TCU flat out walloped the North Carolina Tar Heels this past Monday, 48-14 in Chapel Hill. It spoiled the college debut of Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest coach in NFL history.
Belichick won six Super Bowls coaching New England. Granted, they were all with Tom Brady at quarterback, but there’s no denying Belichick’s coaching greatness.
But while Belichick has 333 NFL wins notched, he still has zero as a college head coach – thanks to the whooping the Horned Frogs put on his team in a nationally spotlighted game. A game that folks associated with ESPN were obviously hoping Carolina would win, or at least be competitive.
Sorry to disappoint them – actually, I’m not. Nothing against them, one of the panelists is even Nick Saban, former coach of my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide, but I must admit it felt good to see TCU shine in front of the entire nation.
It’s been a while, and hopefully there will be more of it in the days to come. If they can garner wins over the likes of rival SMU, Arizona State and Iowa State, certainly more national attention awaits.
In the meantime, two questions exist. Is TCU really that good? Is North Carolina really that bad?
The answer is likely a little bit of both. And there will probably be some leveling out on both sides.
Yes, the Horned Frogs are an underrated talent with an underrated head coach. That’s been the case for a long time, from Gary Patterson in charge and now Sonny Dykes – both of whom have led the program to places it had never been before.
But the disrespect shown Monday night could only serve to light a proverbial fire under a team that felt great coming off a 9-4 campaign that saw them win six of their final seven games and was yet unranked at season’s beginning. TCU entered the game as more than a field goal favorites on the road, yet only Desmond Howard dared to step out of line and pick the Horned Frogs to win on the pregame show.
Coaches and players – especially those with the talent to respond in such a way – love to prove folks wrong when they aren’t properly appreciated. Now, however, comes the job of proving they are the kind of team the nation saw Monday.
For this week, Josh Hoover is the best college quarterback in Texas. Keep it up and it might be another magical season for the Horned Frogs.
On the other side, Belichick and his team are tasked with showing they aren’t that bad. They could start with switching starting quarterbacks. Max Johnson, who nearly lost a leg after an injury in 2024, more than proved to be the better of the two signal-callers for the Tar Heels Monday night after coming in for much of the second half.
Would it have made a difference in the final outcome had he started? TCU would still have probably won, but Belichick might have saved some face with a closer score.
As Dandy Don Meredith used to say, “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.”
Speaking of, by Christmas we’ll know where both teams stand.
As for Belichick, don’t read too much into him looking like he’d rather be anywhere else before, during or after Monday’s game. It might not be the last time he feels that way this season – but then, some other coaches might also feel that way after facing the Frogs.
