Our long nightmare is almost over.
Or depending on how you look at it, just beginning.
Tonight is the night where the illustrious Bill Belichick makes his college football coaching debut on the sidelines for UNC. After nine months of hype, stories, roster turnover, and hot air in the form of things not even remotely related to football, we finally get a chance to talk about what matters—results on the field.
Still, before the ball gets kicked off, we still have some hype to get through. Here are a few
things to look for in case you forgot the sheer amount of pregame hoopla that multiple entities are doing prior to the start of the game:
- If you want to take in the sights and sounds of campus even before the game, a reminder that the whole pregame experience has been revamped once again. This includes the football team walking from the Old Well to the stadium at 5:20, a concert by Chase Rice in front of Wilson Library at 5:45 PM, the Marching Tar Heels at 7 PM on that same stage, and expanded tailgating for both students and fans around the Bell Tower, Quad, and Pit area.
- ESPN is going to be coming at you before for the event. Starting at 7 PM ESPN will broadcast a pregame show on site. It’s NOT College Gameday as ESPN reserves that for Saturdays only, but the whole crew will be there. Sportcenter’s Matt Barrie will host and you’ll see former Patriot Teddy Bruschi join the usuals of Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, and Pat McAfee. The reason that Rece Davis isn’t the host? He’s joining Kirk Herbstreit in the booth and they already got to town on Sunday.
- ACC Network will also be on site as they plan to show ACC Huddle live as kickoff approaches. Kelsey Riggs Cuff, Jimbo Fisher, and Mark Richt will be at the desk to host the festivities for ACCN, and Teddy Bruschi will also make an appearance on this show. Once the game is over, the same crew will host a wrap-up show on site.
- Finally, once it’s all done, expect Sportscenter with Scott Van Pelt to immediately jump back to Chapel Hill however the game ends. Overall, ESPN has jumped in with both feet for Belichick’s arrival.
With all that said, what matters the most is the game itself. If you’re not going to be inside Kenan—and if you have a ticket be in your seat for pregame as the team is also leaning into the special nature of this game—here’s how you can catch the action:
- Time: 8 PM ET
- Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium — Chapel Hill, NC
- TV: ESPN with Rece Davis on Play-by-play, Kirk Herbstreit doing color, and Holly Rowe on the sidelines.
- Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network with Jones Angell, Joe Jauch, and Lee Pace. Here’s a list of affiliates airing the THSN broadcast. You can also listen to them on GoHeels.com, The Varsity Network, Tune In, and Sirius XM on channel 84.
- Streaming: ESPN’s broadcast of the game can be seen on their app and/or website
- Line: UNC +3.5, Moneyline TCU -170/UNC +142, O/U 55.5
