There have been many interesting storylines throughout the college football offseason. Among the biggest storylines for the sport is the addition of six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick to the same position at the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Belichick remains one of the best football coaches of all time, but the true merit of his success will be tested in his new collegiate run. There is a lot of hype for the Tar Heels considering Belichick’s additions and the incoming talent from the transfer portal.
The ACC is set to be one of the least competitive power conferences in the sport, which is good news for the Tar Heels. Due to the poor state of the conference, there are even more expectations for the Tar Heels to not only compete for a conference title but also a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Even if the Tar Heels aren’t real playoff contenders as the season continues, there are ways that the team could disappoint in Belichick’s first year.
Losing more than one of their non-conference games
The Tar Heels have two Power Five non-conference games and two from the group of five conferences. Out of the non-conference games, the Tar Heels showed themselves as underdogs in only one game. The Tar Heels should only see the week one home matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs as a real threat.
North Carolina should be big favorites at Charlotte in week two, at home against the Richmond Spiders in week three, and at the UCF Golden Knights in week four. The Golden Knights are still a rebuilding team as they enter their third season of Big 12 play.
Lose more than three ACC games
There are several media outlets that believe the Tar Heels will lose four or more conference games this season. The good news for the Tar Heels is that they have an easy conference schedule. Only two teams the team is projected to face are supposed to finish with a better overall record, according to Athlon Sports. It’s going to be a task too steep for Belichick’s new squad to defeat a team that could win the national championship at the end of the season, in the No. 4 Clemson Tigers.
The Tar Heels will likely lose to Clemson, but will try to rebound within the next few games. Their next biggest battle will be on the road against the Syracuse Orange in a prime-time slot on ESPN. Losing in primetime to a team they should finish the season better against wouldn’t be a good look for the team.
Tar Heels have to win a majority of their rivalry games
North Carolina will finish the regular season with rivalry games at Wake Forest, home against Duke, and at NC State. The Deacons are also still rebuilding, so this should be a development test for the Tar Heels in case they need to make some positional changes.
After the Wake Forest game, Belichick’s top goal of the season is to defeat the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels won five consecutive games against the Blue Devils from 2019 to 2023 before losing last year’s game. That game was a major mark for previous head coach Mack Brown as the fan base turned on him.
Belichick will need to defeat his new biggest rival, or it will be a huge mark on his first season at the collegiate level.
