Josh Hoover threw for two touchdowns and 284 yards as TCU opened the season by spoiling Bill Belichick’s collegiate coaching debut with North Carolina, defeating the Tar Heels 48-14 on Monday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach’s venture into the college ranks was an overwhelming storyline in the prime-time matchup, but the Horned Frogs came away with the biggest prize. It seemed far from Belichick’s championship days with the New England Patriots.
TCU held the Tar Heels to 10 first downs. The Horned Frogs’ biggest defensive plays were safety Bud Clark returning an interception 25 yards for a touchdown with 3:57 to play in the second quarter and Devean Deal scooping a third-quarter fumble and running 37 yards for a TD.
Kevorian Barnes gained 113 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries for the Horned Frogs. Hoover finished 27-for-36 with an interception, with Jordan Dwyer racking up 136 receiving yards and a score on nine catches.
TCU rattled off the final 20 points of the first half for a 20-7 lead, then boosted the lead to 41-7 just over eight minutes into the third quarter.
By then, much of the buzz surrounding Belichick had dimmed a little bit. There had been hours-long pregame festivities on campus celebrating the dawn of a new era in North Carolina football.
Barnes ran 75 yards on the first play from scrimmage of the second half as TCU built a 27-7 lead. Soon after, Trent Battle burst 28 yards for a touchdown.
Tar Heels quarterback Lopez completed 4 of 10 passes for 69 yards but threw an interception and lost a fumble before he was replaced by 2024 opening-night starter Max Johnson.
North Carolina opened the scoring when Caleb Hood ran for an 8-yard touchdown to complete the first possession of the game, covering 83 yards in seven plays.
The Horned Frogs pulled even on their second possession, with Hoover throwing 27 yads to Dwyer for the touchdown.
An offensive pass-interference penalty in the end zone slowed TCU’s next drive, so the Horned Frogs settled for Kyle Lemmermann’s go-ahead 32-yard field goal.
The Horned Frogs moved inside the North Carolina 20 on their next possession before a tipped pass was intercepted by Kaleb Cost.
Clark’s pick-six boosted the margin, and Lemmermann’s 33-yard field goal on the final play of the first half pushed the lead to 13 points.
Max Johnson wound up 9 of 11 for 103 yards and a 2-yard third-quarter touchdown pass to Jake Johnson. Jordan Shipp led North Carolina with four catches for 84 yards, while Hood finished with 31 yards on 10 carries.
