Who will be UNC football's toughest opponent on 2025 schedule? Ranking all 12 teams
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The North Carolina football schedule for 2025, Bill Belichick’s debut season with the Tar Heels, is projected to be manageable.
Following the departure of longtime coach Mack Brown, Belichick’s Tar Heels will have a completely different look on both sides of the ball with a transfer-portal heavy roster. UNC’s schedule includes non-conference games against TCU and UCF, with key ACC games against rivals Duke and N.C. State, and a home date with reigning league champion Clemson.
Which games will be the most difficult for the Tar Heels? Here’s a ranking of each matchup, based on the level of difficulty. Location of the game and quality of opponent are factored into the breakdown
Richmond (Sept. 13)
- Richmond’s 2024 record: 10-3 (8-0 CAA)
- Series record: UNC leads 12-2
- Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., ACC Network
Notes: Following an undefeated run in the CAA, Richmond will try to carry that success to the Patriot League in 2025. The Spiders advanced to the FCS Playoffs last season, but UNC is 12-2 in the all-time series, including an 8-0 mark at Kenan Stadium.
Charlotte (Sept. 6)
- Charlotte’s 2024 record: 5-7 (4-4 AAC)
- Series record: UNC leads 1-0
- Kickoff: 7 p.m., ESPN+
Notes: Bill Belichick’s first road game as head coach of the Tar Heels will be in Charlotte, but not against the Carolina Panthers. For the first time in program history, UNC will play a road game against college football’s 49ers at Jerry Richardson Stadium. Last season, in the inaugural game of the series, the Heels earned a 38-20 win against Charlotte in Chapel Hill.
Stanford (Nov. 8)
- Stanford’s 2024 record: 3-9 (2-6 ACC)
- Series record: Stanford leads 2-1
- Kickoff: TBD
Notes: UNC will host Stanford in the first ACC matchup between the programs, but the Cardinal have won two of the three games in the all-time series. Stanford, which is led by former NFL coach Frank Reich, is projected to be at the bottom of the ACC this season. The Tar Heels have lost the last two games in the series, including the 2016 Sun Bowl, but they should have the upper hand in the 2025 homecoming game.
Wake Forest (Nov. 15)
- Wake Forest’s 2024 record: 3-9 (2-6 ACC)
- Series record: UNC leads 73-36-2
- Kickoff: TBD
Notes: Entering their first season under head coach Jake Dickert, the Demon Deacons aren’t projected to turn things around right away as a team expected to make a bowl game. UNC has won four in a row against Wake Forest, but the Tar Heels have lost three of their last four games in Winston-Salem. UNC secured a 31-24 win against Wake last season at Kenan Stadium, but this year’s meeting is the first of three in-state rivalry games to close the regular season.
Virginia (Oct. 25)
- Virginia’s 2024 record: 5-7 (3-5 ACC)
- Series record: UNC leads 67-58-4
- Kickoff: TBD
Notes: Sandwiched between Friday road trips to California and Syracuse, “The South’s Oldest Rivalry” returns in late October at Kenan Stadium. UNC has won three of the last four games against the Cavaliers, but has lost three of the last four meetings in Chapel Hill. Virginia took positive steps last season under Tony Elliott, but the Tar Heels should be favored in this one.
UCF (Sept. 20)
- UCF’s 2024 record: 4-8 (2-7 Big 12)
- Series record: First meeting
- Kickoff: TBD
Notes: UNC’s first road game against a power conference opponent under Bill Belichick will be in Orlando against Scott Frost and the Knights. Belichick was defensive coordinator for the New York Jets and coached Frost in the late 1990s. As far as road openers go against power-conference opponents, this is a good matchup for the Tar Heels in the inaugural game between the programs.
California (Oct. 17)
- Cal’s 2024 record: 6-7 (2-6 ACC)
- Series record: Cal leads 2-0
- Kickoff: 10:30 p.m., ESPN
Notes: UNC’s first Friday night game of the 2025 season is the program’s first regular-season trip to the West Coast since losing at California in 2018. The Tar Heels and Golden Bears haven’t met as ACC foes, but Cal won each of the two games in the series in 2017-18.
Syracuse (Oct. 31)
- Syracuse’s 2024 record: 10-3 (5-3 ACC)
- Series record: UNC leads 4-3
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Notes: Following a 10-win season in its first year under Fran Brown, including a four-game winning streak to close 2024, the Orange won’t be an easy opponent to face in a Friday night road game at the JMA Wireless Dome. It’s also Halloween night, meaning things could get wacky and weird. The teams have split the last four meetings in the series.
Duke (Nov. 22)
Duke’s 2024 record: 9-4 (5-3 ACC)
Series record: UNC leads 65-41-4
Kickoff: TBD
Notes: The Tar Heels will try to get the Victory Bell back in their final home game of the 2025 season. Duke rallied from a 20-0 deficit last season to win in dramatic fashion at Wallace Wade Stadium, snapping a five-game losing streak against UNC to snatch back the bell. Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils return some high-level playmakers on both sides of the ball, but UNC has won three straight in the rivalry at Kenan Stadium. The last three games in the series have been decided by three or fewer points.
TCU (Sept. 1)
- TCU’s 2024 record: 9-4 (6-3 Big 12)
- Series record: UNC leads 3-0
- Kickoff: 8 p.m., ESPN
Notes: It seems fitting that Bill Belichick’s first game with the Tar Heels is on Monday Night Football. All eyes will be on Kenan Stadium to wrap up the opening weekend of the college football season, with TCU coming to Chapel Hill for UNC’s opener. The Horned Frogs closed the 2024 season on a four-game winning streak. They return a crowd of talent from that squad, making the 2025 opener a tough task for UNC. The Heels have won each of the three games in the series, but the teams haven’t played since 1997.
N.C. State (Nov. 29)
- N.C. State’s 2024 record: 6-7 (3-5 ACC)
- Series record: UNC leads 68-40-6
- Kickoff: TBD
Notes: Even in a disappointing season, the Wolfpack continued its dominance against rival UNC, winning at Kenan Stadium for its fourth straight victory against the Tar Heels. Belichick’s first UNC squad will undoubtedly face a rowdy crowd at Carter-Finley Stadium in the regular-season finale. The Tar Heels will be tasked with trying to win their first game in Raleigh since 2019.
Clemson (Oct. 4)
- Clemson’s 2024 record: 10-4 (6-1 ACC)
- Series record: Clemson leads 40-19-1
- Kickoff: TBD
Notes: The class of the ACC and a projected top-five team in the nation to start 2025, Clemson is a perennial College Football Playoff contender. Even in a down year by their lofty standards, the Tigers won 10 games, an ACC championship and competed in the 12-team CFP last season. The Tar Heels have lost nine of their last 10 games against Clemson, including six straight. The good news: UNC gets an off week before and after playing the Tigers in early October. The bad news: There’s no good time to face a team that brings back 80% of its returning production (according to ESPN).
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC football schedule 2025: Ranking Tar Heels’ toughest games
