You agree that Carolina’s preseason schedule is over?

Dissecting UNC’s first three games this season, you would have to say they were no more than a warm-up for the heart of the schedule over the next month. It may not have looked that way back in August, but it sure does now.

Georgia is perhaps the weakest 3-0 team in America. A win over the Tar Heels in which they rallied from a 9-point deficit and with the help of Carolina’s miscues down the stretch. A 26-24 win over Nicholls. Nicholls? And beating unranked Missouri on a fourth-down touchdown pass with 90 seconds remaining.

Illinois. Expected big win over Murray State; blown out by the Tar Heels; and then losing to 34-10 to Western Michigan. And James Madison, a very good College Football Subdivision team, but one that could not match the Tar Heels’ size, skill, speed and depth even though the Heels were playing without some key starters. So, what do we have – a 2-1 record that many of us expected, but many more unanswered questions due to the caliber of the competition so far?

Pitt, at Florida State, Virginia Tech and at Miami are the next four opponents for Larry Fedora’s crew, beginning with the Panthers Saturday in Kenan Stadium at 3:30. One could easily make the case that those four teams are way better than anyone Carolina has played so far.

Pitt opened with a 28-7 win over Villanova and then beat in-state rival and Big 10 foe Penn State in a high-scoring close game. The Panthers lost a lightning delayed game at Oklahoma State 45-38 but showed a serious weakness in pass defense, giving up 570 yards through the air to the Cowboys. Record-breaking Mitch Trubisky must have loved seeing those numbers.

Not getting ahead of myself, Florida State will be angry as hell after getting embarrassed by Louisville, Virginia Tech demolished BC 49-0 and Miami waltzed into App State and waltzed out with an easy win. Yep, Carolina fans, now you can really start your engines.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
UNC Football's Upcoming Home-and-Home Series With South Carolina Cancelled
The UNC football program’s upcoming home-and-home series against South Carolina has been cancelled. The Tar Heels were scheduled to visit Columbia in 2028 and host the Gamecocks in Chapel Hill in 2029. In a brief release, UNC said the expanded conference schedules in both the SEC and ACC, which will see schools play nine league […]
UNC Teases Kenan Stadium Enhancements as Venue Prepares to Celebrate 100 Years
The 2026 UNC football season will be the 100th in which the Tar Heels have called Kenan Stadium home, and the program is prepared to celebrate the historic venue with several upgrades and enhancements this fall. Two new video boards will be installed above each end zone, with both measuring 31.5 feet high by 106.5 […]
Chansky's Notebook: Draft Dodgers?
Bill Belichick and Michael Malone have found themselves in the same undesirable dilemma: neither has any draft picks.
'I Can Do This For a Long Time': Bobby Petrino Excited for New Challenge With UNC Football
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: UNC’s new offensive coordinator is known for more than just being a football coach. Ask Atlanta Falcons fans about Bobby Petrino’s antics. Or the folks in Louisville. Or Arkansas. The paper trail that follows Petrino everywhere he goes is long, and it bends toward absurdity. Egregiously […]
Chansky's Notebook: Dead Man Walking?
With Hubert Davis dismissed, no seat will be hotter in Chapel Hill than UNC head football coach Bill Belichick’s this fall.
Chansky's Notebook: 'We Have Our Team Now'
Bill Belichick spoke to the media at the Kenan Football Center Tuesday as UNC opened its spring practice season.
Chansky's Notebook: Mack is Back (Again)
Mack Brown's midcourt ceremony at the Smith Center Monday night was a satisfying end to what had been an awkward UNC football saga.
Here's a List of Which Transfers Have Committed to UNC Football in 2026
The college football transfer portal opened Friday, Jan. 2 and closed Friday, Jan. 16. Here’s a list of players who have committed to head coach Bill Belichick and UNC out of the portal so far, with their classes for the 2026 season: QB Billy Edwards, Jr. (Most recent school: Wisconsin, redshirt senior) Ranked 3rd in […]
Tributes Pour In After James Spurling, Director of Kenan Stadium, Dies at 68
James Spurling, who served as the Director of Kenan Stadium and the Kenan Football Center in the heart of the UNC campus since 2006 and had been a Chapel Hill staple for many years prior, died Thursday. He was 68 years old. Tributes flooded in from across the Chapel Hill and UNC sports communities following […]
Financial Report Shows UNC Athletics Operated at $15 Million Deficit in 2024-25 Year
The newest financial report from the UNC athletic department to the NCAA shows the department operated at a deficit of more than $15 million during the 2024-25 fiscal year. The department reported revenues of $172,951,034 and reported expenses of $187,967,260. The UNC athletic department had operated at a profit in each of the past three […]
›