The North Carolina Tar Heels seem to have the big advantage heading into their game with East Tennessee State next weekend.
After a disappointing 2025 season, the North Carolina Tar Heels got off to a solid start this year.
North Carolina was able to grab a big win over TCU in Week 0, getting a head start to the season. This win gave the Tar Heels some revenge for the embarrassing loss against the Horned Frogs from a year ago.
Head coach Bill Belichick has spent the entire offseason getting this team ready for his second season, and so far, so good. But there is still a lot of work to do for this Tar Heels team, with a long schedule left to go.
North Carolina will be taking on the East Tennessee State Buccaneers next weekend, giving the team a chance to start the year 2-0. The Tar Heels are off this week and will get back into the fold in Week 2 of the season.
Heading into the matchup, the Tar Heels are being viewed as the overwhelming favorite by ESPN.
ESPN gives North Carolina a 98.5 percent chance to win the game.
Against East Tennessee, the biggest mountain for the Tar Heels to climb will be complacency. Since they will have been off for a week, it can be easy to slip back into a poor mindset.
Staying on the course will be crucial, as well as not downplaying this group. Any team can win on any given day, so the Tar Heels will likely be working on keeping a level head heading into the game.
Having Belichick as the coach should help, and he's been through it all during his coaching career. Overall, the Tar Heels seem to be set up well for this season, but they'll need to keep building to reach their goals.
While the 15-10 win over TCU was a little sloppy, it's all about building with this program. The Tar Heels have been preaching consistency all offseason, and this game showed that they could handle the bigger moments of a football game.
North Carolina was able to hold the Horned Frogs scoreless over the final three quarters of the game, showing impressive play from the defense. The offense did just enough to clinch the win, sending them off to a solid start.
How to Watch UNC vs East Tennessee State
Kickoff for the game between the two teams is set for 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET from Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
