In case you had any doubt about how the media feels about UNC this season versus last season, all you have to do is look at the preseason ACC predictions that came out after the ACC Kickoff last week.
One of Mack Brown’s themes from this year’s availability was that Carolina was “criminally overrated” last year, where they entered the season highly ranked and expected to contend with Clemson for the ACC title, led by Sam Howell and a multitude of others. This season? Brown felt the team was “criminally underrated” after the departures of a lot of known talent and a big question mark about who the starting quarterback would be between Jacolby Criswell and Drake Maye.