North Carolina walked out of Saturday with a 21-17 upset of No. 25 Pittsburgh, and the Tar Heels are suddenly 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. The win was messy, but it was still the kind that shows how far this team has come from where it was a year ago.
Bill Belichick has another signature victory on the resume, but the bigger takeaway is harder to ignore: UNC may be missing the one thing every football program has to have. Not a flashy wrinkle.
Not another weapon. A quarterback who can consistently win games.
The Tar Heels have pieces worth believing in. Their defense was good enough to hold up against Pittsburgh.
The playmakers gave them explosive moments. The offensive line, at least for now, is good enough to keep the rebuild moving.
But at quarterback, the picture is less reassuring.
Billy Edwards Jr. did throw two touchdown passes, and Belichick and Petrino would probably argue that was enough. The scoring plays, though, were aided by design and execution around him: one came off a pop-out concept that sent Jelani Thurman through the B-gap to sell the run, and the other was a wide-open seam shot that left Shamar Easter to finish the job.
For most of the afternoon, Edwards was a steady but unspectacular game manager. The trouble started when the pressure arrived.
He did not deal with it well, and the moment he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, the hesitation showed up. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi also did a strong job of altering the post-snap look and making Edwards process more than he wanted to.
His issues in the pocket stood out, too. At times, he did climb, only to drift straight into trouble. Other snaps ended with him planted at the top of his drop and taking a hit from an edge rusher even when there was room to move and reset.
Still, North Carolina is going to ride with Edwards unless things truly fall apart. That hasn’t happened yet, at least not in a way that has cost the Tar Heels a game they should have won.
But the flaws are plain, and in some spots they’re hard to miss. A sixth-year senior struggling with the basics of quarterback play is a real concern.
That is why the Tar Heels may need a longer look at Miles O'Neill and Travis Burgess in practice, or maybe even an in-season competition if the current level of play doesn’t improve. The source of the frustration is obvious enough: with Gio Lopez in this system, North Carolina might be sitting at 4-1 or even 5-0 and ranked in the top 25.
Edwards doesn’t have to be spectacular. He just has to be efficient.
If he can keep the ball out of harm’s way and function as a competent game manager, UNC can win big and win by margin. Against Pitt, it could have been a two-possession game.
Against Notre Dame two weeks ago, the Tar Heels might have put the Irish on upset alert if not for Edwards’ mistakes.
The schedule offers a chance to keep building. Next is Duke, a team that was undone by poor execution and bad penalties in critical spots on both sides of the ball.
After that comes Syracuse, and UNC could be 5-2 before a home date with No. 3 Miami.
The defense is rolling, and the playmakers are there to draw a crowd.
But the question hanging over it all remains the same. If Edwards cleans it up, North Carolina keeps pushing. If he doesn’t, the Tar Heels will keep proving they’re a quarterback away.
In Other News...
UNC's Secondary Suddenly Faces A Big Loss After Pitt Win
North Carolinas secondary took a hit in the win over Pittsburgh, when cornerback Tre Miller went down with a significant lower-body injury in the third quarter and never returned. The injury comes at a tough point in the season for a defense that has leaned on its depth in the back end, and Millers absence immediately changes the way the Tar Heels have to think about their corner rotation moving forward.
Kaleb Cost also left the game injured, adding another layer of uncertainty to a position group that can least afford it. With Miller reportedly doubtful to play again this season and Costs timeline still unclear, UNC is now waiting to see how much more help it can expect from a secondary already bracing for a stretch without key pieces. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Win Over Pitt Revealed Which Tar Heels Are Earning Trust
North Carolinas 21-17 win over Pittsburgh did more than snap a monthlong skid. It also offered a clearer look at which Tar Heels are starting to earn Bill Belichicks trust, with the coaching staffs snap distribution revealing who stayed involved when the game tightened and who faded from the rotation. For a team still sorting itself out, those usage decisions can say as much as the final score.
Sadlers workload stood out on offense, and his two catches came with meaningful playing time attached, while Abou Jaoude was back on a full workload after injury on the defensive side. Meanwhile, players such as Humphrey and McGill saw their roles trimmed, a reminder that the staff is still drawing firm lines as it settles on its preferred pieces. The victory gave North Carolina a needed lift, but it also hinted at a bigger evaluation process still underway. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Keeps Showing A Toughness Tar Heels Fans Havent Seen Recently
The early returns on Bill Belichicks first North Carolina team have offered something Tar Heels fans have been waiting to see again: a group that keeps fighting through the kinds of moments that used to bend this program. The 21-17 win over Pittsburgh fit that mold, with Jordan Shipp making plays at receiver and the defense, especially the secondary, holding up when the game tightened. Even the tight ends, Jelani Thurman and Shamar Easter, found ways to matter in a game that demanded composure.
UNC still has work to do, and the next step is obvious enough. The running game needs more consistency, and Billy Edwards Jr. has to keep settling in as the offenses centerpiece, but the broader sign is hard to miss. Under Belichick, the Tar Heels look more like a team that expects to survive the stress of a four-quarter fight, which is a different feel than what this fan base has gotten used to in recent years. [Read more 🡒]