RJ Young
FOX Sports National College Football Analyst
Midway through the second half of TCU’s 48-14 demolition of Bill Belichick’s North Carolina team, fans started leaving Kenan Stadium. Given the lengthy walk from their seats to the parking lot, it’s likely that they made it to the car in between completions for UNC, which at one point during the game went more than two hours without one.
TCU, however, was flush with completions, receptions and yards. Quarterback Josh Hoover completed 27 of 36 passes for 284 yards. Running back Kevorian Barnes rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries, and wide receiver Jordan Dwyer caught nine passes for 136 yards.
The Horned Frogs showed up with a point to prove.
“We all felt a little disrespect coming in,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said. “There was a lot of conversation, and none of it was about us.”
Dykes’ Horned Frogs and air raid disciple made sure to shift the conversation. TCU had 543 yards of offense to go along with 48 points, while forcing three turnovers and holding UNC to just 222 total yards and 1 of 10 on third down.
After putting out a two-deep depth chart with invisible ink, Belichick showed he and his Tar Heels ain’t yet built for this. North Carolina had never allowed 48 points in a season opener until tonight. Belichick had never allowed 48 points as head coach at any level until tonight.
TCU outscored Belichick’s squad 41-0 before UNC scored a second time. The school fired College Football Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown just to get crushed by TCU with Belichick at the helm in Week 1.
What’s worse, the Tar Heels suffered this horribly embarrassing loss with almost every UNC and New England Patriots dignitary you can name: Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor, Mia Hamm, Roy Williams, Julius Peppers, Randy Moss and Teddy Bruschi. All that was missing was Tom Brady and a kiss from Belichick’s 24-yard-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
The pregame show made a point of only talking about what Belichick had done, and men like former Alabama coach Nick Saban picked Belichick to win because they’re friends. No one knows better than Saban that friendships don’t win you ballgames, and picking against a team that won nine games last year with a quarterback that threw for more than 3,900 yards is what lovesick fools do — not hard-nosed, hardcore college football fans.
Casual college football fans can be forgiven if they thought tonight would’ve ended differently. They don’t know that FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos called his shot against Alabama, or that Boise State no longer has Ashton Jeanty to save them, or that Texas signal-caller Arch Manning had never played against a program as good as Ohio State.
But even they know that Deion Sanders and Colorado played their first game together against a ranked TCU team coming off of a national title game appearance in 2023 — and that Coach Prime’s Buffaloes won.
That’s the bar that I have said Belichick and his six Super Bowls need to meet. For me, this is the process. Be better than 4-8 and remain in the sport come 2026. As I wrote upon Belichick’s hiring in December 2024:
“What Belichick is attempting to do is more like what Sanders has done at Colorado. Belichick is a coach with a once-in-a-lifetime résumé but with no head-coaching experience in college who will take over a program that lacks an identity apart from some success with Mack Brown. He’s building an NFL-style coaching staff and hopes to hit the ground running with a roster culled from the transfer portal. It took Sanders one year at Colorado to get it right. After a 4-8 first season, his Buffaloes finished 9-3 and produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Year 2. I dare Belichick to do better.”
College football is a whole different hood, Bill. You can’t wear those Super Bowl rings around here and expect those to get you wins.
In college football, we earn it. We wear our allegiances on our diplomas and at work.
In college football, there is no salary cap. No free agents to pick up in the middle of the season. No draft to help a bad team get better.
In college football, you not only evaluate players but recruit them.
This team is one you and former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi put together. If the roster is bad, there’s no one else to blame for that, just as there’s no one else to blame for this utterly embarrassing performance from the Tar Heels tonight but Belichick.
This loss is on him. Unlike his cutoff sleeves, he must wear it.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
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