As it stands now, there aren't many games, when looking at North Carolina's schedule, that the Tar Heels will be favored in.
In fact, there's only one sure-fire game that'll heavily favor UNC: its Week 2 matchup against East Tennessee State on Sept. 12 at Kenan Stadium, which will likely favor the Tar Heels by double digits.
In an otherwise gauntlet of a schedule — one of the country's toughest — North Carolina's lone game against a non-Power 4 opponent comes against ETSU.
The Buccaneers, who belong to the Southern Conference in the FCS, finished last season 7-5 and 5-3 in the SoCon, good for third place in the nine-team league.
ETSU finished the season 15th in the FCS in total offense, but 90th in total defense.
The Buccaneers' lone test against an FBS opponent last season came against Tennessee in Knoxville, where the Volunteers annihilated ETSU, 72-17. This year, UNC is the only Power 4 opponent on the Buccaneers' schedule.
For the Tar Heels, the matchup will come two weeks after UNC faces TCU for Week 0 in Dublin, Ireland.
Regardless of how the Tar Heels' opener goes, win or loss, their game against ETSU will be an opportunity to either add to or get into the win column and give some of their younger players meaningful in-game snaps.
Last season, ETSU had three quarterbacks who saw significant playing time. Cade McNamara, who previously played at Michigan and Iowa, started eight games for the Buccaneers. And his brother, Jake McNamara, saw extensive time on the field, too. Former UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell played in eight games for ETSU, starting four.
With Criswell in the Canadian Football League and Cade McNamara pursuing NFL opportunities, including a rookie minicamp invitation with the Tennessee Titans, ETSU's presumed starter is Jake McNamara.
Jake, a redshirt junior, played in five games last year for the Buccaneers, tallying 305 passing yards on 25-for-37 passing and a pair of touchdowns.
ETSU is led by coach Will Healy, who's entering his second season with the Buccaneers. Previously, he was the associate head coach at Georgia State and UCF. From 2019-22, Healy served as the head coach at UNC Charlotte.