UNC Football Moments After – UNC vs. East Tennessee State 35-3 Win
UNC Tar Heels Football Team Cruises in Their Tune-Up Game Against East Tennessee State
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina football team faced off against East Tennessee State in their home opener of the 2026 season. After a quick three-and-out on their first offensive drive, the Tar Heels found a rhythm in both the running and passing game and scored touchdowns on two straight drives, giving UNC an early 14-0 lead. East Tennessee came in with a game plan to keep the North Carolina offense off the field as much as possible and succeeded by possessing the ball 20 of the 30 first-half minutes.
However, even with being on the field for most of the first half, East Tennessee was still held scoreless. Carolina’s defense really stifled their pass game with great coverage from their defensive backs and an excellent pass rush up front from the defensive line, resulting in four sacks and an interception. ETSU did find some success in the run game and with short passes, but every time they came close to the red zone, the Heels would always come up with a stop. The Tar Heels scored touchdowns on 3 of their 5 offensive drives in just under 10 minutes of offensive possession in the first half. UNC quarterback Billy Edwards was very efficient operating the offense, completing 10 of his 15 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Seven different receivers caught a pass in the first half for the Tar Heels, and the UNC running backs were excellent in space with outside runs and catching out of the backfield, leading them to 21 first-half points.
North Carolina dominated East Tennessee in the second half and came right out of halftime, forcing a fumble on their first defensive possession. East Tennessee had no answers for Carolina on either side of the ball as Carolina pushed their lead to 35-0. The Tar Heels had 427 yards of total offense, and once they found a rhythm offensively couldn’t be stopped. UNC had 9 different offensive players with a reception of at least 10 yards, and 3 different running backs had explosive plays in the run game. Defensively, the Heels held them to under 200 yards of total offense and 0 points when the UNC defensive starters were on the field. East Tennessee’s only points came when the Carolina defensive reserves were in the game. North Carolina led from start to finish and had a thorough performance to help them move to 2-0 on the season.
UNC Game Stats
UNC Total Offense- 427 yards
Rushing 161 Passing 266
UNC Passing: Billy Edwards Jr. 15/20 244 yards 2TDs
UNC Rushing: Demon June 7-33 yards, 3 TDs; Benjamin Hall 4-49 yards, Jaylen McGill 5-40 yards
UNC Receiving: Jelani Thurman 4 catches-71 yards 1TD, CJ Sadler 3 catches-66 yards, Jordan Shipp 2 catches-25 yards, Benjamin Hall 2 catches-25 yards 1TD
East Tennessee State Total Offense- 199 yards
East Tennessee State Passing: Mason Mims 23/31 178 yards 1INT
East Tennessee State Rushing: TJ Peyton 13-52 yards
East Tennessee State Receiving: Charlie Browder 3 catches- 50 yards
UNC Bright Spots
Quarterback Billy Edwards threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
Running Back Benjamin Hall had 4 carries for 49 yards, 2 catches for 25 yards, and one receiving touchdown.
Running Back Demon June had 7 carries for 33 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Tight End Jelani Thurman had 4 catches for 71 yards and one touchdown.
Wide Receiver CJ Sadler had 3 catches for 66 yards.
Linebacker Peyton Seelman led the team in tackles with 10.
Defensive lineman Xavier Lewis had 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 tackles for loss
Defensive lineman Jaylen Harvey had 3 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 tackles for loss.
Defensive back Greg Smith had 3 tackles and one interception.
Needs Work
The Linebacker play needs work. The starting linebackers don’t look nearly fast or athletic enough to be playing significant snaps at the FBS level. They are slow getting to the football, struggle in coverage, and more often than not out of position, unable to make an impact play. Their issues being in their gaps and fits have caused the rushing defense to suffer and allow too many yards. While it didn’t necessarily affect them against their first two opponents, it will catch up to them if that type of play continues with the tougher schedule coming up. I would like to see them rotate their linebackers to see if they can get better production from their younger players in that unit
The coaches need to allow Demon June and Jaylen McGill to get more snaps ahead of Benjamin Hall. They are just better runners of the football, more explosive and physical runners. While their running game has been good in both games, I believe that change at running back will set them up for success in games against tougher competition.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels took care of business against East Tennessee State in impressive fashion and are now 2-0. UNC is just a much-improved football team on both sides of the ball. They are more schematically and fundamentally sound, and the operation of both units is more efficient and effective. The offense just flows and looks so much better than it did last season. The offense is operated in a more professional way, the playcalling is exceptional, and the offensive coaches are putting the offensive personnel in position to succeed on the field. In two straight games, they’ve had more offensive yards than they had in any game last season and are just scratching the surface of how good and dangerous this offense can be.
The Heels also just have so many more offensive weapons at their disposal that can do damage. Defensively, they are doing a great job of pressuring the quarterback, limiting the run and passing game, and making it as difficult as possible for their opponents to score points. They have been outstanding against the pass, holding their opponents under 200 yards in both games and have only allowed 13 points in the first two games combined. The Tar Heels have done exactly what they were supposed to do against their first two opponents, and now it’s time to see what they look like against tougher opponents, with their schedule becoming more difficult over the next couple of weeks. We will be able to see where this team is really at and how good they can ultimately become, but there’s no question that they are a significantly better team than last year. Next up is Clemson on September 19 at 12:00 P.M. on ESPN.