247Sports projects Texas football to face Mack, UNC in Cheez-It Bowl

The latest bowl projections heading into Week 9 for the Texas football program had them facing former head coach Mack Brown in the Cheez-It Bowl.

In the post-Week 8 bowl projections around the college football landscape, there were some pretty major shakeups amid a bevy of surprising results, changes, and upsets around the country. The Big Ten was back in action around college football over the weekend, and they already produced some major drama in a few games. And the Texas football program also slid up the bowl projections a bit by taking down the Baylor Bears by a double-digit margin.

In the updated bowl projections heading into Week 9 of the 2020 college football season from 247Sports, the Longhorns were slotted in a special matchup (albeit in a not so desirable landing spot) against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Cheez-It Bowl. That would mean that fourth-year Longhorns head coach Tom Herman would get to face former Texas head coach Mack Brown and his upstart Tar Heels in the postseason.

Facing a former National Champion head coach in Brown and a very talented Tar Heels team in the postseason would be a really interesting draw for a ton of college football fans. It wouldn’t just be Texas and UNC fans that would be captured by the draw of this projected postseason matchup.

Texas heads out of Week 8 of the college football season with a record of 3-2 (2-2 Big 12) after taking down the slipping Bears at home, by the final score of 27-16, on Oct. 24. Meanwhile, UNC came up with a big 48-21 win over the No. 23 ranked NC State Wolfpack to respond from their upset loss last weekend at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles.

UNC owns a record of 4-1 (4-1 ACC) following their big win over NC State this weekend.

Here’s more on what this piece from 247Sports had to say on the Cheez-It Bowl projection for UNC and Texas.

"Mack Brown against his former team would gobble up bowl season headlines. North Carolina could still potentially win out and get to the New Year’s Six with a strong finish and if Saturday’s blowout win over NC State was any indication, the Tar Heels are going to be a tough out the rest of the way. Saddled with two losses already, the Longhorns have no margin for error in the Big 12 title race."

Up next for Herman and the Longhorns is a huge Oct. 31 Halloween showdown on the road in Stillwater against the No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. Texas could get a statement win to build their winning streak to two games if they can upset Oklahoma State next weekend.

And up next for Brown and the Tar Heels is an Oct. 31 primetime rivalry meeting with the sliding Virginia Cavaliers and head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The Tar Heels do still have to face the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 11 Miami Hurricanes before the end of the 2020 regular season.