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UNC throttled in Bill Belichick’s debut
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- UNC throttled in Bill Belichick’s debut
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Exactly 34 years to the day after coaching his first NFL game with the Cleveland Browns , Bill Belichick made his debut at the college level with the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Belichick was informed of that stat in a pregame ESPN interview, and offered a tongue-in-cheek response.
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"I hope it goes a lot better than the game against Dallas and Jimmy Johnson," Belichick said. "They crushed us. So I hope it goes better than that."
It didn't.
Belichick's Browns only fell 26-14 to the Cowboys in 1991 and it was a one-score game in the fourth quarter. On Monday night in Chapel Hill, his Tar Heels were throttled by TCU, 48-14, and trailed by 34 points as early as the third quarter.
Things got off for a quick start for North Carolina, as Gio Lopez engineered an 83-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession, but then the Horned Frogs stormed back for the next 41 points.
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The Tar Heels couldn't do anything well after that first drive.
Lopez had a pair of turnovers that went for TCU touchdowns — a pick-six and fumble return — and the North Carolina defense allowed a 75-yard touchdown run to Kevorian Barnes and a 28-yard scamper to Trent Battle. Both Horned Frogs were untouched. TCU wideout Jordan Dwyer caught nine passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. UNC couldn't stop the run or the pass all night.
North Carolina didn't convert a third down until they were trailing 41-7 and Lopez had left the game in the third quarter. Most of the stadium had emptied by then. They went 1-for-10 on third down for the evening.
There were smaller miscues too.
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Punter Tom Maginness dropped a snap, the Tar Heels were whistled for pre-snap penalties like a false start and delay of game, and missed tackles were an issue all night. It was a sloppy performance across the board.
All told, TCU ran for 258 yards, threw for 284 yards, and out-gained North Carolina 542 to 222 in the blowout.
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Read the original article on MassLive .
