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There's really no reason why North Carolina shouldn't be 3-0 right now, so it's a bit concerning that they have to play No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Sure, Bill Belichick's squad is coming off a bye week, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have what it takes to take down the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame is a top-five team and National Championship contender for a reason, and they're heading to Kenan Stadium to prove that.

At a perfect 4-0, the last thing Marcus Freeman wants to do is slip up against UNC.

Should the Tar Heels fall to 2-2, it's not like they're out of the bowl game conversation entirely, but they know they'll have their work cut out for them.

UNC projected to make Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl

ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach were once again tasked with not only naming the College Football Playoff field, but also predicting the teams that make up the remaining bowl games.

It's quite the large slate of games, to say the least, so to see Bonagura once again not include UNC in any bowl games is a bit alarming.

That said, Schlabach still sees a path to a bowl game for UNC. Obviously, everyone is predicting that Notre Dame will get the job done in Week 4, but that's not a death sentence for this Tar Heels squad.

Heading into the week at 2-1 is a perfectly fine record, and Schlabach believes they've done enough, at this point, to make the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Friday, Dec. 18 against Tulane.

That would be far from a high-profile matchup for the Tar Heels, but it's something, and that's all that matters.

Should that scenario play out, UNC would head to the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as this one has a 2:30 p.m. EST kickoff on ESPN from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Will UNC improve from their 4-8 season?

Remember, UNC also started 2-1 last year, so there are no guarantees they make a bowl game here in 2026.

Last year's schedule only saw them play one ranked opponent (No. 16 Virginia), and somehow that was one of their closest games of the year.

This season, they're stuck dealing with No. 4 Miami on Halloween, but other than that, they don't have any other ranked opponents on the docket once they get past the Fighting Irish.

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