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CHAPEL HILL – ACC play is here for 17th-ranked North Carolina, and the Tar Heels say they are ready for this phase of the season.

Posting a 3-0 mark with wins over South Carolina, Appalachian State, and Minnesota have revealed UNC is a quality team yet with plenty of room for improvement. Both are excellent signs.

But diving into league play can be tricky. Opponents know them better, atmospheres are usually more fervent, and the play between the lines more intense. Starting out at always-physical isn’t ideal for any team. That the Panthers are struggling and might feel boxed into a corner on their season only increased UNC’s task.

But ACC play has arrived, and Carolina feels the sense of urgency.

“It’s important,” senior linebacker Cedric Gray said. “We’re ready for conference play. One of my goals and one of the team’s goals is to get to the ACC championship, and obviously all these ACC games determine that. So, it’s definitely important.

“We’re really starting to get into the season now, so we’re really to attack it.”

Pitt comes in at 1-2 with consecutive losses at home to Cincinnati and at West Virginia. Panthers quarterback Phil Jurkovec has completed 18 of 52 pass attempts the last two weeks, as Pitt’s offense has barely moved the ball.

But the Panthers bring it every time. The old “junkyard dog” term applies to Pat Narduzzi’s program, so the Heels are heading to the Steel City knowing they will be embroiled in a football-style brawls Saturday night.

“They’re not happy with their start,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said. “We’ve been up there the last two times and played overtime games and lost both. They’ll be ready to play, they’ll be excited to play, so we’ve got to go do a great job and go fight our guts out.”

The Tar Heels trailed Kenny Pickett and the Panthers, 23-7, two seasons ago before sending the game into overtime. Carolina’s offense was stymied in the extra session in part because of a major rain storm hitting when it had the ball. Pitt won 30-23.

In 2019, UNC trailed, 24-10, before tying the game at 27-27 going into overtime. The Heels lost 34-27.

Revenge isn’t on Carolina’s mind, though, matching or exceeding the manner Pitt approaches the game has been preached every minute this week.

“They try to play that bully ball and have that mentality going into the week,” UNC quarterback Drake Maye said. “I remember that dude last year in the press conference, one of the linebackers, said, ‘I’d do the same thing we did to (Louisville QB) Malik Cunningham. If he doesn’t get up, it’s not our problem.

“I had a mentality, let’s see how it worked out last year. Go in with the same type of mentality. You’re trying to win a game and play and not hurt ourselves offensively.”

Winning the game would make UNC 4-0 for the first time since 1997, and give the Heels a nice nudge into the rest of the season. An open date follows before playing on eight consecutive Saturdays.

The Heels have already had one game foundation-laying game, Saturday is the next one.

“(It’s) another opportunity to set the tone like South Carolina was for our season,” Maye said. “But this is another opportunity to set the tone for ACC play.”

The Heels and Panthers kickoff at 8 PM, and the game will air on the ACCN.