The 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tar Heels were led by head coach Mack Brown, in the second season of his second stint at North Carolina and his 12th overall season. The team played their home games at Kenan Stadium.
Building on the momentum from the first season of Brown's return to Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels finished in a three-way tie for third place in the ACC. Divisional play had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Clemson and Notre Dame selected for the College Football Playoff, the Tar Heels received a bid to the Orange Bowl, their first appearance in a major bowl since 1949.
Personnel
Coaching staff North Carolina Tar Heels coaches Mack Brown Head coach 2nd Phil Longo Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach 2nd John Lilly Tight end coach 1st Stacy Searels Offensive line coach 2nd Lonnie Galloway Wide receivers coach2nd Robert Gillespie Running back coach 2nd Jay Bateman Defensive coordinator/Safeties coach 2nd Tommy Thigpen Associate Defensive coordinator/Inside linebackers coach 3rd Tim Cross Defensive line coach 2nd Jovan Dewitt Special teams coordinator/Outside linebackers coach 1st Dre Bly Cornerbacks coach 2nd Brian Hess Strength and conditioning 2nd Sparky Woods Senior advisor to head coach 2nd Darrell Moody Senior advisor to head coach 2nd Ken Browning Senior advisor to head coach 2ndReference:
Roster 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels Football RosterQuarterback 6 Jacolby Criswell – freshman (6'1, 225) 7 Sam Howell – sophomore (6'1, 225) 10 Jace Ruder – sophomore (6'3, 225) 14 Jefferson Boaz – freshman (6'7, 245)
Running back 8 Michael Carter – senior (5'9, 200) 21 Elijah Green – freshman (5'11, 200) 23 Josh Henderson – sophomore (6'0, 210) 25 Javonte Williams – junior (5'10, 220) 26 D.J. Jones – freshman (5'10, 190) 34 British Brooks – junior (5'11, 205)
Wide receiver 0 Emery Simmons – sophomore (6'0, 190) 1 Khafre Brown – freshman (6'0, 180) 2 Dyami Brown – junior (6'1, 190) 3 Antoine Green – junior (6'2, 210) 4 Rontavious Groves – junior (5'11, 185) 5 Dazz Newsome – senior (5'11, 190) 9 Ray Rose – freshman (6'1, 210) 11 Josh Downs – freshman (5'10, 180) 12 Stephen Gosnell – freshman (6'2, 185) 13 Tylee Craft – freshman (6'4, 180) 15 Beau Corrales – senior (6'4, 210) 83 Justin Olson – freshman (6'2, 190)
Placekicker 17 Grayson Atkins – Graduate (5'9, 185) 95 Jonathan Kim – sophomore (6'0, 205) 97 Noah Ruggles – junior (6'2, 185)
Punter 91 Ben Kiernan – sophomore (6'0, 205) Tight end 81 Jon Copenhaver – freshman (6'3, 220) 82 Kendall Karr – freshman (6'3, 230) 84 Garrett Walston – senior (6'4, 245) 88 Kamari Morales – freshman (6'2, 250)
Offensive lineman 51 Wyatt Tunall – freshman (6'6, 295) 52 Jonathan Adorno – freshman (6'4, 300) 55 Ty Murray – freshman (6'3, 325) 57 Cayden Baker – freshman (6'5, 285) 63 Ed Montilus – sophomore (6'3, 310) 64 Malik McGowan – freshman (6'3, 320) 66 Tobechi Nwokeji – junior (6'4, 305) 67 Trey Zimmerman – freshman (6'5, 290) 68 Brian Anderson – junior (6'2, 300) 69 Quiron Johnson – junior (6'1, 315) 71 Tristan Miller – freshman (6'4, 290) 72 Asim Richards – sophomore (6'4, 300) 73 Marcus McKethan – junior (6'7, 330) 74 Jordan Tucker – junior (6'7, 335) 75 Joshua Ezeudu – sophomore (6'4, 325) 76 William Barnes – sophomore (6'4, 325) 77 Wisdom Asaboro – freshman (6'8, 310) 79 Hunter Shope – freshman (6'2, 290)
Defensive lineman 41 Kedrick Bingley-Jones – freshman (6'4, 280) 51 Raymond Vohasek – junior (6'3, 295) 52 Jahlil Taylor – sophomore (6'0, 315) 54 A.J. Beatty – freshman (6'4, 275) 55 Clyde Pinder – freshman (6'0, 305) 56 Tomari Fox – sophomore (6'2, 280) 58 Lancine Turay – sophomore (6'5, 280) 88 Myles Murphy – freshman (6'4, 285) 90 Xach Gill – junior (6'4, 290) 93 Kristian Varner – freshman (6'5, 295) 98 Kevin Hester – Freshman (6'4, 275) Linebacker 7 Eugene Asante – sophomore (6'1, 215) 8 Khadry Jackson – sophomore (6'1, 225) 10 Desmond Evans – freshman (6'5, 245) 12 Tomon Fox – senior (6'3, 260) 17 Chris Collins – sophomore (6'4, 240) 21 Chazz Surratt – senior (6'2, 230) 24 Ethan West – freshman (6'3, 230) 25 Kaimon Rucker – freshman (6'1, 250) 33 Cedric Gray – freshman (6'1, 215) 42 Tyrone Hopper – Graduate (6'4, 250) 44 Jeremiah Gemmel – junior (6'1, 228) 49 Parks Cochrane – freshman (5'11, 230)
Defensive back 0 Ja'Qurious Conley – freshman (6'1, 215) 1 Kyler McMichael – sophomore (6'0, 200) 2 Don Chapman – sophomore (6'0, 185) 3 Cameron Roseman-Sinclair – freshman (5'11, 195) 4 Trey Morrison – junior (5'9, 190) 5 Patrice Rene – senior (6'2, 205) 9 Cam'Ron Kelly – sophomore (6'1, 205) 13 Obi Egbuna – sophomore (5'10, 180) 14 Welton Spottsville – sophomore (5'11, 210) 15 Ladaeson DeAndre Hollins – sophomore (6'1, 210) 16 D.J. Ford – senior (6'3, 210) 20 Tony Grimes – freshman (6'0, 180) 23 Javon Terry – sophomore (6'1, 200) 27 Giovanni Biggers – sophomore (6'1, 185) 29 Storm Duck – sophomore (6'1, 200)
Long snappers 60 Trevor Collins – senior (6'1, 235) 61 Drew Little – sophomore (5'11, 225)
Schedule North Carolina had games scheduled against Auburn, James Madison, UConn and UCF, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 17, Charlotte announced the game at North Carolina scheduled for September 19 was canceled due to the impact that contact tracing quarantine had on a key position group. Several members of the Charlotte offensive line were placed into quarantine following the University's COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, effectively depleting that unit. On November 16, it was announced that the games with Miami and Western Carolina would be swapped due to COVID-19 issues with the Hurricanes. The Tar Heels will play the Catamounts on December 5 and Miami a week later on December 12.
The ACC released their schedule on July 29, with specific dates selected at a later date.
Rankings
Game summaries
Syracuse
Statistics SyracuseNorth Carolina First downs 15 23 Total yards 202 463 Rushing yards 68 160 Passing yards 134 303 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 27:50 32:10
Team Category Player StatisticsSyracuse Passing Tommy DeVito 13/31, 112 yards Rushing Tommy DeVito 16 carries, 30 yards Receiving Taj Harris 5 receptions, 64 yardsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 25/34, 295 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs Rushing Michael Carter 7 carries, 78 yards Receiving Dyami Brown 6 receptions, 94 yards
At Boston College
Statistics North CarolinaBoston College First downs 24 22 Total yards 401 353 Rushing yards 176 40 Passing yards 225 313 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 28:57 31:03
Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 14/26, 225 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT Rushing Michael Carter 16 carries, 121 yards Receiving Dyami Brown 4 receptions, 60 yardsBoston College Passing Phil Jurkovec 37/56, 313 yards, 2 TDs Rushing David Bailey 7 carries, 28 yards Receiving Hunter Long 9 receptions, 96 yards
Virginia Tech
Statistics Virginia TechNorth Carolina First downs 25 31 Total yards 495 656 Rushing yards 260 399 Passing yards 235 257 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 32:06 27:54
Team Category Player StatisticsVirginia Tech Passing Hendon Hooker 7/13, 136 yards, 2 TDs Rushing Khalil Herbert 18 carries, 138 yards, 2 TDs Receiving James Mitchell 4 receptions, 103 yards, 1 TDNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 18/23, 257 yards, 3 TDs Rushing Michael Carter 17 carries, 214 yards, 2 TDs Receiving Dyami Brown 3 receptions, 86 yards, 2 TDs
At Florida State
Statistics North CarolinaFlorida State First downs 27 16 Total yards 558 432 Rushing yards 184 241 Passing yards 374 191 Turnovers 1 1 Time of possession 33:51 26:09
Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 20/36, 374 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT Rushing Javonte Williams 18 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD Receiving Beau Corrales 4 receptions, 141 yards, 1 TDFlorida State Passing Jordan Travis 8/19, 191 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing La'Damian Webb 12 carries, 109 yards Receiving Ontaria Wilson 2 receptions, 61 yards
NC State
Statistics NC StateNorth Carolina First downs 23 34 Total yards 392 578 Rushing yards 34 326 Passing yards 358 252 Turnovers 4 0 Time of possession 20:52 39:08
Team Category Player StatisticsNC State Passing Bailey Hockman 14/24, 215 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Zonovan Knight 9 carries, 41 yards Receiving Emeka Emezie 4 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TDNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 18/29, 252 yards, 1 TD Rushing Javonte Williams 19 carries, 160 yards, 3 TD Receiving Dyami Brown 7 receptions, 105 yards
At Virginia
Statistics North CarolinaVirginia First downs 24 28 Total yards 536 418 Rushing yards 93 210 Passing yards 443 208 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 25:26 34:34
Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 23/28, 443 yards, 4 TDs Rushing Michael Carter 9 carries, 64 yards Receiving Dyami Brown 11 receptions, 240 yards, 3 TDsVirginia Passing Brennan Armstrong 12/22, 208 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT Rushing Shane Simpson 8 carries, 70 yards Receiving Shane Simpson 1 reception, 71 yards, 1 TD
At Duke
Statistics North CarolinaDuke First downs 30 26 Total yards 573 411 Rushing yards 338 185 Passing yards 235 226 Turnovers 1 2 Time of possession 30:56 29:04
Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 18/27, 235 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT Rushing Javonte Williams 12 carries, 151 yards, 3 TDs Receiving Emery Simmons 2 receptions, 67 yardsDuke Passing Chase Brice 11/23, 155 yards, 1 INT Rushing Mataeo Durant 11 carries, 132 yards, 1 TD Receiving Darrell Harding Jr. 5 receptions, 70 yards
Wake Forest
Statistics Wake ForestNorth Carolina First downs 30 30 Total yards 606 742 Rushing yards 177 192 Passing yards 429 550 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 28:48 31:12
Team Category Player StatisticsWake Forest Passing Sam Hartman 29/45, 429 yards, 4 TDs Rushing Christian Beal-Smith 17 carries, 120 yards Receiving Donavon Greene 8 receptions, 170 yards, 2 TDsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 32/45, 550 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT Rushing Javonte Williams 13 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD Receiving Dazz Newsome 10 receptions, 189 yards, 2 TDs
Notre Dame
Statistics Notre DameNorth Carolina First downs 25 14 Total yards 478 298 Rushing yards 199 87 Passing yards 279 211 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 35:04 24:56
Team Category Player StatisticsNotre Dame Passing Ian Book 23/33, 279 yards, 1 TD Rushing Kyren Williams 23 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs Receiving Javon McKinley 6 receptions, 135 yardsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 17/27, 211 yards, 1 TD Rushing Michael Carter 8 carries, 57 yards Receiving Dyami Brown 4 receptions, 84 yards
Western Carolina
Statistics Western CarolinaNorth Carolina First downs 13 31 Total yards 253 540 Rushing yards 137 231 Passing yards 116 309 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 31:44 28:16
Team Category Player StatisticsWestern Carolina Passing Will Jones 7/14, 55 yards Rushing Donnavan Spencer 13 carries, 52 yards Receiving Owen Cosenke 2 receptions, 44 yardsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 20/23, 287 yards, 2 TDs Rushing Michael Carter 8 carries, 73 yards, 3 TDs Receiving Dazz Newsome 6 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD
At Miami (FL)
Statistics North CarolinaMiami (FL) First downs 31 15 Total yards 778 314 Rushing yards 554 75 Passing yards 224 239 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 40:19 19:41
Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 14/19, 223 yards, 1 TD Rushing Michael Carter 24 carries, 308 yards, 2 TDs Receiving Dyami Brown 4 receptions, 167 yardsMiami (FL) Passing D'Eriq King 18/30, 239 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT Rushing D'Eriq King 11 carries, 53 yards Receiving Brevin Jordan 6 receptions, 140 yards, 1 TD
Vs. Texas A&M (Orange Bowl)
Statistics Texas A&MNorth Carolina First downs 19 18 Total yards 457 324 Rushing yards 225 90 Passing yards 232 234 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 32:13 27:47