College football officially started with a few Week Zero games, highlighted by an unexpected result to kick the 2026 season off.
UNC and TCU played inside Dublin's Aviva Stadium, a rematch from both team's 2025 opener in Chapel Hill. North Carolina upset the Horned Frogs this time, 15-10, causing plenty of happy reactions from across social media.
Out of the 16 teams who played on Saturday, the Tar Heels (1-0) found themselves as one of those four winners, along with Memphis, Virginia and North Dakota State.
Down several players, the Tigers marched into Las Vegas and beat a Dan Mullen-coached UNLV squad, 27-21. Virginia obliterated an NC State team that always gets too much preseason hype, 34-8, while North Dakota State dominated Jacksonville State in a 33-7
matchup.
UNC won a defensive battle against the Horned Frogs (0-1), limiting a typically-explosive offense to under 300 yards. TCU didn't score again after a 10-point first quarter, with North Carolina generating its best stop on its own 10-yard line in the closing minutes.
Four teams that won Week Zero
— Brandon Walker (@BFW) August 30, 2026
1 Memphis - won biggest game of weekend, definite playoff contender
2 North Carolina - Pass rush was nasty, nice to see Belichick with some fire
3 Virginia - Super underrated nationally, Pribula looked good
4 North Dakota State - An awesome scene
The Tar Heels' offense did just enough under new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, who came over from Arkansas in the offseason. UNC moved the ball much smoother, generated more explosive plays in one afternoon than seemingly all of 2025 and found a star in tight end Jelani Thurman.
North Carolina faced all the odds going into Saturday, rightfully so after a disappointing first season under Belichick. For one afternoon, at least, the Tar Heels' experience and will to win helped it overcome those odds and deliver a big upset.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Analyst names UNC football amongst its top Week 0 performances
