Why Stanford’s Weaknesses Give UNC a Clear Advantage

In this episode of the Tar Heels Insider Podcast, beat writer Grant Chachere discusses how Stanford's weaknesses could benefit North Carolina and explains why he believes the Tar Heels are poised for victory.

To hear what Grant had to say, check out the video below. Below the video is a partial transcript from Bill Belichick's presser from Tuesday.

Opening Statement

Oct 25, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Stanford Cardinal interim head coach Frank Reich watches from the sideline against the Miami Hurricanes during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

It’s some familiar faces this week, with Frank (Reich) and Andrew Luck. Those guys were hard to compete against at a different point in time. Have some memories, some real battles with that, with the Colts and when Frank was in Philly and so many other places.

But anyway it’s been interesting watching Stanford this year. Big win against Florida State. Good come-from-behind win against San Jose State...

An interesting team, looks like they’ve made a change at quarterback with Elijah Brown. He played the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh and did some good things in that game. I guess enough for them to make the change. Got a couple good running backs, a couple good receivers and a young offensive line.

That defensive staff, they play very fundamentally sound up front. They’re pretty good defensive lineman, and all are aggressive. They play hard and have a couple of good specialists again, which we’ve seen in the last few weeks, punter and kicker.

So a good field position team that can change field position with the kicking game, which we’ve seen from Cal and Virginia the last couple weeks as well. So a new challenge for us here, we’ll get to work. Obviously, we don’t have a lot of film on Brown to watch, but we have some.

How do you view Austin Blaske as a center moving forward?

Oct 31, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Gio Lopez (7) with center Austin Blaske (58) at the line of scrimmage in the third quarter against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

“He’s shown position versatility all the way through. Which going to the next level, that’s a huge advantage. NFL teams can only take eight players to the game, so you don’t have a backup at every position. Somebody has to play more than one spot, whether that’s a starter who moves or a backup who moves, however you do it."

“The versatility of an offensive lineman is a huge advantage in the National Football League. So I think that’s really something that Austin has benefited from. He’s had an opportunity to play all three spots along the line. I think center is a good position for him, but he’s been able to play all three so we’re fortunate to have him. "

Could Thaddeus Dixon be getting closer to getting back on the field?

Dec 3, 2022; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels mascot Rameses during the fourth quarter between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Clemson Tigers at Bank of America Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Oct 31, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick looks to the clock in the fourth quarter game against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

He’s definitely getting closer. He’s more active than he’s been. Again, that’ll come from clearance with the doctor. It’s an internal thing that needs to be inside the body, meaning it needs to be cleared by the doctor. So when that happens, we’ll go from there. But until that happens then he wouldn’t be able to play.

On how Kobe Paysour’s emergence has helped open up the offense...

UNC — Oct 31, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Kobe Paysour (8) runs past Syracuse Orange defensive back Demetres Samuel Jr. (1) after making a catch in the first quarter at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Kobe's done a good job for us all the way around, catching the ball, but also blocking plays in the kickoff return team. He shows a lot of toughness and competitiveness whenever he's out there after the catch, making tough catches, walking and so forth.

So glad we have him, and he's really helped given us some good solidification that we see before, which, of course, every quarterback loves that, and some versatility, where he and Jordan (Shipp) can move around when we've had some of our the younger players in there.

Like, you know, Madrid (Tucker), and Shanard (Crowder), Nate Leacock, guys like that, who are less experienced, but those two guys, you know, provide a lot of a lot of experience and stability for the passing game in the receiver position

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