Mack Brown and the North Carolina Tar Heels got past Duke in a tight game on Saturday night to win their second-straight game and move to 8-2 on the year.

And it also helped their ranking in the College Football Playoff.

The Tar Heels moved up four spots in the third rankings, jumping from No. 24 to No. 20 after the win. It was a big move for the Tar Heels just to get to the top 20 after they weren’t ranked initially in the debut rankings on Halloween following losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech.

The ranking still puts UNC in the outside looking in for a New Year’s Six bowl but all they can do right now is win out and hope for some help with Louisville losing.

UNC is the third-highest-ranked team in the Atlantic Coast Conference behind No. 4 Florida State and No. 10 Louisville. The Seminoles stayed put after a win while the Cardinals moved up one spot after beating Virginia.

Those two teams are likely to meet in the ACC Championship Game in early December barring a loss by the Cardinals. For North Carolina to get into a New Year’s Six bowl, they will need to win out and see Louisville lose at least once and potentially twice.

The Tar Heels are on the road against Clemson this Saturday.

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Story originally appeared on Tarheels Wire