UNC’s performance against Clemson has been nothing short of a disaster. The Tar Heels found themselves trailing 35-3 at halftime, with fans streaming toward the exits long before the break. Clemson scored on the opening play and piled on four touchdowns in the first quarter alone, amassing 367 yards in just 36 plays. It’s been a brutal continuation of UNC’s season-long struggles: they entered this game 2-2 with wins only against FCS opponents Richmond and Charlotte, while getting demolished 48-14 by TCU and 34-9 by UCF. For a program that boosted its NIL budget from $4 million to $20 million to lure Bill Belichick to Chapel Hill, this is an embarrassing return on investment.

The nightmare started almost immediately. Just 11 seconds into the game, Clemson executed a perfectly designed trick play that exposed everything wrong with UNC’s defense. Cade Klubnik executed a backward pass to wide receiver Antonio Williams, who hesitated just long enough to freeze the Tar Heels’ defense before launching a 75-yard touchdown strike to T.J. Moore. Bill Belichick’s entire reputation has been built on his defensive prowess, and this was not expected. Cade Klubnik, who has not been in the best of form this season, went 21-of-23 for 251 yards and four scores. That too in the first half.

Former UNC safety Tre Boston didn’t hold back, tweeting: “It shouldn’t be a Player on this team with NIL money outside of 1-3 players. My Gawddd, this is horrible! Bring back $400 Meal Checks! No way this is the talent getting paid. Is it Coaching or Talent I honestly don’t know. 😂😂😂 #HelpUs”. And honestly? It’s hard to argue with him. When a program quintuples its NIL budget and the product on the field looks this bad, something is fundamentally broken. Boston’s frustration echoes what many UNC alums are thinking: if this is what $20 million buys, maybe the old days of modest meal stipends actually produced better football. The talent doesn’t match the investment, plain and simple.

Moreover, this is not an isolated incident. The pattern has been noticed throughout the entire season. Every time UNC has faced an FBS opponent, it has felt like a patchwork of a team, which it is, honestly. We cannot expect a lot from Bill Belichick’s first season as he has built the team from the ground up. The only games Bill Belichick’s squad has won were against Richmond and Charlotte, FCS programs that don’t belong on the same field as Power Four competition. When a group of 5 head coaches anonymously told The Athletic that UNC was overpaying for players who “were competing in Conference USA or the Sun Belt” rather than the ACC, this is exactly what they meant. The Tar Heels can beat up on smaller schools, but the moment they step up in class, the talent gap becomes painfully obvious.

This is disappointing because, despite investing $20 million in NIL money and adding 70 new players, the results are not yet there. And no amount of money or players will give results if the evaluation process is broken. Either Belichick figures out how to identify ACC-caliber talent and then builds chemistry among them, or he just takes what players he has and coaches them to their ceiling. Both options require a lot of time, and both translate to one thing: this season is over for UNC.

Year Zero in Chapel Hill

Belichick’s first year is pretty much going exactly like every analyst predicted. The journey to 2-2 has been rough, with wins only against FCS opponents. And now they’re faced with another limping program in Clemson, which somehow entered the season ranked No. 4 but has fallen to 1-3. But the good thing is, Belichick’s performance is just a rough draft and not the final product. Belichick had to start completely from scratch at UNC. He basically demolished what Mack Brown left behind and started building from the ground up, bringing in a staggering 70 new players, 40 transfers and 30 freshmen. He essentially overhauled the entire roster in one offseason. But on College GameDay this week, he let everyone know he didn’t have much choice in the matter. “We missed on a couple of recruiting classes, only have a handful of players starting from them,” Belichick said bluntly.

 It was basically a public shot at Mack Brown, and honestly, it’s hard to argue with the logic. When you have to bring in 70 new faces just to field a competitive team, that tells you everything about what was left in the cupboard. And it’s not just Belichick saying this; even Paul Finebaum, who’s arguably Mack Brown’s closest friend in the media, admitted Brown left the program in rough shape for his successor. That said, UNC did keep a few key players like linebacker Amare Campbell and offensive linemen Austin Blaske and Aidan Banfield—guys who initially hit the transfer portal after Brown left but pulled their names once they found out Belichick was taking over. These are the players representing that “handful” Belichick referenced. But the reality is simple: this 2-2 start doesn’t reflect Belichick’s coaching ability.