The North Carolina Tar Heels came out of their Week 4 bye and gave No. 3 Notre Dame plenty to handle on Saturday, with social media quickly zeroing in on the swings that kept the game tight.
Melkart Abou Jaoude’s return gave North Carolina an early lift, and the defense came out fast on Notre Dame’s opening series. Jasper Scaife muffed the snap on the punt, but the Tar Heels still couldn’t finish the play with a block.
I can't believe Notre Dame got that punt off. North Carolina missed an easy opportunity to block it.
North Carolina’s offense, after drawing plenty of attention for its Week 3 struggles, answered right away. Jordan Shipp opened things up with two catches for 57 yards, and Billy Edwards Jr. finished a seven-play, 74-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Shamar Easter. The Tar Heels took a 7-0 lead with 12:54 left in the first quarter.
7 plays. 74 yards. 3:20 of clock chewed. UNC draw first blood.
Billy Edwards Jr finds Shamar Easter on the rollout as costly penalties cost Notre Dame. Jordan Shipp starred with 2 receptions for 57 yards.
Notre Dame 0 - 7 UNC | 1Q 12:54
Jordan Shipp making plays 👀 @thecgriffy https://t.co/NLFJlnbItc
Notre Dame answered quickly after the game was tied 7-7, and North Carolina’s next possession went off the rails almost immediately. On the first play, Edwards Jr. took a heavy hit while throwing, and the ball floated into the hands of Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa for an interception. CJ Carr then hit Jaden Greathouse for a 12-yard touchdown.
Edwards Jr. ran into more trouble on his second interception, when he tried to find Shipp down the left sideline and never saw Luke Talich waiting there. That gave him two picks in as many drives.
So if the reason we’re sticking with Billy Edwards is bc he protects the football, and he’s not protecting the football anymore, what are we doing. Poor Jordan Shipp man
Notre Dame pushed the lead to 21-7, but North Carolina got a break on a crucial goal-line sequence. Jaylen Harvey dropped Carr for a one-yard loss on a designed run, and the Fighting Irish faced fourth down from the two. They went for it, and Carr missed Cooper Flanagan in the back of the end zone.
Ugh- I love, CJ Carr, but do not like that play call. Don't like that we didn't kick the FG!
North Carolina then made the most of the stop, starting from its own two-yard line. Edwards Jr. completed 7 of 9 passes for 78 yards on the 98-yard march, and Jelani Thurman finished it with a 14-yard touchdown. That cut the halftime deficit to 21-14.
Jelani Thurman is balling out right now for North CarolinaTE is the one offensive position that Belichick was always able to get good production from.Not surprised at all that Jelani is performing well for him
The Tar Heels kept swinging after the break. Jaden Jefferson took the kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown, but a missed extra point left North Carolina trailing 21-20.
The momentum didn’t last long. Notre Dame found itself in another fourth-and-goal situation inside the five, and Harvey’s offside penalty gave the Irish a free play.
Carr rolled right, escaped pressure, and dove into the end zone for the touchdown. A weather-related issue affected the extra point, but Notre Dame still moved ahead 27-20 with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter.
CJ Carr football IQ off the charts man. That is my qb
Notre Dame’s ground game kept grinding from there, finishing with 241 rushing yards on 45 carries. The third quarter, in particular, showed exactly how much damage that run game was doing, with the Irish piling up 20 carries for 122 yards in the period alone.
20 carries for 122 rushing yards in the 3rd qtr. for Notre Dame. Establishing the run.
In Other News...
UNC Suddenly Has A Billy Edwards Problem It Cant Ignore
The night at Notre Dame laid bare a few issues North Carolina can no longer treat as one-off problems. Billy Edwards was under constant pressure, the Tar Heels struggled to protect him, and early turnovers helped tilt the game before it ever settled in. With the rushing attack limited and the defense stretched, it was the kind of performance that can leave a coach sorting through more than one concern at once.
Bill Belichick pointed straight at the passing game and the offensive line afterward, and it was hard to argue with the diagnosis. The Tar Heels need cleaner pockets and a steadier start from their quarterback, but they also need the offense to give the defense some help after a night when both sides were exposed. What happened against a top-three opponent may end up looking less like a bad loss than a warning about what still has to be fixed. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Just Changed The Season Debate In A Way Fans Noticed
North Carolinas loss to Notre Dame still left room for a different kind of takeaway. The Tar Heels were beaten 37-26, but for long stretches they were more competitive with the third-ranked Irish than many expected, giving the game a very different feel than a routine blowout against a top-tier opponent.
For a team trying to steady its season, that matters. Even with the mistakes that surfaced along the way, this was the kind of showing that can change how the rest of the schedule is viewed, with the conversation shifting toward whether Carolina can still get to .500 and keep a bowl bid in reach. [Read more 🡒]
North Carolina Just Lost A Recruiting Battle Fans Were Watching
Jordan Page made his choice after taking official visits to both North Carolina and UConn, and the five-star wing has now given the edge to the Huskies. The 6-foot-5 standout from IMG Academy is ranked No. 10 overall in the 2027 class, which made this one of the more closely watched recruiting battles for Tar Heels fans looking to see how the program stacked up against another national power for an elite perimeter talent.
For North Carolina, the miss lands with extra weight because Page brings the kind of length and two-way profile that fits the modern game and would have been an appealing addition on the wing. The scouting read on him points to a player whose competitiveness meshes well with UConn's style, even as his offensive game still has room to grow, and that combination helped shape a recruitment the Tar Heels were in until the end. [Read more 🡒]