There are plenty of position battles happening across the country, and for one Notre Dame 2026 opponent, they have ended their quarterback race and named a starter.
The Irish will travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Oct. 3rd to face the North Carolina Tar Heels, who on Tuesday named Billy Edwards Jr. as its starting quarterback according to Pete Thamel. He beat out Miles O’Neill, as both transfers battled it out to win the job. This is Edwards third collegiate stop, starting his career with Wake Forest then Maryland before transferring to Wisconsin for this past season.
He got plenty of run with the Terrapins in 2024, completing 65% of his 420 attempts for 2,881-yards with 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Edwards is a decent runner as well, as he’s scored 13 times on the ground during his stint with Maryland.
Now that North Carolina has named its starter, Notre Dame can now start looking at some film on Edwards to prepare to face him. His career best game was a victory over USC in 2024, throwing for 373-yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. That is most likely the best tape that the Irish can use to prepare for him, as the common opponent will give them an idea of the skill set that he has. Edwards is a solid quarterback, but going up against the Notre Dame defense will most likely be his toughest challenge of the season.
Sources: North Carolina has named veteran transfer Billy Edwards Jr. the team’s starter for the opener, and he’ll debut for the Tar Heels against TCU in Ireland. Edwards won a close battle with Miles O’Neill, a Texas A&M transfer who has familiarity with new OC Bobby Petrino. pic.twitter.com/r0hLBVzgoJ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 18, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: North Carolina, a Notre Dame’s 2026 opponent, names its starting QB