Rain turned the pitch into a mess for both sides, and it showed. TCU's own long snapper sailed one over the punter's head for a safety, and quarterback Jaden Craig got stripped by Melkart Abou Jaoude on a sack that set up UNC's go-ahead field goal. A team priced to win comfortably had already handed away that comfort before the pitch had a chance to dry out.
Xavier Lewis was the name doing the damage up front for the Tar Heels, racking up 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks, while Jeremy Payne did what he could to keep TCU's offense on schedule with 142 yards on 25 carries. It wasn't enough — TCU never found the end zone again after Jon Denman's 2-yard score in the first quarter.
TCU racked up 11 penalties on the day, the last of them an offsides call that iced the win for Carolina. Belichick was up and down the sideline all afternoon, fist-pumping after the defensive stops and finding Abou Jaoude, Timir Hickman-Collins and Kaleb Cost for low-fives — a very different mood than the one that closed out his 2025 debut.