North Carolina’s 15-10 win over TCU came down to 245 final seconds. Behind Billy Edwards, Jelani Thurman and an unexpected closer in Juju June, the Tar Heels finished a game in a way they rarely could in 2025.
North Carolina’s 15-10 season-opening win over TCU will understandably be remembered for a defense that shut out the Horned Frogs for the final 49 minutes.
But perhaps the most encouraging sequence for the future of Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels came during the final 245 seconds.
UNC took possession at its own 10-yard line with 4:05 remaining, holding a precarious five-point lead. TCU still had two timeouts, plus the two-minute timeout. Carolina couldn’t simply kneel out the clock. The Tar Heels needed first downs — or perhaps enough offense to add points and remove the possibility of losing on one TCU touchdown drive.
Instead, Carolina simply never gave the ball back.
Seven plays. Fifty yards. Four minutes and five seconds. Ballgame.
And virtually every important component of that possession told us something about this team.
Start with Demon “Juju” June.
June had not recorded a single carry all afternoon. Yet when Carolina needed someone to close the game, Bobby Petrino turned to him. June carried on six of UNC’s seven official plays on the possession, beginning with runs of five and eight yards to immediately produce a first down. After a delay-of-game penalty put Carolina behind schedule, June gained three more.
That’s running back depth in action. Ben Hall led Carolina in rushing, Jaylen McGill had contributed throughout the game, including the Tar Heels lone touchdown, but when it was time to finish, an entirely different back became the closer.
Then came perhaps the defining play for Billy Edwards Jr.
Facing second-and-12 from the UNC 21 with 2:25 remaining, Belichick and Petrino could have played conservatively. Run the football, force TCU to spend another timeout and trust the defense.
Instead, they trusted their quarterback.
Edwards dropped back and connected with tight end Jelani Thurman for 25 yards and a massive first down.
That decision mattered almost as much as the completion itself.
Edwards entered the season facing legitimate questions about whether he was truly the long-term answer at QB1. But against TCU, he managed the game effectively, completing 16 of 28 passes for 232 yards without an interception. And when Carolina absolutely needed one more throw, the coaching staff put the ball in his hands.
He delivered.
So did Thurman. The Ohio State transfer finished with a team-high 94 receiving yards on four catches, giving Carolina an early glimpse of the difference a dynamic receiving tight end can make after lacking that type of weapon a year ago.
June kept grinding after the two-minute timeout, eventually setting up fourth-and-1 at the TCU 45.
One yard separated Carolina from victory.
Edwards didn’t even need the snap.
His hard count coaxed TCU defensive lineman Markis Deal offsides, producing the five-yard penalty and first down that officially ended the game. The helmet slap from Christo Kelly to complete the infraction provided the perfect visual punctuation.
For a program that went 4-8 in Belichick’s first season and too often struggled to seize winning moments, this mattered.
The final drive cemented Edwards as QB1. It reinforced Thurman’s potential as a difference-maker. It highlighted Carolina’s running back depth. Most importantly, it showed a team capable of understanding exactly what the moment required — and executing until there were no seconds left for TCU.
Grinding out the final 245 seconds likely won’t define North Carolina’s entire 2026 season.
But as a first impression?
It was difficult to ask for anything better.
Because after spending much of 2025 unable to finish games, the first defining offensive moment of 2026 was North Carolina taking possession with 4:05 remaining — and refusing to give the football back.
