Bill Belichick evaluates North Carolina's confidence level as competition ramps up

Bill Belichick knows North Carolina will see a step up in competition this week as the Tar Heels head to UCF. The good news is UNC has won two in a row, albeit against Charlotte and Richmond.

Belichick didn’t want to undersell getting those wins due to talented football players on both teams. But going from FCS opponents to a Big 12 opponent is a significant jump most of the time.

Following their season-opening 48-14 loss to TCU, also a Big 12 opponent, it was a valid question this week. But perhaps Belichick and North Carolina might have something cooking now.

“We’ll see next week, you know, but we’ll just go through the preparations for Central (Florida) and it’s another good football team,” Belichick said. “Scott does a good job down there, but we’ll have to, you know, gear up for what they do. And they’ve got a lot of skilled athletes. They get the ball in space a lot. Defensively, they got some explosive guys that we have to handle. We’ll find out.”

UCF is 2-0 on the season and had a bye week this past weekend, following a 68-7 win over North Carolina A&T. Now, they get Power Four competition as well.

“We’ve definitely made a lot of progress,” Belichick said. “Our fundamentals are better. We’re more consistent in our run fits and our coverage adjustments and things like that. Are we there yet? No, of course not. We have a long way to go, but we are definitely making progress. And I think as those players play together and they have more confidence in each other, our communication improves with different adjustments and challenges the offense gives us. 

“They don’t want to make it easy for us. We have to handle the hard things, but we’re doing better at that. It’s getting better. Coach Frost, I think they led a nation in scoring when he was at UCF the last time and they threw up 60 however many points it was last week. They’re very explosive.”

Belichick and UNC playing UCF this week on the road has a bit of a connection. Head coach Scott Frost was on the Jets roster out of Nebraska when Belichick was a coach in the organization.

“I can’t believe it’s been over 30 years since we were together with the Jets,” Belichick said. “He was drafted, he played quarterback at Nebraska, and we drafted them as a defensive back. A safety for me, and really smart guy, tough, big kid for a quarterback, big safety too. And really had a great aptitude for the game, both offensively and defensively and playing the kicking game as well. 

“So he has a lot of experience as a player and certainly as a coach, both at UCF and Nebraska. So a ton of respect for Scott and the program that he runs and the people they have down there.”