Kirk Herbstreit names Clemson’s biggest challenger in the ACC
By Keith Farner
Published:
It has been a while since Clemson was threatened in the ACC, but the Tigers’ grip on the league may not last forever. Now that Notre Dame has joined the league for this season, the Fighting Irish may be a trendy dark-horse upset pick.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit sees it a bit differently.
“I know Notre Dame with Ian Book is easy to like. There’s a lot to like on that roster. I might be crazy, but I think North Carolina’s, you know, closing the gap there,” Herbstreit said on the CFB Podcast with Herbie, Pollack and Negandhi, via 247Sports. “And with the quarterback play that (North Carolina has), the system that they have and almost this newfound belief like youthful energy and excitement that hasn’t been in Chapel Hill since, I don’t know, (Mack Brown) left maybe? Mack does a great job of getting kids, and relating to kids and getting them excited. There’s just, like I said, youthful energy about that squad led by Sam Howell. And I think that they’re right there, and maybe a notch ahead of Notre Dame in the ACC for me.”
If shaking up a conference starts with quarterback play, the Tar Heels may have the recipe to do it.
As a true freshman in 2019, Howell started every game, and passed for 3,641 yards, completed 259-of-422 passes, and 38 touchdowns to only seven interceptions.
His 38 passing touchdowns ranked fourth in the FBS last season, and he broke the previous single-season record at North Carolina set by Mitchell Trubisky in 2016 (30).
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
