North Carolina Tar HeelsvsTCU Horned Frogs
UNC 15/TCU 10
Things to say
North Carolina beat TCU 15-10 in the season opener at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
01
opener
Fifteen to ten, that tells you everything. Nobody could move the ball in the red zone. Whole thing came down to field goals and a safety.
02
key player
Billy Edwards Jr. was steady for UNC. Only 232 through the air but he didn't turn it over, and that's all you needed in a rock fight like that.
03
hot take
TCU's Jeremy Payne runs for 142 and they still lose? When your back goes for a buck-forty and you score ten points, that's on the coaching.
04
deep cut
The safety was the whole game. That two-pointer flipped it late and TCU never answered. People forget a safety wins games.
05
exit
Long season though. Ask me again after they hit some conference play and we'll see who's real.
The recap
Nobody's putting this one in a highlight reel, but North Carolina grinded out a 15-10 win over TCU in Dublin, and the defense was the whole story. Jeremy Payne busted off 142 yards on the ground for the Horned Frogs, yet they couldn't finish drives and settled for a single touchdown all day.
The game flipped in the fourth when a safety nudged UNC ahead 12-10, then Aeron Burrell drilled a 28-yarder to make it a two-score cushion. Billy Edwards Jr. leaned on Jelani Thurman for 94 yards and did just enough — this was smashmouth, ugly, and exactly the kind of game the Tar Heels' front seven wanted.