Paths Intersect Again for Bill Belichick, Scott Frost When UNC Takes On UCF

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina makes its first out-of-state road trip and plays its final non-conference game of the regular season on Saturday at Central Florida (3:30 p.m., FOX).

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It will mark the first-ever meeting between the Tar Heels (2-1) and Knights (2-0), after two previously scheduled matchups were called off for different reasons. In 2016, these programs agreed to a home-and-home series, with those games to be played in 2018 and 2020. But both were canceled, first with Hurricane Florence bearing down on the Carolinas and wiping out the game at UNC. And then two years later with the COVID pandemic upending what had been the scheduled 2020 season opener at UCF.

Now, the Knights again are led by coach Scott Frost, who has begun his second stint in charge of the program. After two seasons at UCF, including a program-best 13-0 record in 2017 and No. 6 finish in the AP Top 25 poll, Frost took the Nebraska job, where he ultimately was fired three games into the 2022 season. He then spent time away from football, before returning to UCF in December 2024.

The Knights are coming off last week’s early bye on the schedule, after securing two wins to open the new season. The first was a 17-10 squeaker past Jacksonville State, the former FCS program now competing on the FBS level in Conference USA. The following week, the Knights piled up a 68-7 blowout of FCS opponent North Carolina A&T.

UCF moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 Conference in 2023. Since then, the Knights have posted 6-7 and 4-8 records. They finished ahead of only last-place Oklahoma State in the league last season, prompting Gus Malzahn to leave the UCF head-coaching post and take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. Here are more key areas of note about the Knights.

NFL Connection for Head Coaches

First-year UNC coach Bill Belichick perhaps might know Frost better than any other opponent UCF takes on this season. That’s because the 73-year-old Belichick coached Frost in the NFL, when he was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets.

In college, Frost starred as a dual-threat quarterback at Nebraska, leading the Cornhuskers on an unbeaten ride in 1997 and share of the national championship, the final season before the BCS was introduced. But when the Jets drafted him in 1998, the organization selected him in the third round at No. 67 overall to play safety. Frost adjusted and played in Belichick’s defense for three seasons, before Belichick moved on to the New England Patriots’ head-coaching job in 2000.

“For those players that have flipped from one side of the ball to the other, having that experience, especially for a defensive back having played quarterback, it was a big, big advantage,” Belichick said Tuesday. “Scott was a hard-working guy. He was smart and very versatile as a football player, to be able to play in all three phases of the game.”

Transfer Portal Shopping in Bulk

Much like Carolina’s influx of 70 newcomers over the offseason, the Knights have welcomed 63 new players to their program. Only one returning player for UCF started all 12 games last season, offensive lineman Paul Rubelt.

Frost’s new coaching staff is a conglomeration of experience from different programs across college football. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch joined the Knights after stops at Wisconsin, Southern Cal and Oklahoma in the same role. On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Steve Cooper joined the staff after working with Frost at Nebraska for four seasons. Cooper had a job as an offensive analyst for Boise State last season.

“They have a lot of transfers, which, if anybody can relate to, we can,” Belichick said Tuesday. “Their coaches are all from kind of different spots. Putting all those things together, I’m sure that they’ve had a little bit of time with the bye week to work on some things they need to work on, fine-tune some things, and probably come up with some things that will give us problems.”

The Knights have started different transfer quarterbacks in their games this season. Fifth-year senior Cam Fancher won the starting job during the preseason, after transferring from Florida Atlantic and Marshall. But he suffered a back injury in UCF’s season opener, and recently has been cleared to return to practice.

Backup quarterback Tayven Jackson, a transfer with stops at Indiana and Tennessee, has filled in during Fancher’s absence. Jackson finished 12-of-21 passing for189 yards and added two rushing touchdowns in UCF’s clobbering of NC A&T. In the opener, Jackson’s 33-yard touchdown pass to DJ Black delivered the game-winning score with 63 seconds remaining. The Knights trailed Jacksonville State 10-3 in the fourth quarter, before rallying during the game’s final 9½ minutes. Jackson hit on 17-of-24 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns that night.

Bounce House Awaits in Orlando

Though Carolina traveled to Charlotte two weeks ago, Saturday’s matchup presents the first power-conference assignment on the road for Belichick and the Tar Heels. At UCF’s home stadium, the Acrisure Bounce House, UNC figures to face a crowd three times larger than the record crowd of 19,233 that packed Charlotte’s place. UCF’s stadium, which has a listed capacity of 44,206, earned the nickname when it opened in 2007, after fans jumping in unison caused the stadium to shake.

Florida’s tropical weather could pose a factor for the afternoon game. Thunderstorms are expected Saturday in Orlando, Fla., with a high temperature of 88 degrees and winds potentially reaching 20 mph.

The Tar Heels have won their last three regular-season games in the state of Florida, a run that includes their 35-11 defeat of Florida State last season, their 27-24 victory at Miami in 2022, and their 62-26 destruction of Miami in 2020, when Michael Carter and Javonte Williams combined for a gigantic 544 rushing yards and five touchdowns.