The Atlantic Coast Conference affirmed Wednesday what coach Larry Fedora and the North Carolina football team had already been expecting.
Because the Tar Heels are playing under an NCAA-instituted postseason ban, they will also be ineligible for “regular season or divisional recognition,” according to an ACC release.
That means if the Tar Heels finish atop the Coastal Division standings this season, the ACC won’t award them the Coastal Division crown.
But recognition or no recognition, Fedora said after practice Wednesday that the Tar Heels are still gunning for the division lead.
“We’re going to compete for it,” Fedora said. “And that’s still our goal. One way or another, that’s the way we’re going to look at it. It doesn’t change anything for us.”
At the moment, UNC is 0-1 in the conference, losing to Wake Forest in the second game of the season.
But the Tar Heels will have a chance to bolster that record in the coming weeks. UNC will host fellow Coastal Division member Virginia Tech (3-2, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday, kicking off a seven-game slate of conference games that will run to the end of the season.
While a division title won’t be on the line, sophomore linebacker Tommy Heffernan said Wednesday that it’s important for the future of the program that the Tar Heels don’t waver from their main objective.
“We wanna win every game regardless — ACC, non-ACC,” Heffernan said.
“This is a brand new coaching staff, a new era of Carolina football. And if we run through ACC teams this year, all of a sudden next season when we are eligible, people are gonna start looking at us. And that’s definitely a big thing and a confidence booster for the future guys here.”
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