Bill Belichick’s coaching debut in college football began with a roaring start, but came crashing down as TCU ran up the score on his UNC Tar Heels, 48-14, on Monday night. 

During his first postgame press conference, Belichick was his normal stoic self, as he was when he coached the New England Patriots. But this time was justified, considering there wasn’t much to talk about positively after starting off with an opening-drive touchdown and letting that momentum slip the Horned Frogs’ way for the rest of the game. 

Belichick, surrounded by "the tackiest" balloon-arch backdrop, said the Tar Heels simply need to be better in every phase. 

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"It was a great atmosphere for the game here tonight. The fans had tremendous energy," Belichick said in his opening remarks. "We played competitively, and then just couldn’t sustain it. So, obviously we have a lot of work to do. We need to do a better job all the way around – coaching, playing, all three phases of the game. Just wasn’t up to what it needs to be, and we’re a lot better than that. We need to work on those things and show that on Saturday on a short turnaround. 

"Give TCU credit, they came in and did a good job. They were clearly the better team tonight. They deserved to win, and they did it decisively."

BILL BELICHICK'S UNC COACHING DEBUT ENDS IN BLOWOUT HOME LOSS TO TCU

There was some obvious national reaction to watching Belichick’s Tar Heels take a beating at home on Monday night, with some pointing to the fact that his worst-ever loss in the NFL was a 38-3 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. That was his final year coaching the franchise after winning numerous Super Bowls, so a 34-point loss to kick off college wasn’t what Belichick had in mind to begin this next chapter. 

Also, some fans took exception to his girlfriend, 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, being spotted on the sideline talking to him before kickoff. 

As the game went along, it was clear that TCU adjusted after UNC’s 83-yard opening-drive score, and they began to run away with the game after quarterback Josh Hoover got on track. 

CBS Sports college football writer John Talty even questioned if the Tar Heels were playing for their coaches after the deficit got so large. 

"This is a straight up whuppin’," he wrote on X. "Steve Belichick’s defense looks like it has quit out there against TCU. …This is a straight up embarrassing performance from Bill Belichick’s team. The effort levels are atrocious."

It was always going to be a challenge for Belichick, no matter his resume, to turn the Tar Heels program around immediately. There were over 70 transfers that came to Chapel Hill, and putting together a new program with new schemes certainly doesn’t happen right away.

However, with the pomp and circumstance there Monday night as well as the national spotlight, this start for UNC wasn’t what football fans are used to from a Belichick-run team. 

As he mentioned, it’s a short week for the Tar Heels, who will play Saturday against the Charlotte 49ers. 

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Coco Gauff was upset Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium by Naomi Osaka in the Round of 16 at the U.S. Open, and she admitted to reporters that it was a tough loss to handle emotionally.

Gauff said she "kind of broke down" to her team after falling 6-3, 6-2 in a shocking performance for the No. 3-ranked American star.

"After the match, I was really disappointed," Gauff explained. "Kind of broke down to my team. Then, hearing their perspectives and everything, it definitely is a lot of positive things. I think if I kept the way I was going in Cincinnati to her, I would have been out in the first round. So, I think where my serve started from the start of the tournament to today was a big improvement."

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Before the final Grand Slam of the tennis season began, Gauff made a big coaching change, parting ways with Matt Daly and bringing in biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan. 

The move was specifically done to help correct Gauff’s serve, and MacMillan has worked with some of the best in the game, including top-ranked women’s singles player Aryna Sabalenka, to get their serves right.

AMERICAN TENNIS STAR COCO GAUFF MAKES MAJOR CHANGE JUST DAYS BEFORE US OPEN

So, while that area of Gauff’s game felt improved in her eyes, she committed 33 unforced errors that were hard to overcome against Osaka, the two-time U.S. Open champion and No. 23-ranked player in the tournament this month.

Moving forward, Gauff knows that she and her team must focus on rounding out her game once again.

"I feel like now I just have to get everything to work together," she added. "But yeah, I knew going in it was going to be a tough tournament for me. Did I feel like I had a lot of confidence after my last match? Yeah, definitely. I think that was a big confidence booster. So today feels more disappointing, I think, than maybe it would have felt losing in the first or second round."

Meanwhile, Osaka’s game has been fun to watch in Flushing Meadows since the tournament began, as the 2018 and 2020 U.S. Open champion is riding high after defeating her friend Gauff.

"I was super locked in," she said of her performance during the win. "I felt like everyone wanted to watch a really great match and I hope that’s what you got."

This is Osaka’s first trip to the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam since she won the Australian Open in 2021. She has dealt with mental health struggles in the past, bravely speaking up about them and taking a break from the sport as a result.

Osaka gave birth to her daughter, Shai, in 2023, which led to an absence from the court.

Osaka moves on to face No. 11 Karolína Muchová in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

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