North Carolina's defense settled and Billy Edwards found useful answers.
Context
North Carolina won the rematch 15–10 after the defense became demonstrably better against the run in the second half. The Tar Heels did not reinvent the scheme; they became more organized in their run fits and held TCU without a second-half offensive answer.
Billy Edwards Jr. was better than expected in difficult weather, and his connection with Ohio State transfer Jelani Thurman looked like a matchup worth carrying into ACC play. Edwards must stay healthy and prove the performance against more defenses, but the win supplies the football counter-case to North Carolina's noisy offseason.