Say what you want about Virginia and Florida State's football programs, but the North Carolina Tar Heels are suddenly exciting to watch after dominating both in consecutive weeks.

UNC (5-4, 2-3 ACC) smoked the Cavaliers two weeks ago in Charlottesville, 41-14, highlighted by a 10-sack performance from its defense. Staying on the road last weekend, North Carolina overwhelmed Florida State, 35-11, in a game decided by both its defense and star running back Omarion Hampton.

As a reward for their continued hot play last weekend, the Tar Heels rose three spots – to 60th – in USA Today's re-rank of all 134 FBS college football programs.

UNC finds itself sandwiched between TCU (59) and West Virginia (61), a pair of historically successful Big 12 programs. The Horned Frogs are just two years removed from the CFP National Championship, but haven't looked anywhere close to that level of talented.

North Carolina won't find itself contending for a National Title – or even an ACC title – this season. The Tar Heels can, however, reach bowl eligibility with one victory in their final three games.

UNC enjoys another bye week this coming weekend, then hosts Wake Forest in a highly-anticipated in-state matchup on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. North Carolina then ships up to Boston College for its final 2024 road game on Nov. 23, then returns to Kenan Stadium and hosts NC State in its season finale on Thanksgiving Weekend.

There's plenty of talented pieces on the Tar Heels' roster, but just like seasons' past, a cold stretch doomed any preseason excitement fans had. That excitement has slowly climbed back into the picture – and given those same fans a reason to watch UNC football again in November.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : Blowout victory helps Tar Heels climb in USA Today's latest CFB re-rank