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Heel Tough Blog: Syracuse Recap
Cory Knowlton- Imagn Images The Tar Heels faced a trap game on Saturday night against a struggling, beat up Syracuse team and fell victim to it. After racing out to a 10-0 lead early and looking like they were in control when they led 20-10 heading into the 4th quarter, a desperate Syracuse Orange team would make enough important plays to tie the game at 23. A missed extra point, though, sent the game to overtime, where the Tar Heels would score first to put the pressure back

Anthony Pagnotta
5 days ago6 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Syracuse Preview
UNC Athletics The Tar Heels return home for the first time in three weeks on Saturday when they’ll look to extend their winning streak to three games against the Syracuse Orange. With the Orange struggling and a nighttime kick on the horizon next week against the top-ranked team in the country, this has all of the making of a trap game if the Tar Heels aren’t careful. Here is a look at everything you need to know about this one that will take place in front of a sold out Kena

Anthony Pagnotta
5 days ago8 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Stock Report- Duke
UNC Athletics The Tar Heels didn’t make it easy on themselves on Saturday, but they went into Durham and took the Victory Bell back from Duke with a 24-20 win. As the team now turns its attention to the first nighttime kick of the season against the Syracuse Orange on Saturday, here is a look at who is trending up and who is trending down around Tar Heel football. ⇧Jaylen McGill McGill had been rather quiet since the East Tennessee game, but he was called upon on Saturday aga

Anthony Pagnotta
6 days ago6 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Two Tar Heels Receive Mid-Season Recognition
Laszlo Geczo- Imagn Images With the Tar Heels playing their sixth game of the year, we have officially reached the halfway point of the college football season and some Tar Heels are starting to get some midseason recognition. The Sporting News released their midseason All-American team and a Tar Heel who is off to a great start to the season was among those recognized. Sophomore defensive tackle Xavier Lewis is a member of Bill Bender’s All-American team after collecting 30

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 211 min read


Heel Tough Blog: 2027 3✮ WR Decommits from UNC
@tn1_ant- Instagram The Tar Heels are building some nice momentum on the field, but the team did lose one of its commits in the 2027 recruiting class. As first reported by Inside Carolina, 2027 3✮ WR Anthony Williams is no longer committed to UNC. Williams, the No. 942 overall prospect and No. 116 wide receiver in the class according to 247Sports Composite Rankings, had been committed to the Tar Heels since June 14th following his official visit to Chapel Hill on June 5th. Wi

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 191 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Duke Recap
UNC Athletics Billy’s first words were “Beat Duke” and he did just that on Saturday. After racing out to a 17-0 lead in the first half, the Tar Heel offense fell silent, allowing Duke to storm back and take a 20-17 lead with 4:39 to go in the game. The offense would respond with their first scoring drive since the middle of the second quarter, capped by a 24-yard touchdown run by Jaylen McGill with 1:53 remaining which gave the Tar Heels the lead back. The defense would conce

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 186 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Duke Preview
Charles LeClaire- Imagn Images The Tar Heels will travel to Duke on Saturday for the 113th meeting of the Battle for the Victory Bell. The Tar Heels will be looking to build off the first ranked win of the Bill Belichick era in this one, while Duke will be hoping to get back on track after a headscratching loss to Georgia Tech. Here’s everything you need to know heading into this rivalry matchup. Team Breakdowns Tar Heels The Tar Heels come into this game looking to generate

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 178 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Stock Report- Pittsburgh
UNC Athletics The Tar Heels entered Saturday looking for the first ranked win under Bill Belichick and the first win against a ranked opponent on the road since 2020. Despite a slow start on both sides of the ball, the team would scrap their way to a huge 21-17 over the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers. As the team now prepares for a trip to Durham to try and win back the Victory Bell, here is a look at who we have trending up and trending down around Tar Heel football. ⇧Shamar Eas

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 166 min read


Heel Tough Blog: PFF Report - Pittsburgh
UNC Athletics For the first time under Bill Belichick, the Tar Heels beat a ranked opponent after taking down #25 Pittsburgh, 21-17 on Saturday, improving UNC to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in the ACC. The Panthers may have been without their starting QB, but they still led UNC 10-7 at the half and 17-14 in the 4th quarter before a touchdown pass from Billy Edwards Jr. gave Carolina the lead for good, giving the UNC program their first win over a ranked opponent since 2020 unde

Joshua Marlow
Oct 133 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Two Tar Heel CBs Out Indefinitely
Charles LeClaire- Imagn Images The Tar Heels came into Saturday afternoon with some major injury issues on the defensive side of the football and suffered two important ones in the secondary during the win over Pittsburgh. It started with nickel corner Kaleb Cost, who ran into the concrete wall behind the end zone on a first quarter pass play where he was making a play on the ball. He crashed hard hitting his right leg and face against the wall, but the broadcast cited the kn

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 122 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Pittsburgh Recap
UNC Athletics The Tar Heels came into Saturday looking for the first ranked win under Bill Belichick and the first ranked win on the road since 2020. While it may have been ugly, the team was able to do enough to pick up a win that makes the hopes of making a bowl game very realistic. Here is a look at our biggest takeaways from the Tar Heels’ 21-17 victory of No. 25 Pittsburgh. Defense Played a Very Similar Game to TCU Saturday’s performance from the Tar Heel defense felt ve

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 105 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Pittsburgh Preview
Bob Donnan- Imagn Images The Tar Heels will look to end their two-game losing streak and pick up Bill Belichick’s first win over a ranked opponent on Saturday when they face the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers on the road. Here’s everything that you need to know about the matchup with the Panthers, who have won three of the last five meetings between the two. Team Breakdowns Tar Heels The Tar Heels will be hoping to make another statement on how far they have come from last year o

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 97 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Stock Report- Notre Dame
Bob Donnan- Imagn Images The Tar Heels competed hard on Saturday in Kenan Stadium against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the No. 3 team in the country, but ultimately fell short. Now, the team turns its attention to another undefeated team, the Pittsburgh Panthers. Here is a look at who we have trending up and trending down going into that road trip to Acrisure Stadium. ⇩Kaleb Cost The Tar Heel secondary struggled as a whole, but no one struggled more than Cost on Saturday. W

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 88 min read


Heel Tough Blog: PFF Report - Week 5 (Notre Dame)
Bob Donnan- Imagn Images It wasn’t the result that the Tar Heels were hoping for on Saturday, falling to Notre Dame 37-26 in Chapel Hill, in a game that Carolina led 7-0 in the first half, and only trailed 21-20 in the second, before the Fighting Irish pulled away. It was a game that featured the competitive spirit you want to see from your team, but the areas the program still needs to grow and develop were highlighted in a major way. As we do every week, let’s see how the T

Joshua Marlow
Oct 63 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Notre Dame Recap
Bob Donnan- Imagn Images The Tar Heels faced a monumental task on Saturday when they welcomed Notre Dame, the third ranked team in the country to Chapel Hill. The Fighting Irish had a chance in the middle of the second quarter to take the Tar Heels completely out of game, but back-to-back touchdowns allowed the Tar Heels to flip the script and battle into the fourth quarter. While moral victories aren’t something we love, this was a needed one for the Tar Heels as they head i

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 45 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Notre Dame Preview
Ashley Tumlin- Imagn Images The Tar Heels return to Kenan Stadium on Saturday as they face what might just be their toughest test of the season in the form of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Here’s everything you need to know as the Tar Heels attempt to recreate the magic of 2008 tomorrow afternoon. Team Breakdowns Tar Heels The Tar Heels are coming into this game off their second bye week of the early season, which followed the team’s first loss of the season to Clemson in di

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 37 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Five Storylines Coming Out of UNC’s Second Bye Week
Ashley Tumlin- Imagn Images The Tar Heels are coming out of their second bye week of the season and beginning to get ready for the game against Notre Dame this Saturday in Kenan Stadium to kick off a nine game stretch to finish the season. As they begin those preparations, here is a look at the five biggest storylines around the team heading into a difficult stretch of games. Quarterback Job Will Still Be Billy Edwards’ For Now Many fans were calling for the Tar Heels to turn

Anthony Pagnotta
Oct 13 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Sticking With Billy Edwards Jr. at QB
Ashley Tumlin- Imagn Images Despite a rough showing against the Clemson Tigers and calls for a new quarterback from the fanbase, the staff is sticking by fifth year senior Billy Edwards Jr. heading into the game with Notre Dame. Head coach Bill Belichick confirmed that Edwards will be the guy against the Fighting Irish on Monday morning during his presser. When asked if he expects to move forward with Edwards as the starting quarterback, the second-year Tar Heel head coach si

Anthony Pagnotta
Sep 282 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Stock Report- Clemson
Ashley Tumlin- Getty Images The Tar Heels suffered their first setback of the 2026 season last Saturday, as Clemson stormed back from down 17-3 late in the second quarter to stun them 28-20. As the team sits in the middle of their second bye week of the season before a nine game sprint to the finish, here’s a look at the stock report around the Tar Heel football program. ⇩Coleman Bryson Bryson had a really rough day for the Tar Heel on Saturday to say the least. While he did

Anthony Pagnotta
Sep 267 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heel Kicker Deemed Eligible in Indiana Court Ruling
Mike Watters- Imagn Images After missing the first three games of the season because of a battle with the NCAA for eligibility, Tar Heel kicker Rece Verhoff is now officially available to play. Verhoff was one of 97 student athletes that were a part of a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed against the NCAA that was granted by an Indiana judge in Monroe County circuit court on Wednesday afternoon. The lawsuit is challenging the NCAA’s age-based model for players from the

Anthony Pagnotta
Sep 232 min read
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