1948 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

1948 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Sugar Bowl, L 6–14 vs. Oklahoma
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 3
1948 record	9–1–1 (4–0–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Carl Snavely (6th season)
Home stadium	Kenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons

1948 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Clemson †	5	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
North Carolina	4	–	0	–	1			9	–	1	–	1
VMI	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
William & Mary	5	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	2
Wake Forest	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Maryland	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Duke	3	–	2	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
Richmond	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	3	–	2
Washington & Lee	2	–	2	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Furman	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	6	–	1
George Washington	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Davidson	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
South Carolina	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
NC State	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Virginia Tech	0	–	6	–	1			0	–	8	–	1
The Citadel	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
† – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1948 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina during the 1948 college football season. The Tar Heels were led by sixth-year head coach Carl Snavely and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The team finished the regular season undefeated with a record of 9–0–1, and outscored their opponents 261–94. North Carolina was ranked third in the final AP Poll of the season (conducted before bowl season), which is to date the highest finish in school history. They were invited to the 1949 Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Big 7 Conference champion Oklahoma.

Halfback Charlie Justice was a consensus first-team All-American, and finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. He led the team in rushing, passing, and punting, with 766 rushing yards, 854 passing yards, and 20 total touchdowns. End Art Weiner was also named an All-American, including first-team by the Football Writers Association of America and the New York Sun.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result
September 25	Texas*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 34–7
October 2	at Georgia*		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	W 21–14
October 9	at Wake Forest	No. 2	Groves Stadium Wake Forest, NC (rivalry)	W 28–6
October 16	NC State	No. 1	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	W 14–0
October 23	LSU*	No. 3	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 34–7
October 30	at Tennessee*	No. 3	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 14–7
November 6	William & Mary	No. 3	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	T 7–7
November 13	at Maryland	No. 6	Griffith Stadium Washington, D.C.	W 49–20
November 20	Duke	No. 5	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (Victory Bell)	W 20–0
November 27	at Virginia	No. 4	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry)	W 34–12
January 1, 1949	vs. No. 5 Oklahoma*	No. 3	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	L 6–14
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game