How UNC’s Running Backs Performed Against TCU

Four different players for the UNC football team ran the ball against TCU. Head coach Bill Belichick and Offensive Coordinator Freddie Kitchens did not find success other than what Caleb Hood was able to accomplish with the first touchdown of the game. Hood, plus Benjamin Hall, Davion Gause and Gio Lopez had moments of using their feet to try and push the football forward for positive yardage.

Hood had the best net yardage with 31, Hall had 22, Gause with seven, but then Lopez had -10. The front seven of TCU were hounding UNC's starting quarterback, and the offensive line was unable to stop it from happening — one alarming aspect of the Tar Heels' performance. In comparison to TCU, which made it look really easy at times, blowing past Tar Heel defenders, creating missed tackles, it also had four different players run the ball, but had lost a total of three yards altogether.

Kevorian Barnes ran for 113 yards, Nate Palmer had 61, Jeremy Payne had 28 and Trent Battle had 28. All four Horned Frogs had two touchdowns as well.

UNC — Bill Belichick | Jackson McCurdy, Tar Heels On SI

Can UNC's Running Back Room Succeed in the Future?

It was hard to find any adjustments for Coach Belichick throughout the game against TCU. Run play, one after the next, was stopped by the Horned Frogs easily, keeping the Tar Heels at bay and hardly finding any momentum in their season opener.

UNC had 28 rushes for a total of 50 yards 50. On the other hand, Coach Dykes team had 35 rushes for 258 yards. Those two stats tell a lot about the game and sum up the kind of night Tar Heels fans had to watch (for those who stayed until the very end, to be clear).

Unless adjustments are made and Coach Kitchens can rework the strategy, one that does not equate to under 100 yards, then UNC's chances of being able to succeed in the running back room in the future can change.

There are still 11 football games left in the 2025 season, and time for the eight-time Super Bowl champion to get used to the competition found at the collegiate level. Maybe over the course of the next few games, he finds the one running back to take over the job completely, rather than it being by committee.

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