TCU and North Carolina open the season with plenty of moving parts and a familiar name in the middle of it all.
A year ago, the Horned Frogs walked into Chapel Hill and left with a 48-14 win that set the tone for a rough UNC season. The Tar Heels finished 5-7 and missed a bowl game in Belichick’s debut season, which pushed North Carolina into changes on offense. Freddie Kitchens is out, Bobby Petrino is in, and the pressure is already there before the first snap.
The challenge on the schedule is obvious. North Carolina has a brutal slate ahead, with home games against No.
4 Notre Dame, No. 7 Miami, and No.24 Louisville, plus trips to Clemson, Pitt, Duke, and Virginia.
That leaves little room for the Tar Heels to collect wins early if things start slowly again.
TCU comes into this one with its own unfinished business. The Frogs spoiled Bill Belichick’s debut last season, then saw their 2025 campaign slip away before they could reach the Big 12 Championship game.
Sonny Dykes has bigger expectations this time around, but the early stretch has been the problem. This game, a zero matchup, carries real weight for that reason.
The quarterback matchup brings even more intrigue. Jaden Craig will lead TCU after transferring from Harvard, where he spent two seasons as the Crimson’s starter.
On the other side, North Carolina announced last week that Billy Edwards Jr. had won the starting job. Edwards, a sixth-year senior, transferred from Wisconsin after his 2025 season ended early because of an injury.
There are fresh faces calling plays, too. Petrino takes over as North Carolina’s offensive coordinator, while Gordon Sammis steps in for TCU.
Both staffs are expected to lean on the run game, which makes sense considering both offenses ranked in the nineties nationally. The question is whether either side asks its quarterback to do too much, or whether the skill talent gets used to lighten the load.
The betting line tells part of the story as well. Last year, TCU went to Chapel Hill as a -3.5 favorite and covered with ease.
This time, the game shifts to an international neutral site, and the Frogs are still favored, listed at -7.5 by DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under sits at 47.5.
It adds up to one of the first college football games of the season with a lot to sort out quickly. Both teams are trying to answer questions, and Dublin gives them a stage to do it.
For TCU, a win would mean more than a strong overseas trip. It would be an early step toward showing this group can contend in the Big 12.
In Other News...
TCU Now Faces A Media Backlash Over Locker Room Fallout
TCUs football program is still dealing with the ripple effects of the locker room incident that led to senior safety Jacob Fields being dismissed for a violation of team rules. The story has drawn attention not just because of the discipline itself, but because it centered on a confrontation involving wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma, who said he was sucker punched by Fields. As the details of the episode have played out publicly, the fallout has extended beyond the roster and into the media room as well.
The university revoked the Fort Worth Star-Telegrams credentials after the papers coverage of the situation, adding another layer to a controversy that is already hanging over the program. Fields agent has said much of the online discussion has been false or speculative, while also noting that Fields respects the universitys decision. Even with the immediate move made, the broader questions around how the episode was reported and handled are still part of the conversation around TCU. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Just Turned A Media Dispute Into A Transparency Fight
TCUs preseason build-up has been overshadowed by a dispute over how the school is handling coverage around an alleged locker room assault that led to a police case filing. The Horned Frogs revoked the media credentials of Fort Worth Star-Telegram beat reporter Steven Johnson, a move that quickly turned a campus football story into a broader conversation about access, reporting and what schools owe the public when serious matters surface around a program.
Johnson said the decision was tied to concerns about threats to the alleged victim, even though his original reporting did not identify the individual. The tension now hangs over a team about to open its season in Ireland against North Carolina, where Johnson still plans to travel, keeping the issue alive as TCU tries to shift attention back to football. [Read more 🡒]
Two Former Horned Frogs Offer A Timely Reminder Of TCU's NFL Pipeline
As TCU begins looking ahead to its 2026 season opener, two familiar names are serving as a useful reminder of what the program has become under the national spotlight. Savion Williams and Kaleb Elarms-Orr both made major impressions in Fort Worth before moving on to the NFL, and each followed a different path to the league. Williams closed out his Horned Frogs career with production as both a receiver and runner, then heard his name called by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Elarms-Orrs road was a little different, arriving at TCU after transferring from California and quickly becoming one of the Big 12s more respected defenders. His 2025 season put him in the conversation for All-Big 12 First Team honors, and the Buffalo Bills later took him in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. For TCU, the pair offers a timely snapshot of a roster pipeline that continues to send players from Fort Worth to Sundays, even as the next group prepares to take its turn. [Read more 🡒]