The CFP Era · 2014–present

North Carolina

Twelve seasons in three acts · ACC

78–75Record
51.0%Win %
0National titles
2020Peak season
57Avg. percentile
29NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2020 · 8–4Steepest fall2017
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

45–43 · avg percentile 61
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

23–17 · avg percentile 65
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

10–15 · avg percentile 33

Defining games

Coaches of the era

Larry Fedora2014–2017
Mack Brown2020–2023
Freddie Kitchens2024–2024
Bill Belichick2025–2025

Roster of the era

29 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

616
317
118
219
520
421
422
323
124

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Bill Belichick. See the 2014–2025 program page →