charlotte — the Tar Heels rattled off 11-straight wins to win the ACC Coastal Division. But while some regarded UNC as a top-10 team at the end of the regular season, many were concerned about the quality of opponents the team played during that stretch.

That worry proved warranted once the Tar Heels moved onto their two postseason games.

In the ACC Championship game on Dec. 5, the North Carolina defense didn’t have an answer for Clemson sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson, who led the Tigers to a 45-37 win.

A few weeks later, the Tar Heel defense gave up 645 yards rushing to Baylor in a 49-38 loss in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Did the amount of cupcakes UNC played on its schedule a season ago doom the Tar Heels during bowl season? There’s certainly an argument to be made that it did.

But North Carolina shouldn’t have the same problem in 2016. Unlike its slate a season ago, UNC’s schedule for the upcoming season features multiple tests that will show if the Tar Heels are national contenders or just average.

Sept. 3 vs. Georgia

For the second year in a row, North Carolina will begin its season against an SEC opponent. This time, the Tar Heels will take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.

Unlike UNC, Georgia is coming off an underwhelming 2015 campaign. After starting the season as the favorites to win the SEC East, the Bulldogs dropped three conference games — including a 28-point loss to Alabama and a 27-3 defeat to rival Florida — to finish the regular season at 9-3 and miss out on the SEC title game.

Following the regular season, the Bulldogs fired Coach Mark Richt and hired former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who is looking to help bring the program back to the forefront of college football.

Smart’s track record shows that he should undoubtedly help the Bulldogs’ defense in 2016, but what North Carolina will have to look out for most is Georgia’s offensive attack.

While the Bulldogs have yet to name a starting quarterback for the season opener, the presence of running back Nick Chubb in the backfield will test the Tar Heels’ rush defense, which was horrid in 2015.

Chubb rushed for 745 yards and seven touchdowns in five games a season ago before tearing multiple ligaments in his left knee on his first carry against Tennessee — an injury that caused him to miss the rest of the season.

If Chubb is anything like his old self on Sept. 3, North Carolina will have its hands full and then some against the Bulldogs.

Oct. 1 at Florida State

A big reason why the Tar Heels finished the 2015 regular season 8-0 in the ACC is they avoided Atlantic Division members Florida State and Clemson. UNC won’t be as lucky in conference play this season, however.

After taking on Pittsburgh at home to open up ACC play, the Tar Heels will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on what could be a top-5 team in the Seminoles.

North Carolina actually won the last time it played at Florida State — a 37-35 victory back in 2010 — but the Tar Heels are just 2-15-1 all time against the Seminoles.

Florida State will bring some of the same things to table as Georgia will offensively.

The Seminoles have their own Heisman candidate in running back Dalvin Cook, who led the ACC with 1,691 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns. And if the Tar Heels can’t slow down the junior, it will be a very long day in Tallahassee for the UNC defense.

Oct. 15 at Miami

Two weeks after North Carolina plays Florida State, the team will return to the Sunshine State to take on Miami.

In 2015, the Hurricanes were supposed to challenge for the Coastal Division title behind sophomore quarterback Brad Kaaya, but the team ran into more than a few hiccups down the road.

Miami had the unfortunate fate of playing both Florida State and Clemson during the regular season in 2015. The Hurricanes dropped both games, including a 58-0 loss to the Tigers on Oct. 24 that led to the firing of Coach Al Golden.

Three weeks later, Miami fell to UNC, 59-21. The loss knocked the team out of the division race.

But the Hurricanes should be back in the picture once again in 2016.

The team hired Richt, the former Georgia coach, to lead the way, and with a potential future top-5 draft pick in Kaaya under center, Miami could give the Tar Heels a run for their money come Oct. 15.

@jbo_vernon

sports@dailytarheel.com