If you’re a Tar Heel fan or a Bill Belichick fan who’s ever dreamed of a perfectly paved road to the playoffs, the football gods just dropped your invitation on crisp Carolina blue stationery. Take a peek at North Carolina’s 2025 schedule, and you’ll do a double take for sure because it’s the kind of lineup that wouldn’t look out of place on a blue blood’s ‘Best Case Scenario’ whiteboard. 

After their bell-ringing Labor Day opener under the Kenan Stadium lights, the Heels get an away trip to Charlotte, followed by Richmond at home, and a winnable event at UCF. There’s an early-October clash with Clemson, but after that? Virginia, Stanford, Wake, and Duke—plus a finale at NC State. The only real mid-season speed bump is the Tigers, and by the time turkey leftovers hit the fridge, plenty of Tar Heel fans will be dreaming playoff scenarios and counting ‘what ifs’ on fingers and toes.

So could UNC really sneak its way into the College Football Playoff in Belichick’s first season? You might think it’s a hot take, but look closer. Only two games, against preseason ACC favorite Clemson and a loaded TCU program, loom as true landmines. ESPN’s Greg McElroy believes that if the Heels can get past that Labor Day opener, everything’s suddenly “very, very interesting.” 

Greg McElroy said, “I look at his schedule, Maddie, and while the team and the roster might not be great, we could fast forward to season’s end. They have one, maybe two losses and they’re playing for a spot in the playoff on the road at NC State in the final week of the season because there’s really two games right now where they will for sure be underdogs. One’s against Clemson, one’s likely against TCU.” North Carolina won’t face Florida State or Pitt, two of the conference’s next-best on paper. The Tar Heels were picked only eighth in the ACC preseason poll, but with Belichick running the show and a manageable slate, there’s a world where UNC is sitting at 10-2 and playing for playoff relevance in a Thanksgiving nail-biter at NC State.

If that blueprint sounds familiar, just ask Deion Sanders. In 2023, “Coach Prime” stormed onto the scene with Colorado and engineered a jaw-dropping 45-42 win over 17th-ranked TCU. Colorado was a three-touchdown underdog after winning just one game the previous year. That statement victory not only silenced doubters, but it also changed the story overnight for Sanders’ entire tenure. “I’ve been talking about it and talking about it and you didn’t believe me,” Deion said after the game, reminding the world that one iconic debut can reset every expectation.

So, Tar Heel nation, are you bold enough to jump on the bandwagon? Will it be fairy-tale magic or heartbreak in high-def? Either way, this schedule practically begs for what-if scenarios and primetime drama. Buckle up, September might just be the first step toward the wackiest (and maybe most fun?) playoff chase Chapel Hill’s ever seen.

Belichick’s mixed reviews in ACC rankings

Despite boasting perhaps the greatest resume in football history, Bill Belichick landed just 12th out of 17 in CBS Sports’ 2025 ACC coach rankings, a placement that’s stirred up plenty of debate across the college football world. Analyst Chip Patterson led the ranking and admitted, “In all our years of compiling the CBS Sports Coach Rankings, no profile has been more difficult to place than Belichick’s.” The reason? Even though Belichick’s six Super Bowl rings and decades of NFL mastery are unmatched, he’s never coached at the collegiate level, and CBS Sports weighed inexperience heavily against him.

Patterson expanded on his reasoning, pointing out the unique situation UNC faces: “On one hand, he’s considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history with six Super Bowl titles. On the other hand, he hasn’t been involved in college football since playing at Wesleyan University in the 1970s. North Carolina is betting that Belichick’s leadership will translate to the college level. If it does, the cloud of doubt could lift quickly with a major jump in next year’s rankings. For now, he’s held back by his inexperience in the college game.” That uncertainty stands in stark contrast to other top ACC coaches like Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Miami’s Mario Cristobal, who have both notched significant college success and earned much higher spots in the rankings.

For all of Belichick’s legendary status, the main question for 2025 and beyond is how his NFL-honed methods will adapt to the modern, unpredictable landscape of college football. As CBS Sports noted, the Tar Heels are “betting that Belichick’s leadership will translate.” If he can prove college coaching doubters wrong, even Chip Patterson concedes Belichick could “see a major jump in next year’s rankings”, but for now, the resume alone isn’t enough to vault him past the heavyweights of the college game.