Artacho’s Angle: UNC Football Almost Flipped the Narrative

Tar Heel fans in the stands were crushed after their team seemed to be that close to feeling good about themselves, even if it was just for a moment. The drama off the field has not bode well for a lot of fans.

Whether it was Lopez's car crash, or the suspension of cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins, the divided locker room dilemma, and, as of late, Michael Lombardi's trip to Saudi Arabia, not too long before UNC's season opener against TCU (where it was then destroyed on national television... badly).

However, North Carolina almost made me eat my words. I had said that the Tar Heels would fall to the California Bears, which happened, but not as badly as I thought they would. In my score prediction, I said UNC would lose to California, 27-7, not even crossing the double-digit mark on the scoreboard, considering its past performances leading up to the game.

North Carolina Was Actually Competitive

UNC made its outing against the Bears... competitive. One aspect of its first three Power 4 games was lacking from the beginning to the end. North Carolina stayed in the fight and did not let up, even though it was trailing behind. Whether it was for this game or signs of improvement, nobody will truly know until its next contest on October 25 against Virginia.

If UNC can repeat a similar performance, and come out victorious, then that will be a big indicator that it has improved after all; after all of the chaos; after all of the controversy in the news; after all of everything.

This season has not panned out into anything the offseason hype made it out to be. UNC has fallen short... way short of those expectations, and is now trying to rewrite the narrative into something a little bit more positive; something that will have Tar Heel fans who attend Kenan Memorial Stadium looking forward to... because the way it has played has been a letdown.

The Positives

Lopez learned more about himself following the game, finding a new target to throw to other than wide receiver Jordan Shipp. Senior Kobe Paysour played similarly to his old self, who had a hard time trying to come out under Bill Belichick.

Paysour had his best outing of the 2025 season with 101 receiving yards on six receptions — his longest catch being 37 yards.

UNC had 34 total targets, seven of which were Paysour, with Shipp having the most (to no surprise, of course) with eight. Paysour also led the team in yards after catch — 13. Overall, it was performance that North Carolina needed to further its options on the offense end, beyond the run game and Shipp.

If Paysour continues having performances like this, it should allow for more opportunities to get into the end zone, making it challenging for opposing defenses to pick and choose who the primary focus will be. Lopez would no longer need to look only toward Shipp most of the time.

Everything considered, North Carolina has a lot of work left to do, even if it made strides toward a somewhat better team — the two fumbles (the other being on its very first play of its opening drive) were costly and simply things that should not happen if it wants to turn their "L" into a "W."

The Cavaliers and head coach Tony Elliott hold a record of 6-1 and 3-0 in ACC play, led by Chandler Morris, who has had an outstanding season, throwing for 1,607 yards and 11 touchdowns (including four interceptions). He will pose a serious challenge for UNC's defense, but it will be a chance for the Tar Heels to prove doubters wrong.

Please