Passing attack
North Carolina had one of the most prolific offenses in the country last year. Few teams could defend their deadly air attack, and this led to many games being won. Despite being doubted throughout the year, the Tar Heels were able to get into a great bowl game against Baylor.
Last year, the Tar Heels lost to a really bad South Carolina team. This year the Tar Heels open up against a solid Georgia team with a new head coach. Georgia is looking to replace Mark Richt, who left for Miami after being fired, and lead with a hard charging rushing attack.
This will be a huge contrast in styles that will be difficult for both teams to manage. In order to win, the Tar Heels will have to score early and often.
Improved defense
One of the reasons for the fast rise of North Carolina is their improved defense. There are few teams that can win consistently without solid play from their defense. There are many people looking at the defense this year to try and figure out whether the results will be the same. Over the long term, the defense tends to wear out towards the end of the year. This is because North Carolina has simply not competed at a high level in recruiting. In order to continue to compete, the Tar Heels will have to build up a load of depth on the defensive side of the Football.
Few people think that they will win their opening game, but if they are going to it will have to be the defense that stops Georgia's rushing attack.
2016 outlook
College football fans are wondering whether last year was a fluke for the Tar Heels. After all, they did lose to a South Carolina team that only won two other games last year.
If the Tar Heels are going to have another solid season, they better be ready to work in week 1. The ACC is still going to be dominated by both Florida State and Clemson. Both programs recruit way better than North Carolina, and this will not change in the future. The Tar Heels can play spoiler, but not until they lose three or four games this year. The official prediction is that the Tar Heels will go 8-4 and miss out on the ACC Championship game.
