Bill Belichick celebrated his first win over a top-25 opponent in college football – and his players made sure to mark the occasion.
Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels made a trip north to Pennsylvania to take on the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers.
After going down 10-0, North Carolina scored touchdowns in the second and third quarter to take a 14-10 lead.
Pittsburgh would score early in the fourth quarter, only for the Tar Heels to respond instantly with a 75-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-17 lead.
North Carolina would hold on to the lead until the very end to give Pitt their first loss of the season.
Following the game, Belichick addressed his players and congratulated them on a job well done – as captured by UNC’s football staff.
North Carolina’s Bill Belichick celebrated his first ranked win as a college football coach
Belichick and the Tar Heels beat No. 25 Pittsburgh on the road 21-17 to move to 3-2 on the year
Belichick’s players gifted him the game ball and celebrated as he held it up in victory
‘Hey, look, fellas, that’s the way to grind it out now,’ Belichick said to his players.
‘Gotta grind it out. We’ve been in a lot of close games. We’ll probably be in more of them. A couple guys came off the bench, didn’t practice much, hadn’t worked much, came in there, gave us some big snaps. It was a good team win.
‘You guys did a hell of a job. Let’s take it in stride. Let’s take it in stride, okay? There’s a lot more of these ahead of us.
‘We just got to keep grinding and keep working. That’s a hell of a job today. That’s the way to out-tough them, out-compete them and I say outplay them in the second half. Great job, congratulations.’
After hailing his players, the Tar Heels returned the favor and presented Belichick with a game ball.
‘Before we break, first ranked win. Plenty more to come,’ said junior wide receiver Jordan Shipp. ‘You go through a lot of fire, you help us prepare. You do a lot for us. First game ball, Coach B.’
The players then cheered and began jumping in a circle around Belichick, who raised the game ball above his head.
