Defense Dominates As Football Tops TCU, 15-10

Saturday, August 29

Dublin, Ireland (Aviva Stadium)

Noon

North Carolina

1-0 , 0-0

TCU

0-1 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
North Carolina	10	2	3	0	15
TCU	10	0	0	0	10

The UNC defense held TCU to under 300 total yards.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

August 29, 2026 | Football

Box Score Final Stats (.pdf)Photo Gallery

By: Matt Bowers

DUBLIN, IRELAND—North Carolina held TCU scoreless for the final 49 minutes and topped the Horned Frogs, 15-10, in a defensive struggle on a wet Saturday in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Aviva Stadium.

After a back-and-forth first quarter when both teams scored 10 points, Carolina recorded a safety in the second quarter and connected on a field goal in the third while blanking TCU the rest of the way. The Horned Frogs took a 10-3 lead at the 4:00 mark of the first half but went scoreless for the remainder of the contest.

What began as a damp day with on-and-off rain in the first half became a downpour during portions of the second.

UNC's defense forced three turnovers on downs and recovered a fumble by TCU in a dominant performance. Prior to Saturday's loss, TCU had scored at least 28 points in 30 consecutive non-conference, regular season games, the second-longest streak by an FBS team in the last 45 years.

With the win, Carolina improved to 1-0 to start the season and 41-33 in season openers. TCU fell to 0-1. Winning the first international game in program history, the Tar Heels lead the all-time series with the Horned Frogs, 4-1.

Billy Edwards Jr., the Wisconsin transfer, started under center, played well and went the distance in his Tar Heel debut, completing 16 of 28 passes for 232 yards and a passer rating of 126.7.

"It feels great," Edwards told ESPN after the game. "First game of the season, I don't think I played my best football, but hat's off to the defense. They kept us in it the whole time, big-time stops in the fourth quarter, multiple turnovers. And shout out to the offensive line. I think we got the ball with four minutes left, and we finished the game. I was really happy to start the season on the right note. We've got a lot of stuff to clean up, but at least we can do it in the victory column."

Tight end Jelani Thurman set career highs with four catches for 94 yards for Carolina. Wide receiver Jordan Shipp caught five balls for 71 yards. Benjamin Hall toted 11 carries for 36 rushing yards in a by-committee rushing attack. Defensively, Xavier Lewis had seven tackles (six solo), 4.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

Harvard transfer Jaden Craig made his first start for TCU at quarterback, connecting on 20 of 32 tries for 175 yards. Ed Small caught nine balls for 65 yards, and Jeremy Payne ran it 25 times for 142 yards.

Notes
• Carolina has opened consecutive seasons against the same opponent for the first time since 1984-85 against Navy.
• UNC is the fourth Atlantic Coast Conference program to play in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, joining Boston College (2016), Florida State (2024) and Georgia Tech (2016 and 2024).
• The win marked the Tar Heels' fourth 1-0 start in the last five seasons.
• It was UNC's first win vs. current Big 12 opponent since the 2013 Belk Bowl vs. Cincinnati.
• It was Carolina's third straight regular season win at a neutral site (2019 and 2023 over South Carolina).
• It was the Tar Heels' first win while scoring just one touchdown since 8/29/24 at Minnesota (one TD in a 19-17 win)
• The loss was just TCU's second to an ACC team since 2009.

How It Happened
First Quarter
• Carolina took the opening kickoff and mounted an impressive drive of 10 plays and 73 yards that stalled inside the TCU five-yard line. Aeron Burrell nailed a 20-yard field goal to give UNC a 3-0 lead five minutes into the game. Thurman grabbed two passes for 55 yards on the drive, including 35 yards after the catch.
• TCU responded and tied it at 3-3 with its own field goal on the ensuing drive, which featured a 48-yard, wide zone run to the right side by Payne.
• After Carolina punted on its next drive, Small's 33-yard punt return for TCU gave the Horned Frogs great field position at the UNC 25. Four plays later, Jon Denman scored on a two-yard run to the left side for a 10-3 advantage.
• After Edwards went 3-for-4 for 58 yards, the Tar Heels responded with a nine-yard touchdown run by Jaylen McGill that capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive in under three minutes to tie the score at 10.

Second Quarter
• Carolina took a 12-10 lead in the final two minutes of the half on a safety when a TCU snap sailed far over punter Jon Hoyet's head and into the end zone. With no option to prevent a disaster, Hoyet kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone and ate the two-point penalty.

Third Quarter
• Melkart Abou Jaoude forced the first TCU turnover of the game four minutes into the second half on a strip sack of Craig. Jaylen Harvey recovered the fumble at the Horned Frog 31-yard line.
• Five plays later, Burrell's 28-yard field goal gave Carolina a 15-10 advantage.
• Hall's fumble gave the ball to TCU at the UNC 24 later in the third quarter, but the Tar Heel defense came up big and stymied the Horned Frogs. Carolina stonewalled Payne on fourth down at the UNC five to keep the score 15-10.

Fourth Quarter
• The Tar Heel defense held strong inside the red zone once again with 4:05 remaining, holding off the Horned Frogs on a fourth-down play at the UNC 10 yard-line after a fruitless, 15-play drive that lasted 7:53.

Up Next
After a bye week next weekend, Carolina will return to action with its home opener on Saturday September 12 against ETSU.

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