2018 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

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2018 North Carolina Tar Heels football
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal
Record2–9 (1–7 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorChris Kapilovic (5th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorJohn Papuchis (2nd season)
CaptainMalik Carney, Michael Carter, Nathan Elliott, Cole Holcomb, Thomas Jackson
Home stadiumKenan Memorial Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson x$#^   8 0     15 0  
No. 15 Syracuse   6 2     10 3  
NC State   5 3     9 4  
Boston College   4 4     7 5  
Wake Forest   3 5     7 6  
Florida State   3 5     5 7  
Louisville   0 8     2 10  
Coastal Division
Pittsburgh x   6 2     7 7  
Georgia Tech   5 3     7 6  
Miami (FL)   4 4     7 6  
Virginia   4 4     8 5  
Virginia Tech   4 4     6 7  
Duke   3 5     8 5  
North Carolina   1 7     2 9  
Championship: Clemson 42, Pittsburgh 10
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tar Heels were led by seventh-year head coach Larry Fedora and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. They finished the season 2–9 overall and 1–7 in ACC play to place last out of seven teams in the Coastal Division.

On November 25, one day after the conclusion of the season, Fedora was fired.[1] He finished at North Carolina with a seven year record of 45–43. On November 27, the school rehired Mack Brown, who had previously helmed the program from 1988 to 1997, as head coach.[2]

Preseason[edit]

Award watch lists[edit]

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Doak Walker Award[3] Michael Carter RB SO
John Mackey Award[4] Carl Tucker TE JR
Paul Hornung Award[5] Anthony Ratliff-Williams WR/KR JR
Wuerffel Trophy[6] Kyle Murphy LS SR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[7] Nathan Elliott QB JR

ACC media poll[edit]

The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018.

Media poll (Coastal)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Miami 998 (122)
2 Virginia Tech 838 (16)
3 Georgia Tech 654 (8)
4 Duke 607 (1)
5 Pittsburgh 420
6 North Carolina 370 (1)
7 Virginia 257

Schedule[edit]

The Tar Heels' schedule was released on January 17, 2018.[8]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 14:00 p.m.at California*FOXL 17–2442,168[9]
September 83:30 p.m.at East Carolina*ESPNUL 19–4139,268[9]
September 1512:00 p.m.No. 18 UCF*ESPNU Cancelled[a]
September 2212:20 p.m.Pittsburgh
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ACCNW 38–3544,168[9]
September 278:00 p.m.at No. 16 Miami (FL)ESPNL 10–4760,845[9]
October 137:00 p.m.Virginia Tech
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ESPNUL 19–2250,500[9]
October 2012:20 p.m.at SyracuseACCNL 37–40 2OT35,210[9]
October 2712:20 p.m.at VirginiaACCNL 21–3143,128[9]
November 312:00 p.m.Georgia Techdagger
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ACCNL 28–3840,782[9]
November 1012:20 p.m.at DukeACCNL 35–4235,493[9]
November 173:00 p.m.Western Carolina*
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ACCN ExtraW 49–2641,151[9]
November 2412:20 p.m.NC State
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
ACCNL 28–34 OT41,510[9]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time
  1. ^ This game was cancelled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.[10]

Game summaries[edit]

At California[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Tar Heels 0 0 3 14 17
Golden Bears 7 10 7 0 24

At East Carolina[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Tar Heels 6 13 0 0 19
Pirates 7 14 7 13 41

Pittsburgh[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 21 0 7 35
Tar Heels 7 14 17 0 38

At Miami (FL)[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Tar Heels 10 0 0 0 10
No. 16 Hurricanes 14 19 0 14 47

Virginia Tech[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 7 0 7 8 22
Tar Heels 6 3 7 3 19

At Syracuse[edit]

1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
Tar Heels 7 0 17 373 37
Orange 0 13 7 776 40

At Virginia[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Tar Heels 7 7 0 7 21
Cavaliers 14 3 7 7 31

Georgia Tech[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Yellow Jackets 7 14 7 10 38
Tar Heels 7 3 10 8 28

At Duke[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Tar Heels 14 14 0 7 35
Blue Devils 14 21 7 0 42

Western Carolina[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 7 9 3 7 26
Tar Heels 14 21 14 0 49

NC State[edit]

1 2 3 4OT Total
Wolfpack 7 0 14 76 34
Tar Heels 0 6 15 70 28

Coaching staff[edit]

North Carolina Tar Heels
Name Position Consecutive season at North Carolina in current position Previous position
Larry Fedora Head coach 7th Southern Miss head coach (2008–2011)
Deke Adams Defensive line coach 2nd East Carolina defensive line coach (2016)
Henry Baker Cornerbacks coach 1st Rutgers cornerbacks coach (2017)
Mike Ekeler Linebackers coach 2nd North Texas defensive coordinator and linebackers coach (2016)
Robert Gillespie Running backs coach 1st Tennessee running backs coach (2013–2017)
Keith Heckendorf Quarterbacks coach 5th Arkansas State tight ends coach (2014)
Chris Kapilovic Associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and offensive line coach 4th North Carolina co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach (2014)
John Papuchis Defensive coordinator 2nd North Carolina linebackers coach (2015–2016)
Luke Paschall Special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach 1st Arkansas State special teams coordinator and outside wide receivers coach (2017)
Chad Scott Tight ends coach 3rd Kentucky running backs coach (2014–2015)
Tommy Thigpen Safeties coach 1st Tennessee linebackers coach (2016–2017)
Quinshad Davis Graduate assistant 1st Winnipeg Blue Bombers wide receiver (player) (2017)
Sam Dunnam Graduate assistant 1st Ouachita Baptist defensive line coach (2014–2017)
Jordan Marsh Graduate assistant 1st Hickory Ridge HS (NC) assistant coach (2014–2017)
Jeff Schoettmer Graduate assistant 1st New Orleans Saints linebacker (player) (2016)

2019 NFL Draft[edit]

Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
5 173 Cole Holcomb LB Washington Redskins


References[edit]

  1. ^ "North Carolina fires Fedora after 2-9 season". November 25, 2018.
  2. ^ Kirshner, Alex. "UNC's really, officially bringing back Mack Brown". SB Nation. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  3. ^ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  6. ^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award" (PDF). August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  8. ^ Pearson, Zack (January 17, 2018). "UNC Football: Full 2018 Tar Heels football schedule released". KeepingItHeel. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "2019 UNC Football Media Guide" (PDF).
  10. ^ "UCF Football Game, Other Events Will Not Be Played Due To Storm - University of North Carolina". University of North Carolina (Press release). September 11, 2018.