UNC should give Billy Edwards one more start before turning the keys over to Travis Burgess

Billy Edwards Jr. should start at quarterback when the Tar Heels welcome Miami to Kenan Stadium on Halloween night, but it should be his final collegiate start.

It's time to see what freshman Travis Burgess can do, but this week isn't the one to throw him into the fire.

Asking a true freshman who hasn't taken a collegiate snap yet to start against the No. 1 team in the country would accomplish little. Let the sixth-year senior take that assignment.

Once Halloween night is over, Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels need to start thinking about more than just the next game on their schedule.

It's time for North Carolina needs to start thinking about its future, one that Burgess is projected to play a major role in.

North Carolina already knows what it has in Billy Edwards

This isn't necessarily about Edwards being the sole reason North Carolina sits at 4-3.

He isn't.

Defensive breakdowns, injuries, questionable decisions, and plenty of other factors have kept the Tar Heels from finding consistent success through the first seven games of the season.

But there also comes a point where you have to acknowledge what you're seeing.

Edwards has completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 1,531 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.

Those aren't disastrous numbers, but it doesn't tell you the entire story.

Too many throws have been missed, and a lot of opportunities to put points on the board have been left on the field. Edwards Jr. has failed to make plays in key spots, and Saturday night was another clear example.

Edwards finished the night completing 27-of-44 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. If you read the box score, you'd probably assume he played pretty well.

Watch the game and you saw something different.

North Carolina had opportunities to put Syracuse away and didn't. The Tar Heels led 20-10 entering the fourth quarter and eventually watched that advantage disappear before losing 31-30 in overtime.

Before you get it twisted, let's make it known that Edwards isn't solely responsible for that collapse.

However, when you start a sixth-year quarterback because his experience gives your football team the best chance to win now, that experience eventually needs to translate into something more.

At this point, we know what Edwards is. He isn't part of the future plans, and UNC doesn't have hopes of making the College Football Playoffs.

Now, it's time to see what Burgess can bring to the table.

Travis Burgess deserves his opportunity after Miami

Burgess wasn't some afterthought when Bill Belichick and UNC put together their quarterback room.

The true freshman arrived in Chapel Hill as one of the more intriguing quarterback prospects in the 2026 recruiting class and was legitimately involved in UNC's quarterback competition during the offseason.

He's a young, inexperienced quarterback who missed most of his senior season of high school due to injury. You expected him to take a little bit longer to develop. However, now months into his time at North Carolina, Burgess could benefit from seeing live snaps, especially if the Tar Heels believe he can be the guy to lead the offense in 2027 and beyond.

Let's face it: how can you really evaluate your quarterback room this offseason if you don't at least see what Burgess can do?

Following Miami's visit to Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels will have four regular-season games remaining against UConn, Louisville, Virginia, and NC State. None of these programs are world beaters, and one just fired its coach this weekend.

What better opportunity to start finding out whether Burgess can be the quarterback this program will build around going forward?

There are no guarantees that Burgess is the answer. He likely will go through some growing pains as he navigates playing at the collegiate level. While you hope those growing pains aren't major, you'd much rather them happen now than in 2027 if he is your full-time starter, as going into a new season with little to no experience would not be ideal for Burgess or the Tar Heels.

The speed of the college game overwhelms him at first, and he may make some mistakes that Edwards hasn't made. That's fine.

Let him make them and learn from them.

Burgess provides something that Edwards simply hasn't this season: being able and willing to push the ball down the field. If he can use his arm to connect with his receivers down the field, imagine how much it would help the run game, opening up holes for the guys in the backfield to work with.

Even though he's an inexperienced freshman, Burgess may just be the shot in the arm this team needs over the final stretch of the regular season.

Let Billy Edwards have Miami, then make the change

There's no reason to make Burgess' first collegiate start against Miami.

Edwards came to North Carolina because of his experience. This is exactly the type of game where that experience should matter.

Let him take his shot against the No. 1 team in the country under the lights at Kenan Stadium.

Maybe Edwards puts together a career night that forces us to reconsider our thinking. We'd love nothing more than for him actually to do that.

However, if Saturday night looks anything like much of what we've already seen this season, what exactly is UNC gaining by continuing down the same road afterward?

Edwards Jr. represents the present, while Burgess is viewed as a potential star of the future.

There's no need to throw Burgess into the fire against the No. 1-ranked team in the country, but there is a need to see what he can do over the final month of the regular season.

UNC should roll with Edwards Jr. at quarterback against Miami, but after that, the keys to the offense should be handed to Travis Burgess.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow