The UNC defense held TCU scoreless across the final 49 minutes of game time Saturday in Dublin, helping the Tar Heels secure a 15-10 win in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
As they did last fall against TCU, the Tar Heels started the season with a scoring drive. Under the direction of new quarterback Billy Edwards and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, Carolina marched 73 yards down the field in 10 plays after receiving the opening kickoff. UNC got as far as the TCU 1-yard line before being forced to kick a short field goal on fourth down.
TCU answered with a field goal on its opening drive, then took advantage of a poor UNC punt and a short field to find the end zone on its second. The Horned Frogs led 10-3. Carolina’s offense answered the score with another strong possession, using long completions to Trech Kekahuna and Jordan Shipp to drive 70 yards down the field. This time, UNC capped the drive with a touchdown, as Jaylen McGill scampered in from nine yards away.
The score was tied 10-10 at the end of the first quarter, but the two offenses quickly got bogged down in the steady Dublin rain after that. Neither team scored until the final two minutes of the second quarter, when TCU snapped the ball over the punter’s head and into the end zone for a safety. UNC promptly fumbled the ball on its ensuing drive, giving the Horned Frogs a chance to still enter halftime with the lead. But miscommunication between the coaching staff and the offense allowed the clock to run out with Carolina still leading 12-10.
It was more of the same in the second half, as TCU’s offense could not find its footing. After pouncing on another Tar Heel fumble deep in UNC territory, the Horned Frogs were stopped short on a 4th-and-1 run at the Carolina 6-yard line.
UNC’s only points of the second half came on a 28-yard field goal from Aeron Burrell. The LSU transfer missed on his third and longest field goal attempt of the day, pushing a 41-yarder wide early in the fourth quarter.
The Horned Frogs could’ve made that miscue hurt late in the game, but a 15-play, 66-yard drive came up empty in the final minutes as quarterback Jaden Craig rolled to his left and floated a pass toward the goal line. The ball was behind his intended receiver and fell incomplete, sealing the third turnover on downs for the TCU offense on the day.
UNC used a 25-yard completion to tight end Jelani Thurman on its ensuing drive to bleed precious seconds off the clock, then drew an offsides penalty on a 4th-and-1 in the final minute to put the victory on ice. It was TCU’s 11th penalty of the game, compared to just three for the Tar Heels.
Edwards finished his first start as a Tar Heel 16-for-28 for 232 yards. Benjamin Hall finished as UNC’s leading rusher, though the ground game struggled as a whole. Hall, McGill, Demon June and Edwards combined for 29 carries for 90 yards, an average of just 3.1 yards per carry.
Thurman, an Ohio State transfer, was UNC’s leading receiver with 94 yards. Shipp hauled in five receptions for 71 yards, with that duo combining for nine of Edwards’ 16 completions.
UNC has not lost consecutive season openers since dropping four straight from 2015-18. Now 1-0, the Tar Heels will be back in action when they host East Tennessee State in the home opener at Kenan Stadium Saturday, Sep. 12 at 12 p.m.
Featured image via UNC Football on Twitter
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