Seth Davis on Twitter:
I am sure that makes Davis giddy to think about UNC being unranked in January, which would be a fall from the top ten in a matter of eight weeks. I bet Davis hasn't felt this good about a prediction since picking Michigan St. to win the 2009 title game...oh wait!
Logically, I don't competely follow Davis here, unless he thinks UNC is going to lose five or six games early on. If we assume the three losses UNC incurs are the ones to MSU, UK and Texas then logically they should still be hanging around in at least the top 15. Should UNC lose more than that, then I suppose they could drop out since according to last season's polls, there were no teams with more than three losses in the poll when January rolled around. Of course, I am not sure anyone last season played three top five teams in December and a pair of other top 25 teams besides that which is what UNC is looking at. Given the brutal nature of the Tar Heel schedule I would expect them to remain ranked despite as many as four losses assuming they come at the hands of the aforementioned Final Four contenders and either Cal or Ohio St.
Actually Davis is not that far out of line here. Jeff Goodman on the other hand picked UNC to lose in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament and put Georgia Tech in the Final Four. Now that's stupid.