Patriots
“Teaching, enjoying, all three phases of the sport, simply wasn’t as much as what it must be.”
“We’re on to Charlotte.”
Invoice Belichick didn’t evoke any of his catchphrases or trademark blunt musings as he fielded questions from Kenan Memorial Stadium on Monday night.
However contemplating the optics that performed out at Chapel Hill, the legendary head coach ought to already be seeking to flip the web page after a disastrous debut as head coach of the Tar Heels.
In what stood as his first-ever sport as head coach of a college-football program, Belichick and the Tar Heels had been dealt a 48-14 loss to TCU in a nationally-televised broadcast.
The 48 factors relinquished by the Tar Heels’ protection had been probably the most factors given up by a Belichick-coached staff in a single sport. In complete, the Horned Frogs outgained UNC, 542-222, in complete offense — with the Tar Heels solely changing on 1 of 10 third-down alternatives.
“You realize, we have to do a greater job all the way in which round — teaching, enjoying, all three phases of the sport, simply wasn’t as much as what it must be,” Belichick told reporters postgame. “I do know we’re lot higher than that. So we’ll must work on these issues and present it on Saturday . . . , however give TCU credit score, they got here in and did job, they usually had been clearly the higher staff tonight. They deserved to win, they usually did it decisively.”
For the entire pleasure emanating out of Chapel Hill since Belichick took the reins of the program nine months ago, issues went south in a rush for the previous Patriots head coach and his new staff on Monday.
The Tar Heels opened the sport with a seven-play, 83-yard drive that ended with working again Caleb Hodd reaching the tip zone in somewhat over 4 minutes into the matchup.
However TCU then rattled off 41 unanswered factors — with UNC QB Gio Lopez getting knocked for a pair of turnovers (pick-six, fumble return) that instantly led to 14 factors for the Horned Frogs.
After UNC’s opening drive led to seven factors, the Tar Heels generated simply 139 complete yards of offense over their subsequent 10 drives. Lopez went two hours and 7 minutes in between completions — along with his third completion of the night time coming at 8:17 within the third quarter.
UNC’s protection didn’t maintain up significantly better, giving up a number of chunk-yardage performs on the bottom. Kevorian Barnes, who completed with 113 dashing yards for TCU, opened the second half with a 75-yard landing run that had UNC followers making their approach to the exits.
Each TCU and the Massive XII Convention relished the Tar Heels’ lopsided defeat — given each the heightened media protection getting into the sport and a few ill-advised feedback from Tar Heels common supervisor Michael Lombardi.
“I believe all of us felt somewhat disrespected, possibly, coming in,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes stated postgame. “There was a variety of dialog and none of it was about us. I believe all of us had been extremely motivated. Our gamers had been actually excited to play.”
Again in February, Lombardi additionally made headlines when he referred to the revamped UNC program as an extension of the 32 groups within the NFL.
“Every little thing we do right here relies on constructing a professional staff,” Lombardi stated on Feb. 28, per the Fayetteville Observer. “We think about ourselves the thirty third (NFL) staff, ’trigger everyone who’s concerned in our program has had some type of side in professional soccer.’”
It didn’t take lengthy for each the Massive XII and TCU to troll Belichick and the Tar Heels on social media.
“A 34-point win over the thirty third staff,” the Massive 12 wrote in a caption on X, whereas TCU Soccer’s X account twisted the knife over UNC’s upcoming docuseries present on Hulu.
Belichick, who agreed to a five-year cope with UNC in December 2024 after his 24-year tenure in New England got here to an in depth, was looking at a large endeavor this fall.
Even with Belichick’s teaching acumen and expertise, the Tar Heels haven’t been a collegiate powerhouse — particularly coming off a 6-7 season in 2024.
Belichick’s arrival in North Carolina has created loads of turnover on the roster, because the Tar Heels have introduced in 70 new gamers from a 12 months in the past — together with 30 transfers following spring ball.
And because the Tar Heels look to choose up the items getting into subsequent week’s matchup towards UNC Charlotte, it’s clear that Belichick’s teaching resume alone received’t be sufficient to raise his staff right into a juggernaut — not less than not in brief order.
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