Bill Belichick addressed North Carolina’s struggles head-on Monday after his team got walloped by TCU in his collegiate coaching debut.
The Tar Heels struck first with a seven-play, 83-yard touchdown drive to open the contest that had the star-studded UNC crowd fired up inside Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Then it was all downhill from there.
North Carolina got outscored 48-7 the rest of the way as TCU toyed with the Tar Heels’ nonexistent defense. It got so bad that fans were seeing if the Horned Frogs would outscore Belichick’s 49-year age gap with girlfriend Jordon Hudson. They were just one point short.
Belichick was adamant during his postgame press conference that his team was “a lot better” than the scoreboard indicated.
“You know, we need to do a better job all the way around — coaching, playing, all three phases of the game, just wasn’t up to what it needs to be,” Belichick told reporters, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “I know we’re a lot better than that. So we’ll need to work on those things and show it on Saturday. … But give TCU credit, they came in and did a good job, and they were clearly the better team tonight. They deserved to win, and they did it decisively.”
Belichick emphasized his team’s putrid tackling effort. TCU’s offense appeared to get first downs at will, with 29 first downs in total compared to UNC’s 10. The Horned Frogs tallied 542 total yards of offense against a neutered Tar Heels defensive unit.
The Tar Heels won’t have to wait very long to prove their coach right. North Carolina suits up again in five days to take on Charlotte, a team that lost its season opener to Appalachian State by 23 points.
