The Tar Heels were never in any real danger against Charlotte Saturday night. Carolina took the lead within three plays and never gave it back, and the 49ers managed only three total points – the fewest allowed by UNC in a game since 2012.
But the Tar Heels also never fully looked comfortable. Carolina scored just three points in the second half and often relied more on the 49ers’ mistakes than on anything it did itself. In fact, UNC’s touchdown drive in the final minutes of the second quarter only happened because Charlotte missed a short field goal which would have cut the Tar Heel lead to four points.
As it did against TCU, Carolina’s offense still looked timid, hamstrung by a lack of confidence in its ability to simply, as many football coaches have said before, “run the damn ball.” The Tar Heels seem to prefer screen passes and sweeps to a simple dive up the middle. As for its passing game, Gio Lopez played better than he did against the Horned Frogs, but managed only 155 yards through the air – 75 of which came in the first three plays. Once again, a hot start for Carolina turned out to be a false start.
As a silver lining, the Tar Heel defense held down the 49er offense for much of the night, allowing only 21 rushing yards and totaling five tackles for loss. Former UNC quarterback Conner Harrell was held in check, as was his backup Grayson Loftis, a former Duke Blue Devil. Carolina defensive back Gavin Gibson said a rejuvenated sense of focus during the week led to the strong performance.
“After we broke down the film [of TCU] and just looked at the situational side of the football game, it was a whole bunch of situations where we just didn’t compete as [well] as we could,” Gibson said. “We’ve gotta be better fundamentally, of course, and then just tackling. That was really the emphasis throughout the whole week: lock in on the fundamentals. We’ve gotta make tackles and just play our game. We don’t gotta go above and beyond; we’ve just gotta do what we do.”
North Carolina defensive back Greg Smith (12) celebrates with defensive backs Marcus Allen (29) and Thaddeus Dixon (1) after intercepting a pass against Charlotte during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Gibson and his teammates say all the right things. There’s no debating that. But perhaps there’s reason to worry that, even after kickoff of the season, the Tar Heels are still trying to nail down their fundamentals. One would think those drills are more for July and August, not September.
In its current form, UNC can beat the Charlottes and the Richmonds of the world. But the Clemson Tigers come to town in less than a month. Three points in the second half will not be enough against one of the ACC’s heavyweights. It may not even be enough when the Tar Heels travel to UCF in two weeks. The Knights are coming off a 68-point performance this past weekend.
It shows how poorly opening night went when even the most pessimistic observers can agree that Saturday’s performance represented an improvement. Head coach Bill Belichick, fresh off receiving the game ball for his first college win, seemed pleased enough.
“All around, just a more solid effort,” Belichick said. “Fewer mistakes. More positive plays.”
But Belichick knows what we all do: there’s a long way to go.
“What do we need to work on?” he said. “Everything.”
Featured image via Associated Press/Nell Redmond
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
