Bill Belichick finally achieved what he had been vying for as the head coach of the UNC football program: beating a top-25-ranked team.
Belichick and the Tar Heels went into Pittsburgh and knocked off the Panthers, who entered the top 25 for the first time this season earlier in the week. Sure, Pittsburgh didn't have star quarterback Mason Heintschel, but hey, a ranked win is a ranked win!
After the game, Belichick seemed pleased with his team's effort and was rather confident following the win. Here's what the head coach of the Tar Heels had to say about Saturday afternoon's game:
Opening Statement
“Great to come in here and win. Really proud of our team. It was a great team effort all the way across the board. We got some explosive plays on offense, explosive plays on defense, and some big stops. But our kicking game, kickoff coverage was solid. He tried to bring one out, and that was a big play for us. Just all around solid team effort. We had a couple of guys banged up, but guys were ready to go. They stepped in for them and played well, and so really happy for our players. Tough, tough game last weekend. They bounced back. Had a good week of practice, and left it all out on the field this afternoon.”
What changed to improve the run defense
“We did a better job of setting the edge of the defense and not letting the ball get outside. Again, look, they’re a good team. They have good skill players, good backs, good receivers, so it wasn’t easy. They did a good job in the first half.”
Finding big offensive plays
“There are a lot of opportunities out there. We could have had a few more. That’s the way (Pittsburgh) plays. They play aggressively. They try to hit for a loss, knock it behind the sticks, and then they’re vulnerable. If you can execute things well, then you get a chance for an explosive play. I thought our team speed showed up a couple times. We were able to turn shorter plays into longer plays.”
Thoughts on the defense
“Great effort by all those guys. They played hard, tackled better in the second half, and got a little pressure on the quarterback. They forced a couple bad throws, but again, they scored a lot of points, and they’ve got a good receiving core, good backs. They’re not easy, but our guys hung in there and battled them all the way. So I’m so proud of them.”
Shamar Easter's impact
“He’s big and fast, and he’s a good target down the seam, or in seams, over routes, things like that. It’s hard to overthrow him, and he can run. So he’s kind of a part receiver, part tight end, and a tough matchup. And the guy can definitely get down the field.”
Tight end usage in the offense
“We went through a year last year with virtually no production at that position, so it opens up a lot of things offensively. When you have production at the tight end position, that opens it up for the inside receivers and outside receivers and changes the coverage a little bit the way that the teams play you, so it’s great to see.”
How did the defense step up after some key injuries
“Those guys stepped up again. Everybody’s one or two plays away from being in the game, and you got to be ready to go. The Kaleb Cost situation is obviously unfortunate. You got all the cameramen sitting down there on the field, and he gets hurt running over them. I don’t know why we can’t get them someplace where they’re out of the way, so there’s more player safety out there on the field.”
Billy Edwards' recent turnover troubles
“We wanted to get that number down to zero, and as we talked about, it’s not just the quarterback; it’s the entire execution of the offense, so we all need to do just a better job on that. We can’t win consistently if we turn the ball over.”
What it means to get the ranked win
“We’re confident. We know we can play with these teams. We need to be more consistent and just execute a little bit better than we have a couple of times, and we’ll be able to do that every week. So, Pittsburgh’s a good football team. Like, don’t make any mistake about that. Those guys can play. So we feel like we can too.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google