During their run to the ACC championship game a year ago, North Carolina players and coaches often talked about a pivotal team meeting that allowed grievances to be aired and chemistry to take hold.

That team camaraderie became a major intangible that guided them to the Coastal Division crown. But the vibe in Chapel Hill is different now. North Carolina is no longer being asked about failing to live up to expectations.

Rather, North Carolina is being asked what it will take to exceed the high expectations that already have the Tar Heels pinned as a favorite to repeat in the Coastal.

“I think the thing that you can see in all of their eyes is that they've tasted it,” coach Larry Fedora said on the recent ACC spring coaches’ teleconference. “They got a little taste of what it's like, so they know what it’s going to take to get there. They understand how important the leadership is. They understand the importance of the chemistry on our football team. They know we have the athletes to be able to get there, but there are some intangibles that are involved that they control.”

Teams often talk about chemistry as that elusive intangible that is a necessary component to winning games. During up-and-down seasons in 2013 and 2014, there was a much more fractured locker room and virtually no team chemistry.

So Fedora knew he had to change that. He also had to change himself. The team meeting in January 2015 was a start. But he also brought in experts on team building to start help building trust. When the season began with a loss to South Carolina, the Tar Heels could have easily gone the way they had in previous seasons -- pointing the finger and blaming each other.

But they tried something different. They kept on believing. And it got them to 11 wins.

“Our team chemistry is at an all-time high feeding off last year,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “We realized how important team chemistry was last year, and how that alone can win you games if you just stick together and believe in the game plan and what we’ve been practicing.”

Belief is just a start. Talent is important, too, and North Carolina returns seven starters on offense -- including 1,000-yard back Elijah Hood and top receivers Mack Hollins, Ryan Switzer and Bug Howard. Trubisky might be a new face, but he’s been in the offense for years now and had plenty of game experience to guide him.

What will be perhaps more important is the development of new leadership. Veterans Marquise Williams, Shakeel Rashad and Jeff Schoettmer are gone, and their role in fostering a unified locker room cannot be underestimated. Fedora knows that.

“This summer and on through fall camp will determine really what kind of football team we're going to have,” Fedora said. “They're aware of that. I think they're excited about it. I think they've got a pretty good blueprint of what they need to do.”

Maybe that blueprint leads them to more than just a spot in the ACC championship game.

“The whole team is very hungry,” Trubisky said. “We had a great season last year, but we lost our last two games and that is not how we want to finish. The team is ready to make this season even more special than last year.”