UNC’s No-Frills First Victory Fits in the Bill Belichick Catalog

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Would Bill want it any other way? Sure, the scoreline didn’t produce a beatdown, and of course, at times it wasn’t the prettiest football. But for his first victory in the college ranks, this had all the markings of a no-nonsense Belichick achievement.

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On the visiting sideline of a stadium more than four times smaller in capacity than where the New England Patriots play, Belichick led North Carolina to a 20-3 defeat of Charlotte on Saturday night at Richardson Stadium. It resembled, in some ways, the prototypical Belichick performance advertised to UNC fans since December. A winning effort rooted in defense, a physical rushing attack and marginal advantages in the kicking game — all culminating in a victory that righted the ship for the Tar Heels after their season-opening debacle.

“We played a lot better,” Belichick said after the game. “Thought we did a good job not turning the ball over, which was a big improvement from last week. Played better defense, tackled better and played better in the kicking game. We had some decent field position in the kicking game. Thought overall, it was a solid effort.

“Certainly, a lot of room for improvement. We can do a better job in all the areas — coaching, fundamentals, playing, missed some opportunities. But thought these players deserved it.”

After the game, school chancellor Lee Roberts presented a game ball to Belichick in the locker room. The 73-year-old head coach accepted the gesture with a grin before thanking the team.

In the post-game press conference, it was more of the same. A downplaying of his own success and a reflection of what his players had accomplished here. Belichick acknowledged the Tar Heels had to deal with a storm of negativity from outside their locker room across this past week, and that getting this first victory of the season meant more for them.

“It’s great, but it’s really about the team,” Belichick said. “The players went out there and made the plays. The staff did a great job. Disappointing on Monday night against TCU, but these guys bounced back. All of them — players, coaches, our staff, support people, everybody. Just got back to work and were determined to have a better outcome.”

Although it certainly wasn’t pretty, Carolina checked certain boxes of a traditional Belichick system, starting with the defense.

After TCU’s 48 points marked the most any opponent has ever scored against one of Belichick’s teams in his long head-coaching career, the Tar Heels held Charlotte to only three points on Saturday night — the least UNC has allowed to an FBS opponent since 2001. It also marked the first time since the 2020 season opener that Carolina has held any opponent without a touchdown.

The difference was a return to the basics. UNC only missed seven tackles, 12 fewer than in its season opener. This helped the Tar Heels suffocate Charlotte’s rushing attack to only 21 yards on 29 carries. The Tar Heels also limited the 49ers’ success on early downs, which produced eight third-and-long situations and four three-and-outs.

“Really, the emphasis throughout the whole week was just locking on the fundamentals,” UNC defensive back Gavin Gibson said. “We’ve got to make tackles and just play our game. We don’t have to go above and beyond.”

Offensively, the Tar Heels improved with their effectiveness in running the ball, as five different backs ran for 104 yards altogether. There were some glimpses of the toughness that Carolina coaches desired throughout the preseason, but didn’t show in the season opener against TCU.

That physicality presented itself in the form of power-rushing situations, when UNC was successful on two of its three blocking schemes. An uptick in comparison to no successful attempts against the Horned Frogs.

“We got quite a few touches to most all of our backs, and it’s nice when there’s a hole to see the backs run through it,” Belichick said. “You’ve got to give the line a lot of credit for opening up some of those creases.”

The final part of the Belichick-style victory was the kicking game. Rece Verhoff continued his successful streak of eight straight touchbacks on kickoffs to start the season. He added a pair of made field goals. Verhoff’s touchbacks also rendered 49ers return man Henry Rutledge — a subject of concern for Belichick earlier in the week — ineffective as UNC held Charlotte’s special teams to 5 yards on two returns.

UNC punter Tom Maginness was called upon six times, and pinned the 49ers inside their own 20-yard line four times while averaging 42.5 yards per punt. All marginal gains that helped the Tar Heels win the field-position battle.

“Tom punted the ball well,” Belichick said. “Ge gave us a lot of good field position. They had very little return yardage. Think they only had a few yards and returns. He punted the ball well, we made two field goals, so our kicking game was definitely better than what it was last week. So all around, a more solid effort and fewer mistakes, more positive plays.”

For a coach who seemingly has done it all in the sport of football, Saturday night may have been one of the last firsts in Belichick’s highly decorated career.

“For Bill, this is just a small step of the way, building on this season that we are doing,” Gibson said. “This is the first win for him, first win for us as a team. But we know that there’s still a lot of growing to do. We’ve still got a whole lot of building to do. So we’re not trying to get too high. We don’t want to get too low. We’re just trying to keep tunnel vision and keep the path going.”