By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — All day before the game and for one drive, the thrill and the anticipation of the Belichick era hit a fever pitch.
That excitement quickly gave way to frustration and disbelief.
Quarterback Gio Lopez went more than two hours between completions, which was followed by his third-quarter second turnover. By that time, TCU had scored 41 consecutive points, dominating the line of scrimmage in an embarrassing 48–14 Tar Heels loss Monday night.
“The fans had tremendous energy,” Belichick said. “And we played competitively, but then just couldn’t sustain it. So obviously, we have a lot of work to do. You know, we did do a better job all the way around, coaching, playing all three phases of the game just wasn’t up to what it needs to be.”
The familiar defensive woes that have plagued Carolina for years continued, at least for one night, giving Belichick and his staff plenty to fix. In his NFL career, the coach known for his defensive acumen gave up 41 or more points only seven times in 467 games.
Belichick didn’t pinpoint one reason for the collapse
“Multiple things,” Belichick said after TCU scored 21 points off turnovers. “Anytime you give up two turnovers to touchdowns offensively, that’s not good. Give up several long plays on defense, you know, where they gained a lot of yards on one play. Too many of those.
“There wasn’t any one thing,” he said. “It was a combination of multiple things — too many three-and-outs, too many long plays on defense.”
The biggest positive on a nightmare evening was the impressive return from a gruesome leg injury for Max Johnson after some of the sold-out crowd at Kenan Stadium had already left in disgust.
Johnson looked sharp off the bench, going 9 of 11 for 103 yards and leading a scoring drive on his first possession. He threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to his brother Jake — his first scoring strike since connecting with his brother for Texas A&M against Ole Miss in November 2023.
“Give Max a lot of credit,” Belichick said. “He came in there after being off for a long time, and hung in there, made some plays in a tough situation.”
TCU quarterback Josh Hoover (27 of 36 for 284 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception) repeatedly attacked UNC defensive back Marcus Allen while avoiding Thaddeus Dixon, particularly when targeting wide receiver Jordan Dwyer (9 catches for 136 yards).
Belichick stressed that tackling will be a priority.
“We’ve got to do a better job of tackling. There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “We’re just going to have to work harder on it [and] tackle better. There’s no secret to it, it’s no pill you can take. Just got to tackle better fundamentally and get more guys around the ball.”
Running back Caleb Hood started strong with 25 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown run on the opening drive, sparked by two passes from Lopez (4 of 10, 1 interception, 69 yards) to Jordan Shipp for 58 yards. But UNC went from 83 yards on the first drive to 20 yards for the rest of the first half.
Belichick pointed to first-down failures:
“There were multiple [issues],” he said. “The biggest thing was they had trouble getting off to the linebackers, and they float over the top. We didn’t get to them like we needed [and got] beat in a couple of one-on-one situations. And if you don’t make yards on first down, then you’re in second, third and long. And it just went up with too many three-and-outs there in that second quarter.”
TCU tied it after a questionable pass-interference call against Allen led to a 27-yard touchdown from Hoover to Dwyer with 4:08 left in the first quarter. The Frogs took a 10–7 lead on Kyle Lemmermann’s 32-yard field goal with 11:13 left in the second.
TCU was threatening to score again when Kaleb Cost snagged a tipped pass with one hand for his third career interception. Three plays later, though, TCU defensive back Bud Clark jumped a Lopez pass intended for Shipp, returning it 25 yards for a touchdown. The Frogs ended the first half with a 33-yard Lemmermann field goal to lead 20–7.
Then came the knockout blow: Kevorian Barnes raced 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half. Trent Battle added a 28-yard TD catch, and Devean Deal returned a Lopez fumble 31 yards for another score.
“Look, they just outplayed us,” Belichick said. “They outcoached us. They were just better than we were tonight. That’s all there was to it. They controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage. Their skilled players played well. And they did a lot more things right than we did. Give them credit for being the better team. They certainly deserve it.”
Lopez hobbled off with a back issue, and Johnson replaced him on the next drive. His 16-yard completion to Shipp ended a stretch — going back to last season’s N.C. State game — of 23 consecutive failed third-down attempts, including seven against TCU.
After Johnson’s touchdown pass to Jake Johnson, Hoover connected with D.J. Rogers for a four-yard score to finish the night.
“We’re going back to work, and you know, we’re going to get better,” Belichick said.
NOTES — It’s a quick turnaround for UNC, which visits Charlotte at 7 p.m. Saturday. The 49ers, with former Tar Heels in quarterback Conner Harrell and defensive back Ja’Qurious Conley, lost 34–11 on Friday at Bank of America Stadium to Appalachian State. … UNC used six offensive linemen on occasion. … Holy Cross transfer Christo Kelly, who was dealing with a left ankle injury, started for UNC. … Michael Jordan, Roy Williams, Lawrence Taylor, Mia Hamm, Julius Peppers, Randy Moss, Armando Bacot, Aaron Boone and TCU alum Andy Dalton were among many notable fans at the game. … Rapper Petey Pablo fired up the crowd before the game. … It was TCU’s first win over UNC after losses in 1940, 1994 and 1997. … Belichick is 18–12 in season openers. … Carolina fell to 4–12 in season openers against power conference opponents since 2000.
TCU 48, UNC 14
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| September | |||
| 1 | L, 48–14 | vs. TCU | 0–1 |
| 6 | W, 20–3 | at Charlotte | 1–1 |
| 13 | W, 41–6 | vs. Richmond | 2–1 |
| 20 | L, 34–9 | at UCF | 2–2 |
| October | |||
| 4 | L, 38–10 | vs. Clemson | 2–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 (Fri.) | L, 21–18 | at California | 2–4, 0–2 |
| 25 | L, 17–16, OT | vs. No. 16 Virginia | 2–5, 0–3 |
| 31 (Fri.) | W, 27–10 | at Syracuse | 3–5, 1–3 |
| November | |||
| 8 | W, 20–15 | vs. Stanford | 4–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | L, 28–12 | at Wake Forest | 4–6, 2–4 |
| 22 | L, 32–25 | vs. Duke | 4–7, 2–5 |
| 29 | L, 42–19 | at N.C. State | 4–8, 2–6 |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 
The hype around Bill Belichick’s debut was like the fanfare around Arch Manning. Time will tell how their respective seasons goes. I think the Longhorns record will be better than the Tar Heels.
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