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
North Carolina will play nine ACC games in the 2027 football season after playing only eight this season. The ACC released its 2027 football scheduling matrix on Wednesday, and it has UNC hosting Duke, Florida State, Virginia and Virginia Tech, while traveling to Louisville, N.C. State, Stanford, Syracuse and Wake Fo
Football kicker Rece Verhoff and former field hockey stars Ryleigh Heck, Dani Mendez and Sietske Brüning have all joined an amended complaint filed in Monroe Circuit Court in Indiana seeking a court order that would grant each of them a fifth season of eligibility for this school year.
There were ups and downs during Week 1 of the NFL season for former Carolina players, most of whom endured losses, from Drake Maye’s three interceptions on Wednesday to Javonte Williams’ standout performance on Sunday night football.
Clemson’s quarterback situation, already unsettled for most of training camp, took another unexpected turn this weekend, and it will give a true freshman his first career start against North Carolina in the ACC opener for both teams Saturday.
CHAPEL HILL — There were some off-target throws and some drops, but the chemistry between quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and his receivers was obvious, particularly as Carolina’s blowout of ETSU progressed. Edwards was 15 of 20 for 244 yards and two touchdowns and a 210.5 passer rating, targeting eight receivers during the Tar Heels’ 35–3 victory on a steamy afternoon in Kenan Stadium.
CHAPEL HILL — UNC’s 35–3 win over East Tennessee State on Saturday gave Coach Bill Belichick the chance to play deep into his roster, and the snap counts and Pro Football Focus ratings from the game show just how far that rotation extended on both sides of the ball. On offense, no player finished with a higher grade than tight end Jelani Thurman, who posted a 94.2 rating over 34 snaps, the best mark on the team by a wide margin.
As expected, which is refreshing. Refreshing, because last season, Carolina followed up the debacle against TCU with a stinker against Charlotte that foretold many of the struggles the Tar Heels would show the rest of the season. This time, UNC throttled an overmatched opponent as one would expect in this type of situation.
Tar Heels fans have long known how to celebrate a win, a rivalry, and pretty much anything involving the color Carolina blue. Now, for the first time, they can toast to it with something that shows their school spirit via official spirits. UNC Athletics has teamed up with North Carolina-based Cape Fear Distillery to launch the Spirit of Carolina Collection, the university’s first officially licensed line of Tar Heels-branded spirits.
CHAPEL HILL — If there was an area of concern coming out of the opening-game victory over TCU in Dublin, it was the inconsistency of the rushing attack even as the offensive line stood out as a strength.
CHAPEL HILL — Bill Belichick spent the majority of Monday’s press conference deflecting questions about the investigation surrounding his program, but when the subject turned to football, he had plenty to say. UNC (1–0) hosts East Tennessee State (1–1) at noon at Kenan Stadium (ACC Network) in a game that also marks the 100th anniversary of the stadium’s opening, and Belichick acknowledged the milestone before turning his attention fully to the opponent and how he used the time during the week off.
Former UNC linebacker Cedric Gray has entered the NFL’s concussion protocol after being involved in an accident over the weekend, the Tennessee Titans announced Monday.
CHAPEL HILL — There was one subject most reporters wanted to ask Coach Bill Belichick about, but he did his best to weave around the questions that were asked in dozens of ways. With questions swirling around the program after Michael Lombardi resigned as general manager, there were news reporters from every Triangle TV station, in addition to the sports anchors, and two stations had news anchors on hand for Monday morning’s press conference at the Kenan Football Center.
The numbers behind Carolina’s 15–10 win over TCU tell a story of two units with a lot of endurance in the rain at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Middle linebacker Derek McDonald (top photo), the ACC linebacker of the week, and cornerback Jaiden Patterson each played all 72 defensive snaps, evidence of just how long UNC’s defense was out there against a TCU offense that leaned on the run and moved the chains often enough to make the Tar Heels earn every stop.
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.
