Covering Carolina athletics beyond men’s basketball and football, with dedicated reporting on women’s basketball and baseball, in addition to covering other sports that rarely draw media attention
DUBLIN — Tight ends weren’t a big part of the passing game last season, but an Ohio State transfer is changing that in a big way. In one game, Jelani Thurman, who is on the watchlist for the John Mackey Award that goes to the nation’s top tight end, topped his season total from a year ago with the Buckeyes.
After a weekend when starters Drake Maye, Omarion Hampton, Josh Downs and Javonte Williams all sat out the final preseason games and Sam Howell had his best preseason showing, there was plenty of other roster activity, much of it not good for former UNC players.
DUBLIN — Billy Edwards Jr. showed why he earned the starting spot with a solid but not spectacular performance. He didn’t throw any touchdown passes, but he also didn’t turn the ball over, going 16 of 28 for 232 yards, a total that Carolina hadn’t reached since 2024.
DUBLIN — Things were said at halftime among players, likely some of it profane, and it reset North Carolina’s defense. The unit that emerged in the second half of the Tar Heels’ 15–10 victory over TCU on Saturday night in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium seemed to have a stronger resolve, and it caused issues for the Horned Frogs offense. TCU went scoreless for the last 49 minutes of the game.
Well, I have to say, that was somewhat unexpected.
DUBLIN — After a preseason with plenty of negative talk outside of the program, North Carolina may be the early talk of college football after an impressive opener. This looked like a totally different team than last season.
DUBLIN — The North Carolina women’s soccer team headed across the Atlantic this week, and the trip carried plenty of challenges and history along with it. The Tar Heels are in Dublin to face Shelbourne FC in an international friendly on Friday at 2 p.m. ET, a day before the UNC football team takes on TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The games will be played in stadiums less than four miles apart, with the soccer match at Tolka Park and the football game at Aviva Stadium.
DUBLIN — The football broadcasts on the Tar Heel Sports Network will sound a little different this season without a longtime voice and a returning voice in a new role.
DUBLIN — Plenty of new experiences are kicking in for most Carolina players visiting Ireland for the first time, but it’s familiar territory for a freshman punter. What isn’t so familiar is American football.
DUBLIN — Before North Carolina gets to the game plan, there were other important lessons for the Tar Heels to learn once they arrived in Ireland on Thursday. When crossing the street, looking right when you’d normally look left. While the football will be the same, even if the game is played in the rain, people drive on the left side of the road.
The TCU team that UNC will meet in Ireland on Saturday will be very different than the one that scored 48 consecutive points to beat the Tar Heels 48–14 a year ago in Coach Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut. The quarterback who tormented UNC last September, Josh Hoover, has since transferred to reigning national champion Indiana after four seasons in Fort Worth, Texas.
Memphis notched three first-half goals and held on for a 3–2 victory at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis to hand North Carolina its first men’s soccer loss of the season on Monday.
CHAPEL HILL — There’s plenty of scrutiny on the Carolina football program after Coach Bill Belichick’s first Tar Heels team went 4–8. Fans are hoping for at least a bowl berth and evidence that his second team in Chapel Hill is significantly more competitive. Most betting sites have set Carolina’s season win total at 4½, and just hitting the over isn’t likely to satisfy the fan base.
Week 2 of the NFL preseason brought mixed results for former UNC players scattered across the league. Performances ranged from breakout showings to nagging injuries ahead of rosters getting cut to 53 by Sunday. The results carried extra weight for players fighting for depth roles, from Ty Chandler’s workhorse showing on special teams in New Orleans to Alijah Huzzie’s active night for Houston.
CHAPEL HILL — No. 7 North Carolina’s first major challenge of the season against No. 5 Michigan State presented a mixed bag, with impressive stretches and frustrating moments. UNC dominated every offensive category except goals, producing a lot of scrappy play and getting to most of the loose balls on a hot day of attrition.
