UNC knocks off previously undefeated No. 25 Pitt while notching first ranked win of Bill Belichick era

The second iteration of Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels is much more dangerous. UNC hinted at its improvement with a season-opening win over TCU in rainy Dublin back in August .

Although UNC dropped both of those games, program progress was undeniable. The Tar Heels reaped the benefits of that development on Saturday in Pittsburgh, where they defeated the No. 25 Panthers 21-17 , notching the first ranked victory of the Belichick era.

After going 4-8 in Year 1 — a tumultuous campaign that included five multi-score defeats — Belichick is 3-2 this season, with his upgraded UNC squad moving to 1-1 in ACC competition following a triumph in Acrisure Stadium.

"A gutsy performance, you know," said Belichick, 74, in his on-field postgame interview . "Just kept battling. Pitt's a good football team. They're well coached. Some big plays in the game both ways. So luckily we made a couple more than they did."

Later in that interview, Belichick swiftly, and characteristically, turned the page. When asked what's next, he said, "We just get ready for Duke."

The Tar Heels will face the rival Blue Devils next week in Durham.

Granted Pitt (5-1, 2-1 ACC) was playing without the quarterback that was largely responsible for its 5-0 start, as Mason Heintschel was out with the season-ending ACL tear he suffered last week in a victory at Virginia Tech , but a ranked win is a ranked win.

Heintschel's replacement, Holden Geriner, struggled. The fifth-year signal-caller previously spent time at Auburn (2022-24) and Texas State (2025) and came into the weekend with 47 career passes. He nearly matched that workload against UNC yet averaged a mere 5 yards per attempt.

Geriner went 27 of 44 with 219 passing yards and two interceptions. He misfired time and time again when it mattered most in the final frame.

UNC QB Billy Edwards Jr. wasn't perfect, either. That said, he hit tight end Shamar Easter in stride for a go-ahead 75-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

From that point on, the Tar Heels' defense hung on to secure the milestone win.

Edwards piled up 249 passing yards, two touchdowns and two picks on 18-of-26 passing. That scoring strike to Easter proved sufficient.

It came on the first snap from scrimmage after a seven-play, 75-yard Pitt touchdown drive that put the Panthers up 17-14 with 12:47 left.

On UNC's next fourth-quarter possession, however, Edwards was intercepted on a pass that was out of reach for wideout Jordan Shipp.

Shadarian Harrison's 22-yard return on that takeaway slingshotted Pitt into Tar Heels territory. What followed was the first of Pitt's three consecutive turnovers on downs.

On fourth-and-2 from the UNC 21-yard line, Geriner's pass was too high for wide receiver Cataurus Hicks to bring down.

The next Panthers series, Pat Narduzzi's team ran tempo leading up to a fourth-and-2 from the Tar Heels' 31. Running back La'Vell Wright was stopped short of the first-down marker, and it initially looked like UNC jarred the ball loose on the play, ostensibly resulting in a 70-yard scoop-and-score that was ultimately overturned.

Pitt got one more crack at orchestrating a game-winning drive. Geriner completed one of his four attempts on that series, and it went for -4 yards.

UNC, which dug itself out of a 10-0 first-half hole, capped the exploit in victory formation.

A Tar Heels program that seemed utterly erratic throughout the first year-plus of the Belichick regime, with general manager Michael Lombardi and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick both resigning last month, has finally been trending in the right direction lately.

Belichick's UNC is above .500 in October, with a ranked win under its belt.