The Horned Frogs open the season Saturday an ocean away from Amon G. Carter Stadium, in a rematch that is no longer last September's game.
TCU meets North Carolina at Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, the first international game in either program's history. Kickoff is 11 a.m. CT, noon ET and 5 p.m. in Ireland, on ESPN with Mike Monaco, Jordan Rodgers and Dana Boyle. TCU's radio call is on KZPS 92.5 FM. The Associated Press, when the game moved overseas, listed TCU as the designated home team and said the clubs had first been booked for a Sept. 5 opener in Fort Worth.
"This is more than just a football game," TCU athletic director Mike Buddie said then. "It's an opportunity to advance TCU's brand globally while having our student-athletes experience a unique educational opportunity and memory of a lifetime."
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick said, "It's a tremendous opportunity for our program and we're excited to represent the university and our fans on an international stage."
Chapel Hill still sits on the tape
The last meeting was not close. On Sept. 1, 2025, TCU beat North Carolina 48-14 in Chapel Hill in Belichick's first game as a college head coach, the AP recap of that Monday night shows. The Tar Heels scored on the opening possession. The Horned Frogs scored the next 41 points, with two defensive touchdowns and a 75-yard Kevorian Barnes run on the first snap after halftime, and outgained North Carolina 542 yards to 222. Sportradar, cited in that recap, had 48 points as the most North Carolina had allowed in any opener.
"We wanted this game to be about us, and it was," TCU coach Sonny Dykes said afterward. "I think we all felt a little disrespected. There was a lot of conversation about this game and none of it was about us."
"They were clearly the better team tonight," Belichick said. "They deserved to win and they did it decisively."
North Carolina's game notes say a win Saturday would be Carolina's first over TCU since 1997.
