The North Carolina Tar Heels are looking to improve to 3-0 on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Death Valley for a massive ACC showdown with the Clemson Tigers.
North Carolina secured a Week 1 win in Ireland against the TCU Horned Frogs. And then handled East Tennessee State 35-3 last week to continue taking strides forward in Bill Belichick’s second year as head coach.
However, this will be their toughest challenge yet to see where they potentially stack up in the ACC, and just hours before kickoff, Belichick and the Tar Heels got some bad news.
UNC Star Expected to Be Out vs. Clemson
ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke the news that UNC expects to be without top defensive player Melkart Abou Jaoude against Clemson on Saturday.
He’s reportedly dealing with a hand/wrist injury that stems from the TCU game and entered the game as questionable. Jaoude led the ACC in sacks per game last season.
Via Pete Thamel: “Sources: North Carolina is expected to be without star defender Melkart Abou Jaoude today at Clemson. He’s dealing with a hand/wrist injury from the TCU game and had been listed as questionable. He led the ACC in sacks per game last year and is UNC’s top defender.”
Sources: North Carolina is expected to be without star defender Melkart Abou Jaoude today at Clemson. He’s dealing with a hand/wrist injury from the TCU game and had been listed as questionable. He led the ACC in sacks per game last year and is UNC’s top defender. pic.twitter.com/uOIxafjmL3
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 19, 2026
Looking at UNC
The Tar Heels will obviously have to find production elsewhere on the defensive side of the ball. And through two games, they’ve seen plenty of others rise to the occasion.
Two names in particular are pass rushers Jaylen Harvey and Xavier Lewis. Each had two sacks last week against ETSU.
In Week 1, Lewis had another two sacks and recorded six tackles in the game, while Derek McDonald added four tackles and five assisted tackles.
Bill Belichick, North Carolina Get Bad News Right Before Clemson Game