The Big Lead

North Carolina's Fenway Bowl loss to UConn shows how much work Bill Belichick has to do in Chapel Hill

By Sam Westmoreland

Dec 14, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head football coach Bill Belichick during half time at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Dec 14, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head football coach Bill Belichick during half time at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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The North Carolina Tar Heels brought what has been a mess of a season to a close on Saturday, losing to the UConn Huskies 27-14 in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

If it was any indication of things to come in Chapel Hill, new head coach Bill Belichick has his work cut out for him.

Sure, it was just one game, and a meaningless exhibition at the end of a fully lost season at that. This was a team playing out the string, eager to get their bowl bump bonus and get home, right? Belichick wasn't even in charge in this game, opting not to coach the bowl to focus on whatever it is he's doing right now (probably watching game film from Navy's win over Oklahoma while excitedly muttering to himself about fullback counters).

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But this wasn't some closely fought contest between still-talented backups eager to go home on a dormant power program falling to a group of five team's starters, like we saw with Oklahoma losing to Navy.

This was a good, old-fashioned thumping by a UConn team that rode the softest of soft schedules to an 8-4 record this season. Their wins came against 2-10 UMass, 3-9 UAB, 3-9 Georgia State, 4-8 Rice, 3-9 Temple, 3-9 FAU, and a 5-6 FCS team in Merrimack, as well as an impressive win over eventual 8-4 Buffalo. Their four losses came to Duke, Maryland, Wake Forest and Syracuse. See a pattern there? The Huskies thrived against soft group of five competition, and struggled when faced with even lackluster Power Four teams like Wake Forest.

And yet, they went out and put the Tar Heels in a chokehold. North Carolina threw for just 110 yards and a touchdown in this game, and ran for just 96 yards on the day. Quarterback Michael Merdinger was sacked five times, and threw an interception on just 12 passes.

The game was far less close than the final score indicated, as well; North Carolina's only points before the fourth quarter came on a kickoff return, and even their singular fourth-quarter touchdown came on a trick play pass from running back Caleb Hood.

Make no mistake: the Tar Heels look like a mess right now, and Belichick has a lot of work to do to get this team competitive for next season. This wasn't a transfer-ravaged roster, either; most of the Tar Heels' starters opted to play in the bowl, and starting quarterback Jacolby Criswell missed due to injury. The only notable name sitting out was running back Omarion Hampton, who is preparing for the NFL Draft.

No, the Tar Heels got straight up beaten. By UConn. They looked outclassed on both sides of the ball, and that should be cause for serious concern. This team is in need of a talent infusion, and Belichick is going to have to put in considerable leg work to make up the gap between them and the top half of the ACC.

Is it impossible? No. But anyone looking at the product on the field on Saturday and hoping for a quick push to relevance and glory probably saw those hopes take a considerable hit.

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