UNC’s 38-10 loss to Clemson left a sour taste at Kenan Stadium. The Tigers came out firing on all cylinders, scoring on the very first snap with a dazzling 75-yard double-pass to wide receiver T.J. Moore. But let’s not forget the main under centre. Cade Klubnik went for 21-of-23 with four touchdowns before halftime. And on the other hand, UNC’s defense looked utterly lost, giving up 367 yards and 14 first downs. But let’s face it, it’s Bill Belichick’s team playing, and he wouldn’t let the loss slide without any last-minute antics in play.

And that’s when the drama took place. Bill Belichick’s decision to call a timeout with one second left in the game raised a lot of eyebrows. And one of them was of Clemson HC, Dabo Swinney. “He’s coaching til the last second, and that’s what great coaches do,” Swinney said.

The Tar Heels managed just 57 rushing yards in the loss. But it’s safe to say that Belichick kept grinding until the final snap. The thing is, the Tar Heels were badly outplayed, especially early, with Clemson scoring on the very first snap and piling up 28 points in the opening quarter.

With 7:07 left in the second quarter, Belichick had to burn a timeout. Clemson was about to punt when North Carolina got caught with 12 guys on the field. The timeout saved an easy penalty waiting to happen. The mistake cost Belichick, the special-teams guru, a timeout and added to the list of unforced errors hurting the Tar Heels. It surprised many, but the man himself explained it was about evaluating every player on the field, playing the entirety of the game seriously. This tells a lot about Belichick’s effort to make UNC football something.

But as a matter of fact, Belichick couldn’t really motivate his squad well enough to at least give the Tigers a toe-to-toe competition. The offense could manage only 64 yards in a sluggish first half. Then four straight drives ended in three-and-outs; it clearly reflected that UNC had no rhythm at all. Max Johnson, UNC’s QB, was under constant pressure and couldn’t find his groove.

He could just complete 26 out of 42 passes for 213 yards. And then we have the Tar Heels’ defense, which just made ways for the Tigers to have it their way. The Clemson offense started with a stunning 75-yard double pass that set the tone early. Then came play after play where UNC’s defense just couldn’t communicate or close gaps. The performance didn’t really reflect the 33rd NFL team’s vision. And just when you think that things couldn’t be worse, the fans at Kenan Stadium showed their frustration. When Clemson scored again to push the gap to 35-3, nearly half the crowd made the early exit before halftime.

Even “Baby Shark,” that iconic Tar Heel fight song, fell flat in this somber atmosphere.

Bill Belichick’s damage control tactics

Bill Belichick is still handing out hopeful templates to the UNC fans even after getting slammed with a 2-3 record after week 6. Sports reporter Pat Welter writes on X, “asked Bill Belichick what he says to fans who might be checking out or donors who feel like they aren’t getting their money’s worth. ‘We are going to keep grinding, keep getting this on track.'” Now it’s somewhat true, when you have a massive NFL experience handling an over $9B pro-football program, people will demand results.

And especially when you are brought into this CFB spectrum with an annual fee of $10M on your shoulder. But Belichick? He’s not hitting the panic button yet. “The main thing we need to do is to keep doing what we’re doing but do them better,” Belichick said. “Fundamentally, we’re not doing the wrong things, we’re just not doing them well enough.”

Rather than blaming scheme changes or drastic overhauls, Belichick points to execution. He called it a “lack of concentration” at critical moments and owned a piece of the coaching responsibility. And then on the other Mike Lombardi is sincerely fulfilling his GM duties by calling UNC a rebuilding program. He conveyed this message to the donors who are putting their financial faith in the Tar Heels and especially in Bill Belichick.