Heel Tough Blog: Stanford Recap

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After going the first nine weeks of the 2025 season without a power conference win, the Tar Heels have picked up back-to-back wins in conference and a bowl game in sight for the first time since the beginning of the season. On Saturday, the team took down the Stanford Cardinal 20-15 thanks to another strong second half from Gio Lopez and the passing game and just enough from the defense that overall played very well throughout the day. Here’s a look at our biggest takeaways from the victory.

Defensive Line Shines Again

The Tar Heels defense remains the strength of this team because of what this defensive line is doing. While the unit was solid once again in run defense, it is that pass rush that has become one of the best in all of college football in the last few weeks. On Saturday, against what might be the worst offensive line that the team will play this year, the unit was able to tee off for a third straight week, racking up a season-high nine sacks and 19 total quarterback pressures. If this unit can continue to get the type of push up front, this defense might be able to carry this team to a bowl game this season, something that is weird to say after the last decade plus of horrendous defenses.

Melkart Abou-Jaoude Continues Hot Streak

The guy who has developed into the leader of that defensive line is the Delaware transfer, Melkart Abou-Jaoude. For the second time in three weeks, he found his way to the quarterback three times, giving him eight sacks in the last three weeks, the most in college football during that span. With his sack on the final drive, an important one after Stanford got the ball back with a chance to drive and take the lead, he became the first Tar Heel player since Kareem Martin in 2013 to reach double-digit sacks in a season. Abou-Jaoude has proven to be one of the best pure pass rushers in the country over the last few weeks and the hope is that he can carry this success over into the final three games against rival schools. If he does, he could be in for a massive pay day at the end of the year.

Tyler Thompson is Developing Too

Abou-Jaoude isn’t the only edge rusher that has boosted his stock significantly during this recent stretch. Thompson may have been seeing limited snaps entering the game, but he was starring in these pass rush situations and had at least one sack in each of the last three games. On Saturday, he put together the best game of his career, getting to the quarterback three times in 44 snaps, the most extensive action that he has seen this season. With those three sacks, Thompson and Abou-Jaoude became the first tandem in Tar Heel football history to each have three sacks in the same game. If he is going to continue being this impactful in pass rush situations and hold up well enough in run defense, then he will be playing similar snaps the rest of the season.

The Gio Lopez Experience Continues to Have Its Ups and Downs

After a pretty complete game last week against Syracuse, Gio Lopez had another rollercoaster performance on Saturday. In the first half, Lopez was just 5 of 8 for 28 yards and a fumble on a play where he simply held onto the ball too long. At halftime, fans and media were calling for a look at the other quarterbacks on the roster to give this team a shot to move the football after a first half where the team had just 47 yards of total offense. Lopez responded in the second half, though, and with basically no run game in the second half, led the team on three scoring drives in order to lead the team to victory. He might be struggling to throw the ball downfield and have the inconsistencies from half to half, but you have to give Lopez credit for making the throws that he’s had too in the second half on Saturday to give the team their first win at home this season.

Jordan Shipp and Kobe Paysour Make Plays For This Passing Game

It took this tandem some time, but both Shipp and Paysour have become consistent producers for this team at the wide receiver position. Paysour led the team in receptions again on Saturday, hauling in six of his nine targets for 54 yards while helping pick up some key first downs in the second half. The biggest play of the day, though, came from Shipp, who hauled in a pass on 3rd & 5 and took it 55 yards to the house for what would end up being the game-winning score. Shipp finished the day with five catches for 83 yards and that touchdowns, leading the receiver group in receiving for a third straight week. With no clear third receiver emerging, the Tar Heels need these two guys to be performing week in and week out and they are right now.

Offensive Line Takes Step Back After Showing Promise at Syracuse

The Tar Heel offensive line was one of the biggest bragging points coming out of the game against Syracuse last week, but they were far from that on Saturday. While the team as a whole wasn’t bad in pass protection, they look very much like the unit that struggled in run blocking to begin the season. They were pushed around from the word go, but really had issues in the second half where the team ran for just 31 yards on 17 carries for an average of 1.8 per carry and simply could not melt time off of the clock, giving Stanford a chance in the 4th quarter to rally and nearly come away with a huge comeback win. You can say that the running back room deserves some of the blame, but it’s hard to pick up yards when your offensive line is being driven back into their laps like they were on Saturday. The unit must be better in the final three games if the team is going to find a way to get to a bowl game.

That Was a Little Too Close for Comfort in the End

Because of a lack of a run game and some conservative defense, Stanford nearly found a way to complete a 17-point comeback in the 4th quarter. The epidemic of playing soft defense and letting teams move the ball down the field late in games where you have a comfortable lead makes no sense to me, especially when you have played as well defensively as you have throughout, but is something every team at any level of football does these days. Let’s hope this was a lesson to the staff and these kids that they can’t take their foot off the gas with a big lead because that was a little too stressful for my liking.