There are 128 teams that play at the highest level of college football, and they all start the season undefeated.
But the harsh reality is that only 11 have a legitimate chance to win the 2016 College Football Playoff. Those contenders have had their cases covered in detail, but what about the other potential championship-caliber teams? Why were they not included as contenders?
In this fourth installment of a seven-part series, we'll take a look at one of those championship-caliber teams that just doesn't have quite enough to be considered a CFP contender: the North Carolina Tar Heels.
It might seem that Larry Fedora's club should be considered among the contenders since it returns seven offensive and six defensive starters from a team that won 11 games last season. That personnel stability notwithstanding, North Carolina simply has too many negatives to win the College Football Playoff.