What we learned from Bill Belichick’s UNC debut as TCU beat the Tar Heels
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UNC opened the Belichick era with a 48-14 blowout loss to TCU at home.
- Quarterback Gio Lopez completed just 4 passes before leaving with injury.
- UNC defense allowed 9 yards per rush and failed to record a single sack.
Perhaps the pregame pomp and circumstance — the Chase Rice concert in front of Wilson Library, the presence of ESPN’s College GameDay crew and North Carolina royalty like Michael Jordan and Lawrence Taylor, the fans packed into Polk Place — gave UNC a lift for its first drive.
North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson described running out of the tunnel Monday night as “special” — a packed crowd rising to cheer, the glow of the Carolina Blue lights, the smoke machines and pyrotechnics.
If only it lasted.
By the time the game ended, Johnson was asking UNC fans to not give up hope. Because after the Tar Heels’ first touchdown — a surgical opening drive capped off by Caleb Hood’s eight-yard rush to the end zone — everything came crashing down around them. North Carolina rang in the much-anticipated Bill Belichick era with a 48-14 trouncing by TCU at Kenan Stadium in the season opener.
The college coaching debut of the six-time Super Bowl winning Patriots coach didn’t simply end in a blowout loss, but rather, one of historic proportions. TCU’s 48 points mark the most allowed by UNC in any opener in its history, as well as the most allowed by Belichick in his head coaching career.
But let’s reminisce on that opening drive first, shall we?
Hood, finally healthy after battling injuries throughout his years at UNC, burst into the end zone. Jordan Shipp, one of North Carolina’s most heralded offensive weapons out of preseason camp, hauled in two catches on the drive — first a flashy, 39-yard gain to the TCU 24, then another grab for a first down. Both throws came from transfer quarterback Gio Lopez, who Belichick nonchalantly tapped last week as his starting signal-caller.
After that drive, Lopez and UNC’s offense disappeared. Lopez attempted — and missed — four more passing attempts in the first half as the Tar Heels went three-and-out on their next four possessions.
As the game dragged on, brief moments of life gave way to sequences so bad they drew laughter in the press box.
UNC defensive end and dual-sport athlete Kaleb Cost intercepted a pass late in the second quarter, but a few plays later Lopez threw a pick-six to TCU safety Bud Clark.
The Tar Heels managed to evade a fifth-straight three-and-out on their final first-half drive — a, sadly, notable feat at that point. TCU, in return, notched a 33-yard field goal before the break and opened the second half with Kevorian Barnes’ 75-yard touchdown run.
Fittingly, UNC — a program that’s cycled for decades through eras of hope and disappointment — fluctuated between bad and ugly in the first episode of the Belichick era.
“We played competitively but then just couldn’t sustain it,” Belichick said. “Obviously we have a lot of work to do.”
What did we learn about the Tar Heels? Well, it’s way worse than many thought.
Gio Lopez struggles
Lopez, a South Alabama transfer worth a reported $4 million (per ESPN), never settled in after that first drive. The quarterback — nicknamed “Magic Johnson” by his teammates, Shipp revealed last week — completed just 4 of 10 passes for 69 yards and finished with -10 rushing yards on seven attempts.
Lopez officially left with a back injury in the third quarter, though his performance certainly warranted a change.
Johnson — who made a remarkable recovery after a season-ending leg injury suffered last year — relieved Lopez with just under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“Give Max a lot of credit,” Belichick said. “He came in there after being out for a long time and hung in there and made some plays [in] a tough situation.”
The senior quickly completed more passes — three — than Lopez had the entire first half. Later that drive, Max Johnson connected with his younger brother, tight end Jake Johnson, for the second touchdown of the game — a rare feel-good moment for UNC Monday.
Defense runs out of gas at halftime
Facing a 41-14 deficit after three quarters, North Carolina rolled out its customary fourth-quarter hype video — a reel of past defensive glory set to chants of “LB Brick Squad!” and “Rude Boys!”
The ritual landed awkwardly considering the Tar Heels had just given up 21 points the previous quarter.
The third quarter saw TCU score three touchdowns: Barnes’ long run, a 28-yard rush by Trent Battle and a pick-six. In all fairness to the Tar Heels’ defense, they had little control over that last one.
That said, UNC’s defensive performance mirrored the Tar Heels’ tortured pass: missed tackles, blown coverages and little pressure overall.
Hardly what you’d expect from a defensive-minded Super Bowl-winning head coach.
Cost, the defensive back, said the Tar Heels were prepared for the game, but didn’t execute. He vowed they’d be “tougher all around” moving forward.
“We absolutely appreciate Tar Heel nation and we will need that every single week,” Cost said of the home crowd Monday. “Absolutely, we’re sorry we let y’all down, and it won’t happen again. We promise you that.”
UNC not ready for primetime
For all the school’s buildup — boasting donor numbers and expected revenue from merchandising — UNC’s stats from Monday night told a different story:
1-for-10 on third downs.
542 total yards allowed, including 10.5 yards per completion.
0 sacks. Three turnovers.
And the biggest indictment: a $10 million head coach overseeing the on-field disaster.
“We need to do a better job all the way around — coaching, playing, all three phases of the game,” Belichick said. “It wasn’t up to what it needs to be and I know we’re a lot better than that.”
The most telling numbers weren’t on the stat sheet — they showed up in the stands. For all the athletic department’s boasting of ticket sales, the sold-out Blue Zone dwindled to just a scattering of big-ticket supporters by the final whistle. The half-empty student section midway through the third quarter thinned out so much by the fourth quarter that only one full row at the front remained.
And for all the pregame festivities and excitement in Chapel Hill, fans who fled Kenan Stadium early on Monday night were greeted by, not a refund as they might’ve hoped, but a deafening — and rather expensive — silence.
“I would just say to all Carolina fans, you know, don’t lose hope,” Johnson said following the loss. “We’re going to continue to put our best foot forward.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2025 at 7:28 PM.