For the first time in program history, North Carolina welcomed the Minnesota Golden Gophers to Chapel Hill last season. The Tar Heels cruised to victory, downing the Big Ten foe 31-13.
Now, as UNC enters year six of the Mack Brown 2.0 era, it opens the 2024 season in Minneapolis, making the return trip to take on Minnesota at Huntington Bank Stadium on Aug. 29.
The Tar Heels are no stranger to opening up the season on the road, however, having done so against a Power 4 opponent four times since the turn of the century. UNC is 0-4 in those games, with losses to Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and California.
When North Carolina makes its way to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it will mark just the second time under Mack Brown that the Tar Heels make their season debut against a Big Ten opponent. UNC defeated Indiana in Chapel Hill, 23-6, on Sept. 6, 1997.
The last time the Tar Heels took on a Big Ten opponent was in 2016, when they traveled to Illinois and earned a lopsided victory.
Throughout program history, UNC has faced off against nine current different Big Ten programs, totaling 22 games, not including Maryland and Rutgers, and the four new schools from the Pac-12 before they entered the Big Ten. The Tar Heels are 14-8 all-time against the conference.
UNC has a winning record against six programs and a losing record against three, with the exception of Iowa and Purdue, which it hasn't yet faced. UNC and Purdue, however, have a home-and-home series coming up later this decade.
As the 2024 season-opener nears, we take a look at how UNC has fared against each Big Ten team aside from Maryland, Rutgers, and the four new schools from the Pac-12.
UNC vs Illinois
Series: UNC 4-0 (2-0 in Champaign)
-Last meeting in Champaign: Sept. 10, 2016 (UNC 48, Illinois 23)
-North Carolina has won all four contests against the Fighting Illini by double-digits, dating back to their first matchup in 1971
-UNC’s four wins against illinois are the most against a Big Ten opponent
UNC vs Indiana
Series: UNC 2-0 (1-0 in Bloomington)
-Last meeting in Bloomington: Sept. 11, 1999 (UNC 42-30)
-UNC’s first victory against the Hoosiers in 1997 came in the season opener of North Carolina Coach Mack Brown’s final campaign in Chapel Hill
UNC vs Michigan
Series: UNC 2-1 (1-0 in Ann Arbor)
-Last meeting in Ann Arbor: Oct. 1, 1966 (UNC 21-7)
-The two programs last met in 1979 in the Gator Bowl, where the Tar Heels earned a 17-15 win in Jacksonville
UNC vs Michigan State
Series: Michigan State 2-1 (UNC is 0-2 in East Lansing)
-Last meeting in East Lansing: Sept. 18, 1963 (MSU 31-0)
-North Carolina won the most recent matchup against the Spartans, 21-15, in Chapel Hill in 1964
UNC vs Minnesota
Series: UNC 1-0
-North Carolina secured a 31-13 victory over the Golden Gophers in Chapel Hill on Sept. 16, 2023
UNC vs Northwestern
Series: UNC 2-0 (1-0 in Evanston)
-Last meeting in Evanston: Sept. 24, 1977 (UNC 41-7)
-North Carolina has won both matchups with the Wildcats by double-digits, dating back to their first contest in 1976
UNC vs Ohio State
Series: Ohio State 3-1 (UNC is 1-3 in Columbus)
-Last meeting in Columbus: Sept. 27, 1975 (OSU 32-7)
-Ohio State is the only Big Ten opponent UNC has faced that has yet to make the trip to Chapel Hill
UNC vs Penn State
Series: UNC 1-0
-Last meeting: Sept. 2, 1943 (UNC 19-0 in Chapel Hill)
-Penn State was the first then-Big Ten program UNC played in its history, as their first and only matchup came over 80 years ago
UNC vs Wisconsin
Series: Wisconsin 20
-Last meeting in Madison: Sept. 20, 2003 (Wisconsin 38-27)
-Wisconsin is the lone Big Ten team that North Carolina has played without recording a win
Breakdown
Home: 7-2 (Losses to Wisconsin and Michigan)
Road: 6-6
Neutral: 1-0
Overall: 14-8
Note: North Carolina played Nebraska, Maryland, and Rutgers before each program became a member of the Big Ten. They have yet to play either team since their conference change.
UNC vs. Nebraska
Series: Nebraska 1-0
-Only meeting 1997 Libert Bowl, Nebraska 21, UNC 17
UNC vs Maryland
Series: UNC 38-32-1
-Last meeting in College Park: Nov. 15, 2008 (Maryland 17-15)
UNC vs. Rutgers
Series: Rutgers 3-4
-Last meeting in Piscataway: Sept. 25, 2010 (UNC 17-13)
-Rutgers defeated UNC in the Quick Lane Bowl, 41-20, in their last matchup in 2014
Regarding the four new schools, UNC is 2-0 against USC, 0-1 against Oregon, and it hasnot yet faced either UCLA or Washington in football.
Carolina is currently on a two-game winning streak against the Big Ten, with wins over Minnesota and Illinois
