Billy Edwards Jr. fired off three touchdown passes, leading North Carolina to a 38-21 win over UConn and finally snapping their two-game losing streak. This was a massive rebound for the Tar Heels, especially with their coach Bill Belichick back in New England for the first time since his NFL Patriots tenure ended.
Turnovers and Touchdowns: The Carolina Way
The Tar Heels totally owned the turnover battle, turning three UConn mistakes into a whopping 21 points. That’s how you put a game away, right? Timir Hickman-Collins was an absolute beast, picking off a pass and taking it 62 yards to the house! And then, just for good measure, he recovered a fumble that set up a quick 6-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Jordan Shipp. Jalon Thompson even got in on the action with an interception of his own, which led directly to a 3-yard scoring pass to Jelani Thurman that basically sealed the deal with just 3:38 left in the game. Hickman-Collins wasn’t shy about it, saying they’ve been “really harping on (getting) turnovers, every day in practice we have been doing that.” You gotta love it when the practice pays off on game day! Edwards also hit Thurman for another 3-yard score right before halftime, bringing Thurman’s season total to eight touchdown catches, which ties the North Carolina single-season record for tight ends. That’s huge!
Belichick’s Return, UConn’s Struggles
It was a big day for Belichick, stepping back into New England where he coached the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles. He even played at Wesleyan University, which is just about 20 miles from where this game went down. Belichick admitted UConn is “a really challenging team” and that they “put a lot of pressure on us,” but he was clearly stoked his team “rebounded pretty well after a couple of tough losses.” Man, you know he wanted this one.
UConn, on the other hand, just couldn’t get out of their own way with those turnovers. Quarterback Kalieb Osborne threw for 245 yards, but he completed only 17 of 35 passes against a North Carolina defense that usually lets teams complete 65% of their passes. That UNC D stepped up big time! Osborne did connect on an 18-yard TD to Ryder Treadway and a 24-yarder to Cam Abshire, and Cyncir Bowers had a 13-yard touchdown run that pulled UConn within seven points in the third quarter. Benjamin Hall even added a 39-yard touchdown run, finishing with 81 yards on nine carries. But as UConn coach Jason Candle put it, “I didn’t feel like we were at our best. We did some things that set them up in short fields. The turnovers were a big deal today.” Yeah, no kidding. On defense, Peyton Seelmann was a force for UNC with nine tackles and two sacks, while UConn’s Hayden Pegg had 12 tackles and an interception.
This win pushes North Carolina to a 5-4 record, showing that even after a couple of tough losses, Belichick has them grinding and finding ways to win. That focus on turnovers totally paid off. Can they keep this momentum going, especially with that defensive intensity? You know they’ll be looking to build on this.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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