UNC Inches Closer to Bowl Eligibility, But Concerns Remain

In this episode of the Tar Heels Insider Podcast, beat writer Grant Chachere recaps North Carolina’s 20-15 win over Stanford and discusses his top concern as the Tar Heels head into a pivotal three-game stretch.

To hear what Grant had to say, check out the video below.

Here is a partial transcript from Bill Belichick's postgame press conference:

Opening Statement

UNC, UNC Football — North Carolina running on the field before its game vs. Stanford; Nov. 8, 2025 | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

Good to win. Good win at home, always good to win at home. Proud of our team. Kind of interesting two halves, had a tough start offensively, and then kind of got things going a little bit in the second half.

Defensively played well, really, for three quarters, and then gave up at the end of the two two-minute drives at the end and hung on with an onside kick recovery and being able to stop on defense. So, like a lot of these games, they’re close, they’re tight, similar to some of the games that Stanford’s played against Florida State came down last play, BC was tight. I scored at the end of the game to beat San Jose.

Nov 8, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Jordan Shipp (1) celebrates with quarterback Gio Lopez (7) after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

So there’s a lot of games like that in this conference. And, that’s what we’re ready for, and fortunately, we made enough plays to come out on top today. And so that’s a good feeling. Just a lot of things we can still improve on, keep working on, and that’s what we’ll do, going forward, and get ready for Wake.

On the emergence of Tyler Thompson

Nov 8, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Tyler Thompson (40) sacks Stanford Cardinal quarterback Elijah Brown (2) in the fourth quarter at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Yeah, he's worked really hard, you know, going all the way back to the spring. I mean, he's one of the players that was a carryover from previous team and has stayed with us, you know, all the way through which, again, it's like, well, less than half the team, so I just point that out. But yeah, he's really worked hard on us on his pass rush.

He's gotten a lot stronger. I mean, he was, I think, about maybe 15 to 20 pounds lighter than he is now, and that's all really good weight. He's explosive, he's strong, and his fundamentals and techniques brushing the passer have been something he's refined and worked on and, you know, working in coordination with, you know, the defensive lineman for pass first games and stuff like that.

Oct 28, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a North Carolina Tar Heels helmet on the field before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

So he’s our guy, blocking practice. I could just tell you some of the things you see on the games are similar to what we see in practice. He’s got good edge speed, he has power, he’s long, he’s pretty athletic.

On the defense…

UNC — North Carolina defensive end Tyler Thompsons vs. Stanford; Nov. 8, 2025 | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

I think everybody that goes out on the field was going out there to do the best they can. Defense is going out there to stop them. The offense is going out there to move the ball and score points. And sometimes good things happen, but that’s not all the time, so I don’t think it’s anything other than that, really.

We had good field position defensively from our kicking game, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to take advantage of the turnover in the first quarter… and second quarter, whenever it was. We weren’t able to take advantage of that field position, and neither were they on the fumble, missing a field goal and then scoring before the half. But we knew Stanford’s a good two-minute team.

They showed that in the Florida State game, they showed it in the BC game, they showed it certainly in the San Jose game, where they came from behind to win. They showed it in the SMU game at the half. So we knew that was a good, big part of their offensive production, and they did a good job with it, better than we did until the very end.

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