So what have we learned three games into the Bill Belichick era?
The Tar Heels can’t hang with a good team like TCU of the Big 12 yet. And they can beat Football College Subdivision (FCS) teams whether they play well or not.
Their 41-6 romp over Richmond Saturday at a sold-out (but not full) Kenan Stadium shows that their defense is improving under coordinator Steve — the Belichick with a blond-haired bun — and their offense has discovered a true freshman running back who wasn’t even listed on the depth chart just before the game.
That is progress, but the Heels resume big boy football for the rest of the season. It’s a schedule much in their favor, but every game from here on out will likely present better tests.
UNC goes to Central Florida this week to play another Big 12 opponent — which has some winning pedigree, but is trying to establish itself in the conference’s pecking order with more senior members like TCU, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Kansas. Carolina may be good enough to beat the Knights, who were idle Saturday and were obviously glued to the TV to watch the win over a poorly-coached Richmond team from start to finish.
The Spiders had made an obvious first down on their opening drive and got a bad spot from the officials that their coaches did not challenge. They instead sent a 34-yard punt away, after which Carolina kicked a 34-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Richmond’s defense made a stop on third down to force a UNC punt — but jumped offside on fourth down to give the Tar Heels a first down. It allowed Carolina to complete an eight-play drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Gio Lopez to receiver Jordan Shipp (his first of two) for a 10-0 lead.
Then, on fourth down from its own 21-yard, Richmond foolishly faked a punt that failed and gave Carolina possession just outside the red zone that resulted in another field goal and a 13-0 lead. After that, Lopez completed a 36-yard drive with a one-yard run after Will Hardy returned a punt 22 yards to make it 20-0.
Game Over.
The Heels outscored the Spiders 21-3 in the second half to complete the blowout that gave Belichick a winning record of 2-1. Before the coin toss, Carolina had been converting 24 percent of its third downs — but on this day made 6-of-11 despite almost seven minutes without the ball in the late second quarter and early third, giving Richmond an amazing 16 more minutes of possession while the Spiders scored only six points.
UNC running back Demon June (35) runs upfield against Richmond defensive lineman Camden Byrd (6) during the first half of its NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Photo via AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Besides scoring 21 more points than in the 20-3 win at Charlotte last week, Carolina held Richmond to 199 total yards on a gang-tackling defense that appeared far from the hapless performance against TCU in that 48-14 loss on Labor Day night. The hard-hitting Heels even knocked Richmond’s star quarterback Kyle Wickersham out of the game in the second half after he was stopped just short of the goal line on fourth down, sending what was left of the crowd into a frenzy.
The absolutely beautiful day in Chapel Hill was far from the capacity crowd and festive afternoon before Belichick’s debut. There was another live music act in Polk Place playing for a fraction of the fans as two weeks before. In fact, the most congregated crowd surrounded the Pit and watched Jeff Fuchs’ marching Tar Heels do a 15-minute drum line before ending their rehearsal with Aye Zigga Zoomba!, Sweet Caroline and the fight song and marching to the stadium. The balmy weather likely kept thousands of fans at the beach or in the mountains to watch the game on TV. Those who didn’t show up made the old lady in the pines look more like a Mack Brown crowd late in the season.
Those guilty should be forced to give back their Clemson tickets, which seem more valuable now after the Tigers lost on a last-second field goal at Georgia Tech. The reigning ACC champs stand 1-2 for the first time since 2014, when they fell out of the rankings before rallying to finish 10-3 and blow out Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl. That was Dabo Swinney’s seventh full year as head coach, and he went on to reach the College Football Playoff six times and won two national championships.
Already, the fickle fans in Death Valley are talking about offing the coach with the most wins in Clemson and ACC history. Georgia Tech has continued to improve under fourth-year coach Brent Key and is one of those top-tier conference opponents Carolina doesn’t play this season along with Florida State, Miami, Louisville and SMU. On paper, the schedule ahead gives Belichick’s first Tar Heel team a chance to post a winning record in the ACC and, at least, get into a decent bowl game.
The Hoodie is beginning to find diamonds in the rough, such as true freshman Demon June. The early enrollee from the spring, who since changed his jersey number from 12 to 35, became the first freshman to rush for more than 100 yards (148 for a 10.6 yard average) since Michael Carter in 2017. Surely he will show up on the depth chart for next week’s game. June is from Jacksonville, North Carolina, and may have the best long hair on the team, flowing neatly from the back of his helmet during his 50-yard sprint to the house and his first college touchdown.
Another newcomer is Nebraska transfer Mikai Gbayor, a senior who returned a fumble 62 yards also for his first college touchdown. He comes with a resume: 73 tackles in two seasons with the Cornhuskers. Freshman Leroy Jackson, plus transfers Andrew Simpson (Boise State) and Khmori House (Washington), led the Tar Heels in tackling with seven each.
“There was a mentality shift in that locker room where guys were just like, ‘we have to buckle up.’ It can’t be x, y and z,” Gbayor told media members after the game. “We just have to go out there and have fun and play and not be tense. I feel like [against TCU] we were a little too tense and one thing just led to another. So, I mean, guys went out there, cut loose these last two weeks, and it was better.”
It was better — and Carolina will have to be even better on Saturday in Orlando, as they face Power 4 football again.
Featured image via AP Photo/Chris Seward.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
