Notre Dame has no reason to wait until October to start studying North Carolina’s quarterback situation.
Bill Belichick’s first call at QB1 for at least Week 1 is Billy Edwards Jr., the former Wisconsin passer who transferred in after a 2024 season at Maryland that was solid on the surface and shakier once the year turned late. Edwards threw for 2,881 yards with the Terrapins, but the 15-to-9 touchdown-to-interception line never looked especially clean. His final four games at Maryland told an even rougher story: two touchdowns, five interceptions, and a completion rate that slid well below his season mark.
That late fade is the part Notre Dame will care about most.
Edwards barely played at Wisconsin last season, throwing only 16 passes for the Badgers. Before that, his best stretch came with Maryland, which was enough for Luke Fickell to bring him in last spring to compete for Wisconsin’s starting job.
He opened last season by throwing 13 passes against Miami (O) and then added just three more in Week 4 against Maryland before injuries ended his year. In those two appearances, he completed 6 of 13 passes for 68 yards against the Redhawks and then hit only one of three throws against Maryland, though that one completion went for 45 yards.
If Edwards carries anything close to that kind of accuracy into the Notre Dame game, the Irish could have a long night in Chapel Hill on October 3.
The comparison that jumps out is Syracuse last fall, when Notre Dame faced a quarterback situation already battered by injuries. The Orange turned to Joseph Filardi, and the result was exactly what the Irish would have hoped for: a blowout. Filardi went 14 of 26 for 83 yards and three interceptions, and two of those picks were taken back for 40-plus-yard touchdowns by Notre Dame defensive backs.
Edwards is a better quarterback than Filardi, and he has more experience as a starter. But his finish at Maryland is hard to ignore.
When the Terps lost their last four games, Edwards looked far less comfortable than he did early in the year. That’s the version Notre Dame will be studying now, and if that trend carries over, the Irish defense may have another chance to make a quarterback look completely out of place.
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