Belichick's North Carolina Edges TCU 15-10 in Ireland
College football's opening Saturday delivered a low-scoring win in Dublin, a Virginia rout of NC State and an 87-0 FCS shutout.
North Carolina 15, TCU 10
North Carolina beat Texas Christian University 15-10 in Ireland to open the college football season, a result USA TODAY described as often ugly but a must-have boost for head coach Bill Belichick.
Belichick, 74, entered his second year with the Tar Heels on one of the hottest seats in the sport after the end of his run with the New England Patriots. TCU had beaten North Carolina 48-14 in last year's opener, scoring 41 unanswered points after falling behind.
USA TODAY credited veteran quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. with low-error play and pointed to a defensive front that produced three sacks and six tackles for loss, with sophomore Xavier Lewis taking the lion's share. TCU committed 11 penalties, went 8 of 21 on third and fourth downs and averaged 2.7 yards per carry.
Virginia's Statement in Charlottesville
Virginia took apart North Carolina State in Charlottesville. Yahoo Sports reported that NC State quarterback CJ Bailey went 12 of 23 for 84 yards with an interception, despite coach Dave Doeren having called him the best quarterback in the country at Atlantic Coast Conference media days.
Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 110 yards, according to Yahoo Sports. The game had originally been scheduled for Brazil, but Yahoo Sports said ticket sales were virtually nonexistent, so it returned to Charlottesville, where Virginia recorded its first sellout in nearly two decades.
Around the Country
NCAA.com called Stanford's win over Hawaii the game of the day. Hawaii scored 20 unanswered points to lead 27-23 with four minutes left, but Micah Ford ran in his third touchdown of the night for Stanford, and Tevarua Tafiti then strip-sacked Micah Alejado and returned the ball 31 yards for a score.
Florida State beat New Mexico State, leading 17-7 at half before adding 17 second-half points. Ousmane Kromah ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and quarterback Ashton Daniels was 17 of 27 for 202 yards.
In the Football Championship Subdivision, South Carolina State beat Division II Savannah State 87-0, which NCAA.com said was the fifth-largest FCS winning margin since 1996. NCAA.com noted that UNLV led Memphis 14-7 at halftime in the last game of the night; the final score is not given in the sources.
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