Ahh the ACC Kickoff Event, an open forum for players and coaches to make bold (and sometimes extremely dumb) statements.
Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi took the top prize on Wednesday, making a bold statement about his program and North Carolina, now under the direction of Bill Belichick.
Narduzzi spoke about how great of a head coach Belichick is, citing that the UNC football program should benefit tremendously from the recent changes in structure. He went on to say that he expects his team to face off against the Belichick-led Tar Heels in this year's ACC Championship game.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi on UNC and Belichick: "I expect them to be in the championship game against Pitt this year. You got Bill Belichick, you better be, right?"
— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) July 23, 2025
Yes, he actually said that.
For context: Pittsburgh is coming off a 7-6 season, one that followed a 3-9 disaster during the 2023 campaign. Pretty bold statement to predict that two programs that have underperformed are destined to meet in this year's title bout.
Narduzzi on Belichick/UNC. (Video credit: @primetimeMitch ) pic.twitter.com/XEVi2PglHu
— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) July 23, 2025
Of course, there are people out there that believe that Belichick's arrival will spark immediate success, given his Hall of Fame career at the NFL level. However, this is a new realm for Belichick, as he'll have to work his magic with a rebuilt roster in order to make Narduzzi's prediction come to fruition.
You can make a claim that Narduzzi was mocking Belichick by ending statement. If so, it provides plenty of bulletin board material for the UNC football program as they look to prove all the naysayers wrong.
Get ready for Belichick and the UNC football program to be the talk of the town, as the focus on the Tar Heels isn't going away anytime soon.