North Carolina had Clemson in a spot early, then watched the game slip away behind Billy Edwards Jr.’s rough day at quarterback.
The Tar Heels opened with real control, jumping out to a 14-3 lead and carrying a 17-6 advantage into halftime. Clemson was starting true freshman Tait Reynolds, and he looked overwhelmed in the first half against North Carolina’s defense. But the Tar Heels still left Week 3 on the wrong side of the result because Edwards Jr. never found his footing.
That reality made Bill Belichick’s postgame comments especially hard to ignore. When asked what problems Clemson’s defense created, the 74-year-old coach said the Tigers “didn’t change much,” aside from blitz packages that he and the staff were ready for.
That’s the part that sticks. If Clemson wasn’t throwing a bunch of new looks at North Carolina, then the collapse points straight back to Edwards Jr.
The offense had no trouble navigating the Tigers early, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives. After that, the production disappeared, and the Wisconsin transfer finished 13-of-30 for 135 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The setting doesn’t really soften it. Road game, ACC opener, none of that changes the fact that Edwards Jr. is a six-year veteran who should be able to settle down and play at a competent level.
Instead, he was the reason North Carolina let a game it controlled get away. In the second half, Reynolds started looking like the veteran and Edwards Jr. looked like the freshman, folding under pressure.
There’s a broader problem here for the Tar Heels, too. This roster is better than it gets credit for, and the defense did its part for most of the afternoon even while being stuck on the field far too often. But if the quarterback play keeps dragging the offense down, the rest of the team can only do so much.
If Edwards Jr. doesn’t straighten things out over the next two games, Belichick may have to think about a change under center.
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UNC Suddenly Faces A Bigger Question Than One Bad Loss
North Carolina had control early against Clemson, but the game slipped away in the second half and left the Tar Heels with a 2-1 record. The loss was more than just a bad result on the schedule. It exposed issues that had already been lurking, especially inside the red zone, where drives stalled and momentum never seemed to turn back their way.
The bigger concern now is whether the offense can clean that up quickly enough for what comes next. UNC already looked too static at times against Clemson, and the play-calling questions only get louder with Notre Dame and its strong defense looming. After a game like this, the Tar Heels are not just looking for a rebound. They are looking for signs that the offense can function more consistently against a real test. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Suddenly Has A Problem Fans Didn't Want To See
North Carolinas Week 3 conference opener against Clemson served as a sharp reminder that the Tar Heels still have a lot to sort out before the heart of league play. Drake Maye got the offense moving early, but his night settled into inconsistency, as he finished 13-of-30 for 135 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Against a higher-end opponent, the margin for error shrank quickly, and UNC paid for it.
The bigger concern for the Tar Heels may be on the other side of the ball, where the absence of pass rusher Abou Jaoude because of injury left a hole that was hard to ignore. With more important games ahead, his availability becomes a real question for a defense that could use all the disruption it can get. UNC has already taken its first conference loss, and now it has to manage both the pressure of the schedule and the uncertainty around a key defender. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Malone Opens Practice With No Time For UNC To Gel
Michael Malone opened his first preseason practice with a roster that looks very different from the one North Carolina finished last season with, and that is part of the challenge now facing the Tar Heels. Only three of the teams top scorers are back, while a wave of transfers has arrived to fill out the rotation, giving the new coach plenty of talent to work with and plenty of unfamiliarity to sort through.
North Carolina enters the season ranked No. 25 in the preseason polls, which says as much about the uncertainty around the group as it does about the promise. There is time to build, but not much of it, and practice now has to serve as both an introduction and a crash course for a team trying to become more than the sum of its new parts. [Read more 🡒]