Bill Belichick didn’t dress up North Carolina’s loss to Clemson. He called it what it was: a game the Tar Heels let slip away.
After Saturday afternoon’s defeat, the UNC head coach met with the media and kept his comments brief, but he didn’t hide from the missed chances that piled up as the game wore on.
“Proud of the way our players competed. Clemson’s a good football team.
In the end, they made a few more plays than we did. In the last eight minutes of the game, we missed a couple of opportunities on offense and missed some tackles on defense.
Had a couple long runs that obviously hurt us.
So, disappointing end. We just have to keep working and keep getting better, which we are.
So, really not too much to say. Give them some credit.
They made the plays at the end of the game they needed to make.”
Belichick was asked about the decision to pass on a crucial fourth-and-one, and he didn’t offer much drama.
“Felt like it was a good play.”
On Clemson’s approach after Edwards got off to a strong start, Belichick said the Tigers largely stayed true to form.
“I think they (Clemson) pretty much did the same thing most of the game. I mean, they gave us a lot of different pressures, which we expected, and mixed it up with some odd run.
But it’s what they normally do. So, nothing out of the ordinary.
I’d just say that what they did is pretty much what they do.”
UNC also left points on the field after the delay, and Belichick didn’t sugarcoat that sequence.
“We missed an opportunity down there.”
For Belichick, the lesson from a loss like this is straightforward.
“Every game is a learning experience. You win or lose, we learn from all of them.
Things we do well, we want to keep doing. Things we need to do better, we need to improve on.
That’s all the way across the board - players, coaches, everybody.”
He also gave Clemson credit for making enough plays on offense to swing the game.
“I mean, look, they do a good job offensively. They mix it up.
They hit us on a couple plays, and we hit them on some. Pretty competitive game.”
Asked about his secondary, Belichick said the group had its moments, but Clemson’s receivers created problems too.
“Yeah, I mean, we had our moments. They completed some passes, short passes, and we gave up a couple down the sidelines, and then play-action or fake slip screens.
Overall, not bad. Just two really good receivers.
These guys are hard to tackle. They got us a couple times.
Thought we covered them pretty well and tackled them pretty well at times.”
Penalties were another sore spot, and Belichick stuck to the same message he always delivers on that front.
“Well, we always want to try to play penalty-free. That’ll never change. Keep working on it.”
He was also asked about the fourth-down pass to Jelani Thurman, and he said UNC had a chance to make it work.
“Yeah, we had a shot at it. There were other options on the play, but I won’t second-guess him (Bobby Petrino). I mean, we’ve got one of our best receivers downfield, and we just couldn’t do it.”
Belichick was also asked about concern with the vertical passing game.
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