Bill Belichick and North Carolina are walking into their September 19 showdown with Clemson carrying real momentum, and ESPN isn’t treating the Tar Heels like a complete afterthought.
UNC is 2-0 after two weeks, a start that looks far better than last season’s mess. The Tar Heels have already handled TCU and East Tennessee State, and now they get a much bigger test against a Clemson team that has stumbled out of the gate.
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives North Carolina a 46.7 percent chance to beat the Tigers, which makes the Tar Heels underdogs, but not the kind of long shot many would have expected in this spot. That’s a notable shift for a program that hasn’t been viewed as a legitimate threat against Dabo Swinney’s team for quite a while.
Clemson has not looked like its usual self through the first two games of the 2026 college football season. The Tigers were blown out by LSU in the opener and then had to grind through a shaky win over Georgia Southern. That uneven start has already fueled questions around Swinney, and a loss to North Carolina would only turn up the heat.
Belichick is dealing with pressure of his own. An investigation has been looking into multiple issues within the North Carolina football program, and his name has also been tied to the hot seat after last season’s collapse in his first year as head coach. Another bad year could put his job in serious jeopardy.
That’s why this game carries more weight than a typical early-season road trip. UNC beating Clemson would do more than move the Tar Heels to 3-0; it would put Belichick and the program right back in the conversation in a major way.
Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
In Other News...
Bill Belichicks UNC Defense Is Becoming The Teams Early Story
North Carolinas win over ETSU was never really in doubt, and the biggest reason was the same one that has started to define the Tar Heels early on: a defense that keeps tightening its grip as the season opens. UNC rolled to a 35-3 victory while allowing ETSU to break through only late, after the Tar Heels had strung together 15 opposing possessions without giving up a score. It was another step forward for a unit that looked sharp again after its strong outing against TCU.
The pressure came from everywhere for Bill Belichicks group, which finished with seven sacks and forced multiple turnovers even without top defensive player Melkhart Abou Jaoude available. That kind of depth matters in September, especially when a defense is already showing the ability to carry stretches of a game on its own. For North Carolina, the bigger question now is not whether the defense has arrived, but how far this early momentum can go. [Read more 🡒]
Belichicks UNC Rotation Just Sent An Early Message Before Conference Play
North Carolinas 35-3 win over East Tennessee State pushed the Tar Heels to 2-0, but the more revealing part of the afternoon came in how Bill Belichick chose to use his roster. After Kekahunas turnover, Sadler saw a bigger role at slot receiver, while the backfield was spread more evenly between Demon June, Benjamin Hall and Jaylen McGill, giving the offense a more deliberate, rotating feel as conference play gets closer.
On the other side of the ball, North Carolina also took a cautious approach with injured pass rusher Abou Jaoude, sitting him out as a precaution. His status moving forward is still uncertain, which leaves a small but meaningful question hanging over a defense that has already shown it will manage personnel as carefully as results. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Basketball Just Showed Why This Program Means More Than Wins
Carmichael Arena turned into more than a basketball venue this weekend as North Carolina hosted the fifth annual Dribble for Victory Over Cancer, an event that brought together the UNC mens and womens teams, other athletic programs and community members in support of cancer research. The day mixed basketball with purpose, starting with a session on the court before shifting into a one-mile walk around campus, all while coaches Courtney Banghart and Michael Malone welcomed a crowd united by the cause.
The event raised more than $143,000, but the number only tells part of the story. Several players shared personal connections to cancer, underscoring why the gathering has become such a meaningful annual tradition for the program and the wider UNC community, with the events emotional weight carrying well beyond the floor at Carmichael. [Read more 🡒]