UNC’s Improving Defense Offers Hope Versus Syracuse, Stanford, Wake Forest
By David Glenn
At the beginning of the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill, North Carolina had several high-profile opportunities to show whether it was ready to compete against high-caliber opponents.
The answer was a resounding “no.”
TCU 48, UNC 14.
UCF 34, UNC 9.
Clemson 38, UNC 10.
Over the past two weeks, the Tar Heels faced opponents whose combination of talent, depth and experience appeared to be much closer to their own.
Carolina competed at a much higher level in both games — answering questions about locker-room division and player-coach connections in the process — but also came away with a narrow loss each time.
California 21, UNC 18.
Virginia 17, UNC 16 (OT).
Now, in the build-up to their traditionally fiery contests against local rivals Duke (Nov. 22) and NC State (Nov. 29), Carolina faces three consecutive games against ACC teams — Syracuse (Friday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN), Stanford (Nov. 8) and Wake Forest (Nov. 15) — that have plenty of problems of their own, mostly in ways that mirror the Heels’ own woes.
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick looks towards the field during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Virginia in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
The five worst offenses in the ACC this season have been those at UNC, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Stanford and Cal. While each of those teams — especially Wake — has played very good defense at times this season, all of them have struggled mightily on offense.
Although the Tar Heels missed their opportunity at California, they were truly “one play away” (i.e., a goal-line fumble) from a victory in that game, and that theme continued in the team’s down-to-the-wire, pylon-dive defeat in overtime against Virginia.
Against Cal and UVa, Carolina played outstanding defense. That was an especially impressive accomplishment against the Cavaliers, who had been averaging an ACC-best 40 points per game but were held to just 10 in regulation by the improving Tar Heels.
Now UNC’s defense, led by Belichick and his son Steve (the defensive coordinator), faces back-to-back-to-back games against offenses that rank near the bottom of the ACC.
Syracuse started this season with an explosive offense, led by Notre Dame quarterback transfer Steve Angeli (who ranked among the top passers nationally for weeks), but Angeli’s season ended with an injury he suffered during the Orange’s 34-21 upset victory at Clemson.
Since then, with LSU transfer Rickie Collins and true freshman Luke Carney at quarterback, the Orange have posted an 0-4 record and averaged only 12.5 points per game, albeit against ACC teams with winning records: Duke, SMU, Pitt and Georgia Tech.
Stanford has, statistically, the worst offense in the ACC, behind even the Tar Heels. The Cardinal, playing under interim head coach Frank Reich, are averaging just 17.5 points per game, which ranks dead-last in the conference.
The Stanford quarterback is sixth-year senior Ben Gulbranson, an Oregon State transfer. He’s not much of a runner himself, and he hasn’t had much support from the Cardinal’s ground game, which averages an ACC-worst 2.8 yards per rushing attempt. Stanford hasn’t thrown the ball well, either, with a paltry 56 percent completion rate and just 212 passing yards per game.
Wake Forest presents a more complicated challenge, because the Demon Deacons are playing very good defense, they have a couple of very dangerous skill players (i.e., running back Demond Claiborne and wide receiver Chris Barnes) and they seem to have quickly built both confidence and chemistry under first-year head coach Jake Dickert.
However, like Syracuse and Stanford, Wake simply doesn’t have an above-average QB on its active roster. The team’s starter, sixth-year senior Robby Ashford (a South Carolina transfer), is an outstanding athlete but an erratic downfield passer, and he’s seen only limited action over the past several weeks because of a thumb injury. The backup, Charlotte transfer Deshawn Purdie, is more of a pocket passer, but he has completed only 52 percent of his throws.
With UNC also struggling offensively — at 280 yards per game of total offense, the Tar Heels rank 131st among the 136 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision — it’s likely that the team’s defense will have to lead the way against Syracuse, Stanford and Wake Forest, while hoping for more support from the unit’s offensive teammates.
Impressively, Carolina’s defensive resurgence has come without two of its most talented players.
Senior cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, a Washington transfer and the team’s top National Football League prospect, missed the Cal and UVa games with an injury. (He’s expected to return at some point this season.) Senior defensive end Pryce Yates, a UConn transfer expected to be the team’s top pass rusher, has barely played this season because of concussion-related issues and may have to retire from football.
Carolina’s most confident and productive position group this season — by far — has been its linebackers. Fifth-year senior Andrew Simpson (a Boise State transfer), sophomore Khmori House (a Washington transfer) and fifth-year senior Mikai Gbayor (a former Nebraska starter) have played with speed, physicality and purpose in Belichick’s defense.
The Tar Heels also have shown gradual improvement on the defensive line, where redshirt junior tackle CJ Mims (an East Carolina transfer) and redshirt junior end Melkart Abou Jaoude (a Delaware transfer) have come up with key plays in big moments.
UNC will need more such pivotal plays from its evolving defense over these next three games — beginning at Syracuse, on Halloween night — if the Tar Heels are going to keep their bowl hopes alive heading into those rivalry matchups against Duke and NC State.
David Glenn (DavidGlennShow.com, @DavidGlennShow) is an award-winning author, broadcaster, editor, entrepreneur, publisher, speaker, writer and university lecturer (now at UNC Wilmington) who has covered sports in North Carolina since 1987.
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