DUBLIN – North Carolina opened its 2026 season with a 15-10 victory over TCU at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The Tar Heels leaned on a pair of field goals, a safety and one goal-line rushing touchdown to hold off a TCU offense that controlled the ball for nearly 29 minutes but repeatedly came up empty in scoring position.
The numbers were tight, but Carolina was slightly sharper where it mattered. The Tar Heels held narrow edges in total yards, 322-312, and first downs, 20-18, while averaging 5.6 yards per play to TCU’s 4.4. TCU converted 7 of 17 third downs compared with Carolina’s 3 of 11, but the Horned Frogs went just 1 of 5 on fourth down and were stopped twice inside the UNC 10.
The opening quarter set the tone for a back-and-forth start. Carolina drove 73 yards on 10 plays to open the game, with quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. connecting with tight end Jelani Thurman for gains of 20 and 35 yards before Aeron Burrell capped the drive with a 20-yard field goal. TCU answered on its first possession, moving 62 yards on a drive that included a 48-yard run by Jeremy Payne, setting up a 31-yard Kyle Lemmermann field goal to tie the game at 3.
TCU then took its only lead of the game late in the first quarter. After an electric punt return by Ed Small put the Horned Frogs in scoring position, Jon Denman capped a four-play, 25-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, and Lemmermann's extra point made it 10-3. Carolina answered immediately. Edwards led a seven-play, 70-yard drive that featured a 21-yard completion to Trech Kekahuna and an 18-yard strike to Jordan Shipp before Jaylen McGill punched it in from 9 yards out to tie the game at 10 with just over a minute left in the quarter.
The second quarter was defined by field position and mistakes. Both offenses struggled to sustain drives, and the period's most consequential moment came with 1:49 left in the half. Facing fourth-and-9 from its own 31, TCU saw a high snap sail over punter John Hoyet Chance’s head. Chance eventually kicked the loose ball out of the back of the end zone, giving Carolina a safety and a 12-10 lead. The Tar Heels then gave the ball back before halftime when Trech Kekahuna was stripped after a reception and TCU’s Max Carroll recovered, but the Horned Frogs could not turn the takeaway into points before the break. Carolina still carried a 12-10 lead into the locker room.
North Carolina extended its lead in the third quarter on the back of its defense. TCU's opening drive of the second half reached midfield before Melkart Abou Jaoude forced a sack-fumble on Jaden Craig that Jaylen Harvey recovered at the TCU 31. The Tar Heels turned the short field into Burrell’s 28-yard field goal, pushing the lead to 15-10 and closing the scoring for the day.
TCU had two more real chances to answer. A drive that started already in great field position in the third quarter reached the Carolina 5-yard line, but Payne was stopped for a loss on fourth-and-1, turning the ball over on downs. Carolina's defense made a similar stand in the fourth quarter, stuffing a 15-play, 66-yard TCU drive at the Carolina 10 when Craig's fourth-down pass intended for Jeremy Scott fell incomplete.
Carolina had a chance to add to its lead in the fourth quarter but missed a 42-yard field goal attempt wide right. TCU's offense, powered mostly by Payne on the ground, kept searching for room, but three sacks and repeated red-zone failures limited the Horned Frogs to 10 points despite running 71 plays to Carolina’s 57 and holding the ball for 28:53.
Carolina's final possession, aided by Demon June's rushing over the closing minutes, ran the clock down before a TCU offsides penalty gave the Tar Heels a first down as time expired.
Statistically, the numbers were close. North Carolina held a narrow edge in total yards, 322-312, and first downs, 20-18, while TCU owned the better third-down rate, converting 7 of 17 compared with the Tar Heels’ 3 of 11. But red-zone execution, fourth-down defense and special teams shaped the outcome. Carolina went 3 of 4 in the red zone, TCU went 2 of 4, and the Horned Frogs were stopped on four of five fourth-down attempts. Although TCU got three points after a Carolina turnover, the bigger swing came on special teams, when the safety gave the Tar Heels a lead they never gave back.
Edwards finished 16 of 28 for 232 yards with no touchdowns and was sacked three times, spreading the ball to eight different receivers. Thurman was Carolina’s leading receiver by yardage with four catches for 94 yards, and Shipp added five catches for 71 yards. On the ground, Carolina rotated Benjamin Hall (11 carries, 36 net yards), McGill (5 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD) and June (6 carries, 25 yards).
For TCU, Craig completed 20 of 32 passes for 175 yards with no touchdowns and was sacked three times. Ed Small led all receivers with nine catches for 65 yards, and Payne was the workhorse on the ground with 25 carries for 142 net yards, including the long 48-yard run in the first quarter.
Defensively, Xavier Lewis paced Carolina with seven tackles, 2.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, while Derek McDonald led the team with 11 total tackles. Abou Jaoude supplied one of Carolina’s biggest defensive plays with his third-quarter strip-sack. For TCU, Max Carroll had nine tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and Ansel Din-Mbuh added 2.0 sacks.
Key performers:
- Billy Edwards Jr. (UNC): 16-28-0, 232 yards passing
- Jelani Thurman (UNC): 4 catches, 94 yards
- Jeremy Payne (TCU): 25 carries, 142 yards
- Ed Small (TCU): 9 catches, 65 yards
- Aeron Burrell (UNC): 2 of 3 on field goals, including a 28-yarder that produced the game’s final points
- Melkart Abou Jaoude (UNC): forced fumble that set up Carolina's final points
- Xavier Lewis (UNC): 7 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 4.5 TFL
Up Next:
North Carolina (1-0) returns to Chapel Hill for an early bye week before hosting East Tennessee State on September 12.
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