UNC Faces Prolific Passer, TCU Team No Stranger to High-Profile Openers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The long-awaited coaching debut for Bill Belichick’s new North Carolina tenure arrives on Monday night against TCU at Kenan Stadium (8 p.m., ESPN).

>>> Welcome to the new home of Inside Carolina! Reactivate your account for $1 <<<

The season opener will mark the fourth meeting in football between the Tar Heels and Horned Frogs. UNC has swept the previous meetings, winning in 1940 and twice during former coach Mack Brown’s first stint in charge (1994 in Chapel Hill and 1997 in Fort Worth, Texas).

Nine years ago, both programs agreed to play home-and-home series. But the return matchup to open the 2026 season has been moved overseas to Ireland, where the teams will tangle in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic next August in Dublin.

TCU is under coach Sonny Dykes, who led the Frogs to the 2022 College Football Playoff national championship game in his first season at the helm. Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and defensive coordinator Andy Avalos are alongside Dykes.

Last season, TCU finished sixth in the Big 12 Conference and defeated Louisiana in the New Mexico Bowl to post a 9-4 record. Entering this season, the oddsmakers have set the Frogs’ projected win total at 6½ heading into the opener at Carolina.

Dykes, with previous stops as the head man at Louisiana Tech, California and SMU, is among six active coaches to take four different schools to a bowl game. Hugh Freeze, Butch Jones, Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin and Rich Rodriguez are the others. Here are more key areas of note on TCU.

UNC Defense Faces Prolific Passer

After piling up a single-season school record with 3,949 passing yards last season, junior quarterback Josh Hoover enters the 2025 season as the Big 12’s most productive returning quarterback. He placed seventh nationally in passing last season (303.8 yards per game).

The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder also threw for 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with a 66.5-percent completion percentage (313-for-471) last season. He supplied three or more touchdown passes in five games last season, and threw for four TDs twice.

“The number of explosive plays they get is impressive,” Belichick said of Hoover and the Frogs this week. “Offensively, they can throw the ball down the field — go routes, post routes, seams, things like that. They also can throw the ball on some intermediate-type throws like slants and quick end cuts.

“If you let them throw it in front, you’ve got to do a good job of tackling. They do a good job throwing the ball over the top, and they have a good intermediate game. So they really make you defend all the blades of grass on the field.”

Hoover is a true pocket passer, who poses little threat to run. He finished with minus-19 rushing yards on 47 attempts last season, and was sacked 16 times in 13 games. Certainly a key for success for UNC’s defensive line will be to try to make him uncomfortable.

But that unit is one of the Tar Heels’ most unproven groups, with Leroy Jackson perhaps the only returning defensive linemen expected to contribute. Transfer portal additions such as Pryce Yates, CJ Mims and Isaiah Johnson need to produce. The first test for UNC’s revamped defensive front comes in a high-profile opener where getting to the opposing quarterback is of utmost importance.

Frogs Strong in the Secondary

TCU’s secondary headlines the defensive side of the ball. That group is led by sixth-year safety Bud Clark, who delivered 67 tackles, three interceptions and six pass deflections while grading out out as the third-best safety in the Power Four conferences last season, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Last season, TCU’s defense ranked 19th-best in the nation in opponent passing efficiency and 23rd in passing yards allowed. The Frogs also held opposing quarterbacks to a 58.5-percent completion percentage, which checked in 32nd-best in college football.

“I’ve been really focused on their whole defense,” UNC receiver Jordan Shipp said. “They’ve got great players. (Clark) is a great player, (safety Jamel Johnson) is a great player. They have some pretty good corners and everything like that … but at the end of the day we’re going to play Carolina football and we’re going to try and make them adjust.”

Sixth-year cornerback Elijah Jackson will make his debut for TCU after five seasons at Washington. He’s another product of UNC defensive coordinator Steve Belichick’s secondary with the Huskies last season. Jackson played alongside defensive backs Thad Dixon and Peyton Waters, and linebacker Khmori House, all of whom since have become Tar Heels.

Season-Opening Déjà Vu

Interestingly enough, TCU is no stranger to being the opponent across from college coaching stardom. To begin the 2023 season, the Frogs played host to Deion Sanders’ Colorado team in his first game as head coach of the Buffaloes.

Despite being more than 20-point favorites to spoil Sanders’ debut, the Frogs fell 45-42 on their home turf. Consider it a valuable, lesson for Dykes and TCU, which ultimately could pay dividends on Monday night in Chapel Hill. To avoid reliving another of those unwanted scenarios, Dykes and his staff have placed even more emphasis on tuning out the peripheral noise and preparing.

“Our guys got caught up in the hype so much,” Dykes told The Athletic this week, referring to the 2023 opener. “We’re going to have to do a really, really good job of getting our guys ready mentally to just go deal with that.”

While not nearly as heavily favored as they were against Colorado in 2023, the Frogs have been installed as 3½-point favorites to defeat the Tar Heels.