David Glenn

One-third of the way through Bill Belichick’s first season at North Carolina, the Tar Heels have a middling 2-2 record, but a closer look at those four games uncovers more bad news than good.

Neither UNC nor UCF has exhibited dominant line play against a quality opponent this season, so this game likely will be decided by the usual things — big plays, turnovers, high-IQ football, poise under pressure, minimization of mistakes, and old-fashioned execution.

While Bill Belichick’s first season as North Carolina’s football coach already has had its share of circus sideshows, on and off the field, one intriguing aspect of the Tar Heels’ ongoing 2025 campaign relates to a far less provocative detail: the team’s unusual schedule.

In his 511 games as a head coach in the National Football League, Bill Belichick never saw one of his teams give up 48 or more points in a single contest.

North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick and his general manager, Mike Lombardi, have attracted national headlines for many reasons, including their creative branding of the Tar Heels’ program as the “33rd NFL franchise.”

The first full week of National Football League preseason games, which concluded Sunday night, offered a reminder of the professional league’s heavy Atlantic Coast Conference flavor, especially at the most important position on the field.

When legendary gridiron leader Bill Belichick takes the field for the first time as North Carolina’s head coach, he almost certainly will be an underdog.