The atmosphere in Chapel Hill is significantly more positive following a challenging start to Bill Belichick“s inaugural season as head coach of North Carolina. The Tar Heels have bounced back with consecutive victories over Syracuse and Stanford. This turnaround comes after a troubling period, which included a 38–10 defeat against Clemson in early October, leading to concerns about dysfunction within the program. Following Belichick”s reaffirmation of his commitment to the team, the Tar Heels displayed improved efforts, narrowly losing their subsequent games against California and Virginia.
In the past two weeks, North Carolina has translated those competitive performances into wins. They secured a 27–10 victory against Syracuse last week and followed it up with a hard-fought 20–15 win over Stanford, where they recorded nine sacks and forced two turnovers. With a current record of 4–5, the Tar Heels are now in the hunt for bowl game eligibility.
To qualify for a bowl game, a team must finish the season with at least a .500 record or win at least six games, ending the regular season at 6–6. Among their four victories, one was against Richmond, an FCS team. As the Tar Heels have three games remaining, they must win at least two of those matchups to secure their place in a bowl game.
All three upcoming opponents currently hold winning records, yet they are not invincible. North Carolina will face a 6–3 Wake Forest team, followed by matches against 5–4 Duke and 5–4 North Carolina State in the closing weeks of the season. If the Tar Heels can only manage one more win, finishing at 5–7, their chances of bowl eligibility would be slim, though not entirely extinguished.
In situations where not enough teams qualify for bowl games, teams with losing records may still receive invitations if they meet specific criteria. This includes teams that lost in their conference championship game, could have qualified with a more favorable outcome against an FCS opponent, or are selected based on their Academic Progress Rate. Historically, North Carolina has participated in bowl games for six consecutive seasons, but their last victory in such a contest dates back to 2019.
