Way-Too-Early Louisville 2026 Opponent Preview: North Carolina

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With the summer months now on the horizon and rosters across college football now firmly set in stone, Louisville Cardinals On SI will provide way-too-early previews for each opponent on their 2026 schedule.

Next up, we continue our way-too-early preview series with the Cardinals' road matchup at North Carolina:

North Carolina Tar Heels

2026 Meeting: Saturday, Nov. 14 at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Last Meeting: Louisville won 47-35 on Sept. 9, 2017 at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 5-3

Last offseason, North Carolina went from one coaching legend to another. After Mack Brown's second stint with the Tar Heels ended in somewhat unceremonious fashion, UNC made arguably the splashiest hire of the coaching cycle, bringing in six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick to lead the charge. However, year one under his leadership didn't exactly go as hoped, with the Heels going just 4-8 overall and 2-6 in ACC play. Not to mention the near-constant headlines that his relationship with Jordon Hudson has generated.

The bulk of North Carolina's woes last season came on the offensive side of the ball. The Tar Heels had the worst offensive numbers in the ACC, with their 288.8 yards per game ranking 129th out of the 134 teams in the FBS, while their 19.3 points scored per game ranked 118th. On top of retooling this unit via the transfer portal, Belichick went out and hired former UofL head coach Bobby Petrino to be his offensive coordinator.

As for who Petrino will be working with as his man under center, North Carolina went out and grabbed Billy Edwards Jr. from the transfer portal. Edwards only played in two games last seasons with the Badgers thanks to a knee injury, but he should be able to elevate their offense. In 2024 with Maryland, Edwards completed 65.0 percent of his throws for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns to nine interceptions, along with 148 yards and five scores on the ground.

As for his primary targets in the passing game this fall, Edwards has a few good men. For starters, Carolina's WR1 last season, Jordan Shipp, is returning to Chapel Hill following a 2025 season where he caught 60 passes for 671 yards and six touchdowns. Trech Kekahuna followed Edwards from Wisconsin, and has caught 51 passes for 550 yards and two scores over the last two seasons. Mason Humphrey is also coming off of a 35 catch/651 yards/four touchdown season in the FCS ranks at Lehigh. The Tar Heels' depth at wide receiver takes a nosedive after these three, not to mention there isn't much proven production at tight end, but UNC has a competitive starting trio at wideout.

North Carolina didn't exactly get much production out of their ground game last season, but they do bring back their top two running backs from 2025, so that could pave the way for improvement via continuity. Demon June ran for 464 yards and two touchdowns with 17 catches for 159 yards and a score, while Benjamin Hall accumulated 274 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

On the offensive line, North Carolina has some questions, but also some good potential. This was a unit was below average last season, allowing 1.83 sacks (64th in FBS) and 5.58 tackles for loss per game (82nd), and has a multiple new faces/players in new roles after losing their top five linemen by snap count. Jordan Hall will start on day one at left tackle after earning the job towards the end of last season, while starting left guard Aidan Banfield returns after missing most of the season due to injury. Christo Kelly will be elevated to starter at center after seeing minimal in-game time up to this point, First Team All-JUCO selection Jonah Rodriguez will slide in at starting right guard, while Jacqawn McRoy comes over from Arkansas to start at right tackle after not seeing much time.

As woeful as North Carolina's offense was last season, they actually got a good showing out of their defensive counterparts. Led by defensive coordinator Stephen Belichick, the Tar Heels' 336.9 yards allowed per game ranked 38th in the FBS, although their 24.5 points allowed came in at 66th. While UNC loses a seven of their 10 leading tacklers, they return a lot of rotational players from last season, with many of them in line to start this year.

Carolina did a good job at getting in the backfield last season, and that should still be true in 2026 despite losing several playmakers on the defensive line. Defensive end Melkart Abou-Jaoude, whose 12.0 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks both led the Heels, is running it back for year two under the Belichicks. He and Richmond transfer Donovan Hoilette will be a very good edge rushing pair, as he is coming off of a season where he posted 13.0 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Isaiah Johnson (40 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 2.0 sacks) and Leroy Jackson (37 tackles) are a solid interior tackles combo as well. Depth is a concern, but UNC's starting DL is not.

After losing their two leading tacklers, North Carolina had to go to the portal to land their two starters at inside linebacker, landing Syracuse' Derek McDonald and Richmond's Peyton Seelmann. McDonald missed most of last season due to injury, but he has long established himself as a valuable asset, collecting 165 total tackles over the previous three seasons. Meanwhile, Seelmann's 120 tackles last season alone (along with 4.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and five PBUs), was the eighth-most among both the FBS and FCS. Retuners Jonathan Agumadu and Timir Hickman-Collins are decent depth pieces, but like with the defensive line, there's a massive drop off in production from starting linebackers to the backups.

UNC's efforts in the secondary were about average, with their 211.3 passing yards ranking 52nd nationally, Despite losing multiple starters, they do return a good amount of players behind them that are ready to step up into new roles. Kaleb Cost (45 tackles, 2.0 for loss, 5 PBUs, 1 interception) and Jaiden Patterson (34 tackles, 2.0 for loss, 5 PBUs, 1 interception) are running it back at cornerback, with Michigan State's Ade Willie (16 tackles, 2.0 for loss, 1 PBU in 4 games) joining the mix here, and returners Tre Miller plus Jalen Thompson being serviceable backups. The back end at safety isn't nearly as well off, with Greg Smith (17 tackles, 2 PBUs) and Gregory Smith III (25 tackles, 1 interception) sliding in as the starting duo.

Overall, there is potential for North Carolina to have a bounce back 2026 campaign. The Tar Heels have a good collection of starting talent on both sides of the ball, although the team-wide depth is a massive concern. This might be a road matchup that will undoubtedly feature a motivated Petrino, but the fact that it's a late season matchup bodes extremely well for Louisville.

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