Through the first six games of their 2026 football season, the North Carolina Tar Heels already equaled their win total from last year.

UNC started with a 15-10 upset of TCU, followed by a 32-point thumping of ETSU. After collapsing at Clemson and losing big to Notre Dame, North Carolina (4-2, 2-1 ACC) responded with consecutive road wins at Pitt and Duke.

After a wild Week 7, the Tar Heels shot up rankings and even earned votes in the latest Coaches' Poll. In USA TODAY Sports' rankings of all 138 FBS teams, UNC jumped nine spots, landing at 40th overall.

North Carolina is one spot ahead of Duke (4-2, 1-2 ACC) and a slot behind Western Michigan. Ohio State leads the re-rankings, a list BYU or Miami (FL) should arguably be atop.

The Tar Heels gave up another fourth quarter lead in Durham, but this time, scored a last-minute touchdown and countered with lockdown defense. UNC held Blue Devils star running back Nate Sheppard in check for most of the game, then forced a Walker Eget interception to end things.

North Carolina is preparing for last-place Syracuse on Saturday, but underestimating the Orange will lead to a slip in the rankings. Syracuse (2-4, 0-4 ACC) has a 1-3 record in one-score games, playing better football than its win-loss total shows.

The Tar Heels have every excuse to look ahead, hosting top-ranked Miami (FL) at 7:30 p.m. on Halloween, but that'll also cause more harm than good. If UNC focuses up and beats the Orange on Saturday, it'll go into that October 31 showdown with another rankings jump.