Early Bird Preview: UNC gets early shot at revenge vs. TCU — in Dublin
North Carolina football will face TCU in Dublin, Ireland, for their season opener, a rematch of last year's loss.
Just like last season, North Carolina will take on TCU in the season opener, with the only difference being that the game will be played in Dublin, Ireland , on Aug. 29. Last year’s matchup was the highly anticipated debut of Bill Belichick’s collegiate career, and everyone in Chapel Hill could not wait.
Franklin Street was full, ESPN was in town to set up College GameDay, and multiple celebrities were in attendance, including Michael Jordan himself. The game opened with a jolt as former starting quarterback Gio Lopez engineered a sharp touchdown drive capped by a Caleb Hood goal-line run, sending Kenan Stadium into an early eruption. That would be the last real surge of adrenaline inside Kenan for the rest of the game — and, as it turned out, the season.
Lopez did not complete another pass for roughly two hours of real time. North Carolina scored just once more, while TCU controlled the game on both sides of the ball. The Horned Frogs blitzed UNC, 48-14, spoiling what could have been a magical night in Chapel Hill.
Here is a way-too-early sneak peek of the Horned Frogs. How did TCU fare last season? Including their win over North Carolina, TCU opened the season 3-0 and earned a convincing victory over a solid SMU team coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, catapulting the Horned Frogs to No.