Bill Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill keeps finding new ways to look worse, and this bye week may have been one of the roughest yet.
There was no game for North Carolina to lose, but the weekend still piled on. Results around college football chipped away at the arguments that had been built around Belichick’s best moments, and several coaches tied to the UNC search or the Tar Heels’ recent frustrations kept making him look even more exposed.
Start with Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds. Two weeks ago against UNC, he went 20-for-29 for 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception, with a passer rating of 135.7 and a QBR of 62.4.
Against Cal on Saturday, he was far less effective: 13-for-21 for 108 yards, one interception and a fumble returned for a touchdown, with a passer rating of 95.6 and a QBR of 32. Clemson managed only three offensive touchdowns combined against Georgia Southern and California, yet Reynolds had already helped the Tigers score three second-half touchdowns against UNC.
In that game, he completed 80% of his passes for 139 yards and a touchdown after halftime, and Clemson outscored the Tar Heels 22-3.
Then there’s Jon Sumrall, who keeps looking like a major head-coaching hit. He had already taken Tulane to the College Football Playoff, but questions remained about how he’d handle a P4 job with real pressure.
That question got a fresh answer. Sumrall was Bubba Cunningham’s top candidate before John Preyer stepped in to settle on Belichick.
The usual spin about Sumrall not really wanting the job, UNC botching the offer, or Sumrall blowing the interview doesn’t hold much water here. The same people making those claims were also saying Belichick’s interview blew them away.
Wake Forest’s Jake Dickert only sharpened the comparison. He was hired a full week after Belichick and inherited a program that had gone 4-8 in back-to-back seasons.
In his first year, the Demon Deacons finished 9-4 with a top 20 defense. This season, they’re 3-1 without an FCS tune-up, and they’ve become one of five teams in 2026 with two P4 road wins, alongside Miami, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State.
Dickert has now won five games at Wake Forest as a betting underdog, and Saturday’s latest came in style: a road upset of No. 16 Louisville.
“Want to see a coach cry? Watch to the end.”
Wake’s quarterback situation has only made the contrast sharper. Gio Lopez transferred from UNC to Winston-Salem to reunite with Rob Ezell, his offensive coordinator at South Alabama, and after taking plenty of blame during his time in Chapel Hill, he’s been productive right away.
Through the season, he has 1,112 passing yards with eight touchdowns, plus 104 rushing yards and two more scores, against just one turnover. He ranks fifth in the ACC in passing yards per game and has a 79.8 QBR, which is 30th nationally.
Wake Forest is averaging 31.5 points per game against FBS opponents. By comparison, Billy Edwards, with Bobby Petrino calling the shots, is 77th in QBR and leads an offense putting up 17.5 points per game.
The idea that UNC’s offensive problems for the second straight year might not be all on the quarterback or coordinator is getting harder to dismiss.
And then came the most damaging result of all: TCU lost to UCF and looked bad doing it.
On paper, the Horned Frogs should have been in better shape than the version UNC beat in Dublin. They had already rolled past Grambling State and Arkansas State, games that were supposed to sharpen a new offense.
Jordan Dwyer was back after missing TCU’s first three games with a foot injury. UCF was forced to use its backup quarterback after a hamstring injury to the starter against Pitt.
None of that mattered. TCU scored only 13 points in a 21-13 loss, Jaiden Craig threw two interceptions, and the Horned Frogs were held to 33 rushing yards.
Their offense has now produced just two touchdowns in eight quarters against P4 competition, and BYU, a top 20 team, is next.
That loss matters because the Dublin win over TCU remains the best victory Belichick has produced in 15 games. It was treated by some as proof that he could coach at the college level. After Saturday, that argument looks a lot thinner.
The byes are over soon enough. Belichick still has chances to beat the odds and build a real case. But the runway is getting shorter, and the noise around him is getting louder.
In Other News...
Kevin Keatts Saw Something In UNC Practice Fans Will Debate
UNCs first practice under Michael Malone already had one of the more familiar voices in the state offering an early read, with former NC State coach and current ESPN analyst Kevin Keatts coming away impressed by the speed and athleticism he saw. His report also pointed to a group that may look different from last season, with playmakers emerging, a clearer sense of rim protection and Utah transfer Terrence Brown drawing notice for the kind of leadership that can matter as much as any drill in October.
Sayon Keitas shot-blocking ability added another layer to that first look, and the early buzz naturally turns to how all of it fits together once the practices get harder and the rotations start to settle. The pace, the defensive presence and the distribution of roles all sound promising on paper, but UNC fans know the real debate begins when those practice impressions have to survive contact with the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]
UNCs Quarterback Decision Is Starting To Look Like A Real Mistake
Quarterback movement keeps lingering around North Carolina, and the latest version of it is getting harder to ignore. Gio Lopez left Chapel Hill for Wake Forest after the 2025 season, then settled in quickly enough this fall to put together a productive 2026 campaign for the Demon Deacons, while the Tar Heels have been trying to sort out their own offense under Edwards Jr., whose first three games have brought more uneven results than certainty.
For North Carolina, the comparison is what makes the conversation sting. Quarterback play has a way of shaping everything else an offense tries to do, from tempo to confidence to how aggressive a staff can be in key moments, and the Tar Heels have not found the clean answer yet. With Lopez producing elsewhere and Edwards Jr. still looking for steadier footing, the decision tree in Chapel Hill is starting to feel like one that could matter all season long. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Is Already In An Early Fight For A Massive 5-Star Center
The early stages of Dylan Betts recruitment are already taking shape, and North Carolina is right in the middle of it. The five-star center in the Class of 2028 made an unofficial visit to Chapel Hill as part of a growing national tour, with Michigan and Illinois already on the list and Alabama still on deck. For the Tar Heels, landing a player with Betts profile would mean getting involved long before the race gets crowded, which is exactly the kind of position the staff has been trying to build.
UNCs coaching staff has been working to establish that connection with the 7-foot-3 big man, who is competing this season for IMG Academy. There is a long way to go in his recruitment, but visits like this matter because they give schools a chance to stand out before the process hardens into a final decision. For North Carolina, the challenge now is keeping that early momentum alive as Betts keeps seeing what the country has to offer. [Read more 🡒]