The first game of the 2026 college football season sees the TCU Horned Frogs and North Carolina Tar Heels square off in Dublin, Ireland. The Horned Frogs dominated this matchup a year ago, winning 48-14 in what was Bill Belichick's first game running the show for the Tar Heels. Belichick and Co. are trying to take a big step forward after a disappointing 4-8 campaign a year ago, while the Horned Frogs went 9-4 in 2025 and are trying to move up the Big 12 hierarchy.
Kickoff for the first game of 2026 is set for noon ET. The Horned Frogs will be without returning wide receiver Jordan Dwyer (foot) against the Tar Heels. Bet on college football games with the latest FanDuel promo code here and get $350 in bonus bets: TCU is an 8.5-point favorite, per the latest FanDuel Sportsbook odds, and the over/under for total points scored is 45.5.
The Horned Frogs are trying to move up the Big 12 hierarchy after a 9-4 campaign in 2025, while Belichick and the Tar Heels are fresh off a disastrous 4-8 showing. If you're interested in betting on college football games like TCU vs. North Carolina at the best betting apps, make sure to check out our picks for this matchup.
And also be sure to check out what SportsLine experts and the SportsLine Projection Model have to say. Get $200 in bonus bets when you spend $5+ at DraftKings today: People are looking at this game through a North Carolina lens, given that Belichick is on that sideline, but let's look at TCU to start. The Horned Frogs won nine games last year and dominated this matchup, emerging victorious by 34 points -- and that was in Chapel Hill.
The Horned Frogs have a big question mark with quarterback Josh Hoover transferring to Indiana to replace Fernando Mendoza, but they have a capable quarterback in Jaden Craig, who had 48 passing touchdowns to eight interceptions as a two-year starter at Harvard. He's an experienced signal-caller who can pick up where Hoover left off, and TCU ranked 40th in scoring a year ago. Meanwhile, Belichick, the vaunted defensive genius, only led UNC to a 66th-place finish when it came to scoring defense last year.
As for the Tar Heels, there's nowhere to go but up, right? Belichick's squad went 4-8, with two of those wins coming over Charlotte and Richmond. The Heels went just 2-6 in conference play last year, beating Syracuse and Stanford, who combined for seven wins.
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