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Alright, maybe it’s too early to discuss which teams are projected to do this, that, and the other, but we’re here for a good time not a long time, right? Of course we are! With that said, Oddsmakers yesterday released their projections for the 2021 football season, and it appears that Vegas is rather fond of Mack Brown’s Tar Heels. They are projected to win 10 games in the regular season, with the next highest win projection in the ACC Coastal Division coming from Miami at 9.5.
Here is how the rest of the Coastal shakes out:
Pitt: 7
Virginia: 6
Georgia Tech: 4.5
Duke: 4
When it comes to the Atlantic Division, to nobody’s surprise Clemson has the highest win projection at 11.5, with the second-highest win total coming from Boston College at 7. This hypothetically sets up UNC to face off against Clemson in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte, which has been a popular take ever since the 2020 season concluded.
As much fun as UNC’s win projection is, things get even more fun when looking at 247Sports’ bowl projections. They project that UNC will take on LSU in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, which would send the Tar Heels to their second New Year’s Six bowl game in a row, and also the second one ever in the College Football Playoff era.
2021 is going to undoubtedly be a season with very high expectations for the Tar Heels. Sam Howell will play what is likely his senior year with a somewhat new look offense, and the defense will be reloaded with some highly-touted freshmen and return some standout players from last season. It’s hard not to project a high ceiling for this team, but they also have some questions surrounding them that still need to be answered. Will the defense be able to take enough of a step forward? Will the offensive weapons that have to step in for the likes of Dyami Brown, Michael Carter, and Javonte Williams be enough to continue building on last season? Also, will the coordinators actually be able to unlock their playbooks now that the Heels will have more Mack Brown guys than Larry Fedora’s? The spring game shed some positive light on these questions, but we won’t truly know the answer to anything until the first kickoff this fall.
What do you think of the win projection that Vegas released? Do you think it’s too high, too low, or about right? Also what do you think about 247Sports’ bowl projection? Let us know in the comments below.