UNC football 2024 schedule: Can’t miss game. Toughest stretch. Intriguing opponent

The time has come for the third stanza of Mack Brown’s second tenure as North Carolina’s football coach.

After using two future NFL quarterbacks in Sam Howell and Drake Maye since his return to Chapel Hill for the 2019 season, Brown will watch Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson or returning player Conner Harrell battle it out to see who will be the starting quarterback when the Tar Heels open the season at Minnesota on Aug. 29.

That game with the Gophers begins the sixth season of Brown’s latest stint coaching UNC, with his famous stop at Texas in between.

The Tar Heels play seven home games at Kenan Stadium, including in-state nonconference games with Charlotte and N.C. Central and a visit from ACC rival N.C. State to close the regular season. UNC’s annual game with Duke will be in Durham this season.

Can’t miss game

NC State at UNC, Nov. 30: While the Tar Heels own five consecutive wins over Triangle rival Duke, they haven’t fared as well against the Wolfpack in recent seasons. N.C. State has won the past three games against UNC and six of the past eight. N.C. State rolled to a 39-20 win in Raleigh last season after edging the Tar Heels, 30-27, in double overtime in the teams’ most recent game at Kenan Stadium.

Toughest stretch

Back-to-back road trips to Virginia and Florida State loom as a possible scary stretch for the Tar Heels. UNC lost to Virginia at home last season and the Seminoles are the reigning ACC champions who finished tied for No. 6 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. The only good news for UNC is it gets its open weeks before Virginia and after Florida State.

Easiest stretch

After opening the season at Minnesota, the Tar Heels stay as close to home as possible until late October. Beginning with the Sept. 7 home opener with Charlotte, UNC plays home games in five of the next six games. The only road trip in that stretch? The eight-mile ride to play Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium. Toss in the open date and the Tar Heels won’t leave the Triangle from late August until an Oct. 26 trip to play at Virginia.

Notable nonconference game

North Carolina at Minnesota, Aug. 29: Opening on the road against a Power Four conference team is a difficult challenge for any program. The Tar Heels will be breaking in a new starting quarterback and a revamped defense that will feature a new defensive coordinator in Collins. No, Minnesota isn’t expected to challenge for the Big Ten title. That would be true even if last season’s national runner-up, Washington, wasn’t joining the league. But the Gophers will present the Tar Heels with a stern opening test.

Filled with intrigue

James Madison at UNC, Sept. 21: A newcomer to the Football Bowl Subdivision, James Madison quickly proved it belonged by going 11-2 last season. That included a 36-35 win at Virginia, showing the Dukes can handle themselves against ACC foes. This will be the Tar Heels’ final nonconference game of the regular season and it comes one week before their trip to Durham to play rival Duke.

UNC SCHEDULE 2024

What is the ACC scheduling model?

The 2024-2030 schedule model will continue with no divisions, feature 17 schools, and will increase the number of annual conference matchups from 56 to 68.

The top two teams based on conference winning percentage will compete in the ACC Football Championship Game on the first Saturday in December at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

The approved format will continue to have each member institution play eight conference games per season, with all 17 teams playing each other at least twice over the next seven seasons — once at home and once on the road. The current 14 conference teams will play a total of three times each in California over the seven years and none will travel to California in back-to-back seasons.

The new scheduling model protects 16 annual matchups. Of the 16 matchups, 11 are retained from the current 3-5-5 schedule model, two are restored rivalries from the divisional format in Miami-Virginia Tech and NC State-Wake Forest, and the three new schools fill the remaining three. The annual protected matchups are Boston College-Syracuse, Boston College-Pitt, Syracuse-Pitt, North Carolina-Virginia, North Carolina-Duke, North Carolina-NC State, NC State-Wake Forest, NC State-Duke, Duke-Wake Forest, VirginiaTech-Virginia, Florida State-Clemson, Miami-Florida State, Miami-Virginia Tech, Stanford-Cal, Stanford-SMU, and Cal-SMU.

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