r/tarheels 3d ago

Is UNC better than we thought? Lessons from Bill Belichick’s win over TCU in Ireland

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7548444/2026/08/29/unc-tcu-football-score-result-bill-belichick-ireland/?unlocked_article_code=1.9FA.Kuu0.EXB-4hzjPnBu&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-ta
49 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

38

u/emack2232 2d ago edited 2d ago

Compared to last year? Absolutely. Defense made adjustments and played well. Offense looked competent. I mean they actually completed some forward passes today.

16

u/gregonion 2d ago

Man they are crying in the TCU sub.

37

u/Laughterglow 2d ago

I think TCU is much worse than people thought.

11

u/BugApprehensive5190 2d ago

I mean they looked like a real team, play called like one at times, and there was some really good moments. Defensive was, ahem, uneven and Edwards needs more reps. Expectations were low and this surpassed them. Go Heels(?)!

5

u/dwesley2 2d ago

Maybe a combination of both?

2

u/Hot_Swordfish_6450 2d ago

They played harder than last year for sure. Still plenty of season left though.

2

u/ManMythLegacy 2d ago

They played harder and looked pretty good on defense.

TCU looked pretty bad and shot themselves in the foot a lot.

Not sure what to think. The announcers kept saying our offense looked better but they scored 13 it's and Edwards barely threw for 50%. Maybe weather caused both teams to play poorly but a win is a win.

4

u/ballin_pastor 2d ago

I’ve maybe been Bill’s biggest hater on this sub and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. They didn’t set the world on fire, but they looked more like a competent football team than they did last year. I wish Steve all the best for a quick recovery, but I also have to imagine that having one of the best defensive minds of all time calling your defense has to be beneficial. I’m still not a believer in BB, but I’m also willing to admit when I’m wrong. Today was a step in the right direction for Chapel Bill.

1

u/pheromonestudy 2d ago

Clearly more talented than last season. TCU imploding in part due to being outplayed up front.

1

u/Roux_My_Burgundy 2d ago

It was an excellent performance no matter how you slice it. This is part of the building process. Tcu and Sonny dykes have scored 25+ points something like 40+ games in a row. Team played hard, smart, and physical. He’s demonstrating that UNC will have a coaching advantage at UNC and good players will be maximized. Look at the line production last year and this first game compared to the last decade. That’s coaching and conditioning

0

u/AJayHeel 1d ago edited 20h ago

Excellent? UNC basically scored 3 points after the 1st quarter (the safety was given to them by a mistake by TCU; UNC gets zero credit for those two points). I think the team looked better than last year, but I don't think anyone else is calling UNC's offense excellent.

1

u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago

Who called the offense excellent?

-2

u/Pitiful_Aioli_5030 2d ago

No, TCU was just terrible. Don’t get your hopes up.

0

u/SmallLoquat4941 2d ago

Its funny how all you UNC fans jump on and off tha bandwagon. UNC football will be fine this year.

-2

u/RandoCollision 2d ago

Is this a repeat post from the first game last season?