UNC rises in AP football poll, still third-highest ACC team behind Clemson, Notre Dame

A strong defensive performance helped the North Carolina Tar Heels move up to No. 12 in the latest AP Top 25 football poll released Sunday.

The Tar Heels also benefited from teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences being removed from the poll. Those two leagues voted to forgo playing this fall because of coronavirus.

North Carolina defeated Syracuse in Chapel Hill, 31-6 on Saturday. The Tar Heels moved up six spots from their preseason ranking.

ACC rival Clemson is still No. 1 in the poll. The Tigers beat Wake Forest on Saturday and received all 60 first-place votes in the poll. Alabama is second, followed by Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida and LSU.

Notre Dame, which is participating in the ACC for the first time this season, is No. 7. The Irish defeated Duke 27-13 on Saturday.

Appalachian State, which survived its showdown with Charlotte on Saturday, 35-20, is ranked No. 24.