\u201cIt\u2019s kind of my thing,\u201d he wryly told ESPN before the game.<\/p>\n
Yet a night that began with fireworks ended with jokes about a running clock and fans emptying out the stadium midway through the third quarter. TCU and coach Sonny Dykes, unranked but 3\u00bd-point favorites, took it to the Tar Heels in a 48-14 victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying, coaching, all three phases of the game, just wasn\u2019t up to what it needs to be,\u201d Belichick said. \u201cThey outplayed us, they outcoached us, they were better than us tonight. That\u2019s all there is to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Belichick and the national attention are new, but it was the same old Carolina football, which hasn\u2019t won an Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1980.<\/p>\n
Actually, it was worse than same old. Mack Brown, the previous coach, didn\u2019t lose by 34 points last year. Or ever. This was the Tar Heels\u2019 worst loss since 2018 under Larry Fedora. The 48 points were the most Belichick has allowed in 50 years of coaching.<\/p>\n
For UNC officials, there was some egg to wipe off their faces. For Tar Heels fans, this was a punch in the gut. We paid $50 million for this?<\/p>\n
College football, it turns out, isn\u2019t simple to master, even for a legendary coach. Belichick, as Patriots fans learned his last few years in Foxborough, isn\u2019t a miracle worker if he doesn\u2019t have the players. The Tar Heels, 6-7 last year with 70 new players this year, are a long way from being the type of program everyone envisioned.<\/p>\n
The new-look Tar Heels did provide a brief thrill. The opening script was great \u2014 a few nice runs, a couple of big passes, 83 yards in seven plays, and a quick 7-0 lead. Belichick had the internet roaring with his stoic, expressionless reaction. Followed by a three-and-out for UNC\u2019s defense? Belichick made it look easy.<\/p>\n
Then, reality took over. The Tar Heels gained just one first down on their next five possessions. They threw a pick-6. Bill and Steve Belichick\u2019s defense got shredded by TCU quarterback Josh Hoover.<\/p>\n
The second half was a meltdown, right from the Horned Frogs taking the first play 75 yards for a touchdown. TCU finished with 542 yards of offense. It scored a second defensive touchdown. UNC dropped easy passes and went 1 for 10 on third down. The quarterback got hurt. ESPN put Kirk Herbstreit\u2019s golden retriever on the air<\/a> just to make the game interesting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re better than what we were tonight,\u201d Belichick said. \u201cWe\u2019ll use the time best we can to correct mistakes tonight and get ready for Charlotte.\u201d<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t an unrealistic result after 49 years in the NFL. Belichick took over a middling team, with a new roster and coaching staff, with no preseason games or joint practices to prepare for the season. TCU isn\u2019t a powerhouse, but it\u2019s formidable, receiving preseason poll votes. UNC is beginning a multiyear rebuild.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s selling instant excitement by hiring Belichick. Carolina is marketing itself as the \u201c33rd NFL team.\u201d Fans thought they were getting \u201cFootball Yoda,\u201d whose team would play smart, tough, and not beat itself.<\/p>\n Instead, Tar Heels fans left the game feeling disillusioned about their new coach, and no NFL owner said to himself, \u201cPerhaps we made a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Coincidentally, it was Belichick\u2019s former disciple and another former Patriot whose debut was the talk of college football\u2019s opening weekend. New Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia quickly endeared himself to the Buckeye faithful with a masterful game plan in a 14-7 win over No. 1 Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Patricia, a two-time Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator, ruined the first start for heralded Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, holding him to 17-of-30 passing for 170 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The Buckeyes pitched a shutout for the first 56 minutes, and held Texas to 1 for 5 on fourth down, including two stops inside the 10-yard line.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir ability to disguise coverages in the first half was at an elite level,\u201d Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say good level, I\u2019d say elite level.\u201d<\/p>\n It took just one game for Patricia to turn into a hero in Columbus.<\/p>\n \u201cOhio State\u2019s MVP? How Matt Patricia shut down Arch Manning and Texas,\u201d wrote The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMatt Patricia\u2019s Ohio State debut should open critics\u2019 minds, mine included,\u201d wrote the Toledo Blade<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMichigan football fans now have one more big reason to hate Ohio State,\u201d wrote the Detroit Free Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s game was Patricia\u2019s first in college in 22 years, to when he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse (2001-03) before joining the Patriots. After Saturday\u2019s win, Patricia is becoming a college guy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s loud, man. I absolutely love it,\u201d Patricia said. \u201cYou don\u2019t get that kind of noise in an NFL game. So I\u2019m super appreciative of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Belichick might also be a college guy now, but his big debut turned into a big dud, leaving UNC fans wondering what exactly they\u2019re getting.<\/p>\n