After eight long months, TCU football is finally back. The Horned Frogs open the season against none other than Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday night. The Horned Frogs have squared off against the Tar Heels merely three times in program history—losing all three prior matchups, most recently 31-10 in 1997. Yet, the Big 12-ACC clash between two notable programs isn’t even close to the biggest storyline; it’s Bill Belichick’s college football coaching premiere. Ahead of the tantalizing
contest, we caught up with Nick Delahanty of Keeping it Heel to discuss Belichick, the expectations that come along with such a massive hire, and North Carolina’s new and improved roster.
Frogs O’ War: Let’s immediately get to the elephant in the room. What were your initial thoughts when the Tar Heels hired Bill Belichick, and have you perceived the legendary coach differently since he came to Chapel Hill?
Keeping it Heel: The whole head coaching search was an interesting one, to say the least. Plenty of names swirled in the rumors, especially Belichick’s. At first, I thought there was no way that this guy, who put together a legendary coaching career in the NFL, would ever come back to the college ranks at this point in his life.
Well, I was definitely wrong!
Considering that I’m a Jets fan, Belichick has essentially tortured me throughout my entire life. Now that we’re on the same team, I’ve grown to become fond of him, as he’s someone you definitely want on your side.
You can’t deny what an excellent head coach he is, and you know that the UNC football program will be well-prepared under his leadership.
Frogs O’ War: What went wrong a season ago? Was a 6–7 record capped by a Fenway Bowl loss to UConn predictable, or did it come as a surprise?
Keeping it Heel: What went wrong was simply the story of the Mack Brown 2.0 era. You can’t win games when you can’t stop a nosebleed on defense.
Sure, the Tar Heels struggled at the quarterback position a season ago, but the consistent factor was that the defensive unit couldn’t get any stops. Leading up to the season, there were doubts about how good the team would be, and when Max Johnson went down in the opener, it felt like the season was destined to be a long, disappointing road.
Frogs O’ War: How confident are you in South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez? Is he a major upgrade over last season’s starter, Jacolby Criswell?
Keeping it Heel: I really like what Gio Lopez brings to the table. While there are some questions about whether his production will translate to this level of college football, I’m confident that he can make it happen.
His ability to be a dual-threat quarterback is intriguing to me, especially given Belichick’s history of having success with primary pocket-passing quarterbacks. I expect a lot of RPOs this season, a system that should help Lopez excel.
In terms of the quarterback room as a whole, I prefer this group to the one we saw a year ago.
Frogs O’ War: Do you expect North Carolina’s rushing attack to be as potent as a season ago with Omarion Hampton off the NFL? If so, who is the running back that TCU should account for?
Keeping it Heel: The simple answer is no, just because Omarion Hampton did elite-level things that won’t be easily replaced. However, the Tar Heels have a running back that I believe is going to do a lot of damage with a heavier workload: Davion Gause.
Gause showed flashes of what he’s capable of last season. While he likely won’t single-handedly replace Hampton’s production, I expect him, with a collection of other guys (such as Caleb Hood, Benjamin Hall, and even Gio Lopez), to make their mark on the run game this season.
Frogs O’ War: The Tar Heels finished middle-of-the-pack in most defensive metrics in the ACC a season ago. Has the defense improved? And which player or players pose the biggest threat to the Horned Frogs on Monday night?
Keeping it Heel: If you asked Tar Heel fans what they most hope for this season, I would say at least 90% would say for the defense to improve.
It’s been an absolute struggle on defense over the past few seasons. Mack Brown’s staff just couldn’t figure out the right recipe for success, even though the unit featured some very talented players.
Now, under Belichick’s leadership, you’d expect that the defensive unit will be a focal point for the Tar Heels moving forward. They lost a ton of talent from last year’s squad (especially along the defensive line), but have added some much-needed reinforcements.
The defensive line depth chart consists of veteran transfers who have experience and potential but don’t necessarily have the production at the college level. At linebacker, keep an eye on Khmori House (transfer from Washington) and Andrew Simpson (transfer from Boise State), two guys who should make an immediate impact for the Tar Heels.
In the secondary, Marcus Allen returns for his senior season, while Thaddeus Dixon (another Washington transfer) was brought in to fill one of the starting cornerback spots.
Frogs O’ War: What’s your prediction for North Carolina vs. TCU? Who wins? What’s the final score?
Keeping it Heel: This game is a tough one to predict. While the hype will be at an all-time high in Chapel Hill, we really don’t know what to expect from this roster.
Given that TCU has some stability, continuity, and a very good quarterback, I give TCU a slight edge in this one. I’ll say that TCU wins this one 28-24, but I do expect this to be a nail-biter between the two non-conference foes.
Shout out to Nick for providing fantastic insight into the Belichick hire and North Carolina’s roster ahead of the much-anticipated season opener. For all things UNC, be sure to check out Keeping it Heel.
