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The North Carolina Tar Heels are nearing the end of an impressive season for second-year head coach Bill Belichick.
With a 4-4 record and close wins (and defeats) against some of the sport's best teams, the Tar Heels have shown immense growth this season. However, there are still four games to be played this month, all of which could be critical, with goals to accomplish in that span. Let's make some bold predictions for North Carolina's final month of the season.
One of the three goals I wrote for the Tar Heels heading into the final month of games was establishing the run. I'm surprised by how inconsistent this area of the offense has been for two quarters of this season. However, that should change in the next few weeks when they play opponents who have allowed at least 131 yards per game on the ground.
Over the next four weeks, offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino works to get the run game going with the trio of Benjamin Hall, Demon June, and Jaylen McGill. He becomes successful in this area, tallying an average of 150 yards rushing yards per game. I'll add a box score prediction: Jaylen McGill rushes for a career-high 145 yards against Virginia, which is allowing roughly 160 yards per game on the ground this season.
One of the league leaders in sacks last season, a hand/wrist injury has hampered Melkart Abou Jaoude's disruptiveness as a pass rusher. This month, we could see the cast finally come off, which means Abou Jaoude is set to have a monster month for North Carolina.
I'm not here to say Abou Jaoude rips off three-sack games for the remainder of the year, but the consistent penetration and disruptiveness open the door for the ACC standout edge rusher to rebound with a strong final month, acquiring seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss in November to bolster his draft stock ahead of the all-star games.
As I've said many times this week, North Carolina has come close to being either a one- or two-loss team and potentially listed in the playoff rankings this week, with potential upsets over Clemson and No. 1 Miami. The Tar Heels have simply struggled to put a full game together on both sides of the ball, but in the month that counts at the end of the regular season, Belichick's team finishes on a heater.
The Tar Heels go undefeated in November, capping it off with a monster rivalry win against NC State on Thanksgiving weekend, opening the door to potentially ending the 2026 season ranked and full of momentum heading into another big offseason that could be advantageous in the transfer portal to compete for the ACC Championship in 2027.