UNC Football: For At Least One Week, Tar Heel Fans Can Go to Work in Peace

For at least one week, Tar Heel fans can go to work in peace.

Pull out the UNC polo. Wear the hat. Put the Tar Heel logo on the shirt and walk into work, school or the grocery store with your head held high. Nobody can say much about your football team this week because, for once, the scoreboard has the final word.

North Carolina beat TCU 15-10 in Dublin, and regardless of what happens from here, Tar Heel fans earned the right to enjoy it.

When Bill Belichick was hired at North Carolina, there was excitement, skepticism and everything in between. I was one of those who thought there was a chance it could work. At the very least, I believed North Carolina would play sound football.

Then came 2025.

The inconsistent play and underwhelming performances eventually became part of the reason changes were made. Being a Tar Heel football fan also became something of a microcosm of what happens when you attach a program to a coach with celebrity status.

Tar Heel fans have seen bad football before. Lee Pace reminded us of that this weekend when he talked about practicing his wedge game with a microphone during North Carolina's 69-14 loss to Louisville in 2005. We've had plenty of bad Saturdays. We've learned to laugh about them because sometimes that's all you can do.

But the Belichick era added another layer.

There was the disappointing football, followed by the TMZ-style coverage surrounding Belichick and Jordan Hudson. There was Michael Lombardi, another recognizable name in football who seemed to attract attention simply by being associated with the program. Every mistake became bigger, and every failure seemed to create another opportunity for someone to pile on.

For some Tar Heel fans, it became exhausting. Conversations weren't always about football anymore. Local and national media seemed eager to turn the UNC story into something beyond the field, and there were days when it felt easier to just hide until the basketball team took the court.

Then, quietly, the football team had different plans. You could hear the skepticism coming into this season. The "stacking days" and "player development" comments were met with a collective, "Yeah, we've heard this before." After watching 2025, I couldn't blame anyone for feeling that way.

I picked North Carolina to beat TCU 25-24, but I still came into this season with a "show me" attitude.

On Saturday, the Tar Heels showed us something. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't an offensive masterpiece. It was better than that. It was a football game in which North Carolina played physically, played with discipline and found a way to win. Billy Edwards Jr. looked like a seasoned quarterback. The defensive line controlled the game. Derek McDonald finished with 11 tackles. North Carolina committed only three penalties, picked up 20 first downs and held TCU scoreless for the final three quarters.

That's not a prediction about what this season will become. It's simply what happened. And for one weekend, that was enough. Perhaps the most refreshing part of Dublin was what we didn't hear about. Michael Lombardi wasn't the story. Jordan Hudson wasn't the story. The game was the story. I don't recall seeing Hudson in Dublin or at the stadium. I have never met her, and for all I know, she could be a wonderful person. That's not really the point. A coach's personal life shouldn't automatically become a football story simply because the coach is famous.

There is a difference between reporting on conduct that affects a program and reporting on someone's personal life because it generates clicks. If a coach is arrested or involved in serious misconduct, that's news. Attending an event for a wife or girlfriend isn't.

For one weekend, that noise disappeared. We got to talk about Billy Edwards. We got to talk about Derek McDonald and the defensive line. We got to talk about a 15-10 victory over a team that beat North Carolina 48-14 a year ago. We got to be fans again. And that's a pretty good feeling.

Sports has a way of reminding us not to get too comfortable. One bad Saturday can take that feeling away in a matter of hours. That's the Lucy-and-Charlie-Brown relationship college football fans have with their teams. We know the football might get pulled away, but we keep running toward it anyway.

So, Tar Heel fans, take a moment.

Enjoy the win. Wear the polo. Walk into work Monday morning with your head held high.

The questions will return. The next game will come. There will be plenty of time to debate whether this team is really different.

But that's next week. For now, enjoy Dublin. For now, enjoy the win., and remember:

Every day is a good day to be a Tar Heel.