Well, when Anthony gave me the nod to start contributing for Frogs O’ War I didn’t anticipate writing about any 8-time Super Bowl Champion coaches; alas, here we are. The championship pedigree, however, is currently taking a backseat to a myriad of different offseason questions. While many of them circle around the level of involvement Belichick’s girlfriend has with the program, the impactful ones include how much his success will translate to a lower level after a year-long sabbatical from coaching
altogether. With big coaching changes comes large-scale roster reconstruction, to the tune of 49 outgoing transfers and 41 incoming, so Frog Fans are getting a flashback to the chaotic response to Deion’s debut in Fort Worth to kick 2023 off. With similar star power, uncertain scouting reports, and questions of their own to address, the season opener will be very telling for TCU Football.
Defense
It must have been challenging for Steve Belichick to uproot his work in Washington to resume servitude on his father’s staff, after only one year removed from doing the exact same thing in New England. All jokes aside, Belichick held course for a P4 team that was playing in the shadow of its best season ever and a head coaching departure to boot. Washington’s offensive drop-off was steep, leading to a 6-7 record while allowing 23.8 points per game. Bear in mind that Washington was thrust into the Big 10 after constructing a roster for the Pac 12, I’d consider this an overall win for Belichick.
His father cut out his work for him when have gave Steve the keys to another 6-7 defense that gave up 28.1 points per game. With natural turnover, and the mass exodus of the remaining talent, the heels have rebuilt the defense to a higher talent level than what they took over. Star pass-rusher Beau Atkinson left for Ohio State in the portal, but he’s been replaced with Smith Vilbert, Pryce Yates, & a slew of talented portal additions. The new defense is tailored more toward Belichick’s liking with Khmori House and Thaddeus Dixon following from Washington to be his field general and shutdown corner, respectively.
The expectation for Belichick’s defense is to win the battle in the trenches and play a single high safety with man coverage underneath. This poses an early challenge for Josh Hoover & Co. for a variety of reasons. Primarily Hoover has stood out in the Big 12 by attacking the middle of the field, which plays into the game UNC will be trying to play. The natural countermove is to win the battle in the trenches, and that battle will be an early indicator of just how mature this offensive line has grown since last year’s up & down campaign. Briles vs. Belichick will undoubtedly be one of the top coordinator matchups for Week 1 of College Football.
Offense
Not as much can be said certainly of the Tar Heel offense, after much of the portal attention was devoted to revamping the defense. With a little more continuity on this end, Freddie Kitchens looks to utilize a run-heavy offensive attack similar to what Jacolby Criswell ran for him in 2024. South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez sounds like he’ll be getting the tap as first dibs at the QB position and his strengths are more angled to dual-threat than the pocket passer Max Johnson is known for being. Outside of design runs for Lopez, the ball-carrier options are a bit more cloudy.
Omarion Hampton’s name was called in the first round of 2025’s NFL draft, after posting 2000+ yards from scrimmage and 17 scores. Beneath that, no one returning from the 2024 squad posted more than 420 yards individually or 4 touchdowns. With no large scale portal additions the Tar Heels will need to lean on significant growth and development from their underclassmen at the skill positions. Davion Gause will likely replace Hampton at RB for his sophomore season and Kobe Paysour & Jordan Shipp will be Lopez’s top targets on the perimeter. UNC will need to get out in space quickly to make up for the deficiencies in their line, however.
TCU’s defensive trench battle is not setting up to be the same type of clash that their O-line is up against, as they take on a battered, somewhat inexperienced line from UNC. Tar Heel Guard Austin Blaske is reportedly out for multiple months with a foot injury & Center Christo Kelly will not be ready to suit up against the Frogs either. Cobbling together the ends of their line, they’ll be starting a true freshman at left tackle Eidan Buchanan and shuffling the rest of the group to account for their strengths and weaknesses. With the layers of uncertainty, this is a group Andy Avalos will be certainly be targeting heavily with his colorful blitz packages from Studs, LBs, & maybe even some box safeties if Kylie Jackson has anything to say about it.
Overall
This game should be exactly what TCU needs in the form of an early test. They won’t be able to sleepwalk into Chapel Hill and secure a victory, Belichick will have this team ready to play from the jump. However, the question marks for the Tar Heel offense create a target-rich environment for TCU to establish a defensive rhythm early on in the campaign. Conversely, the highly anticipated offensive will have its work cut out for it as UNC’s defensive strengths play into the Frogs weaknesses. TCU could break the game if their offense is as improved in the run game as camp reports indicate, or could indicate another year of slow progression in the run game. Altogether, this Monday Night Matchup reads like a scripted new beginning for each of these teams with conference championship aspirations.
