North Carolina came within one dramatic comeback of turning a scandal-shadowed season into a statement victory Saturday, but the Tar Heels ultimately fell to third-ranked Notre Dame in Chapel Hill.
Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels (2-2) appeared close to trailing 28-7 before UNC stopped the Fighting Irish at the goal line in the second quarter. The offense then mounted a lengthy touchdown drive, and North Carolina opened the second half with a 98-yard kickoff return for another score.
The sudden burst brought Notre Dame’s advantage down to 21-20.
But Notre Dame settled in from there, pulling away for a 37-26 victory on the road. Quarterback CJ Carr accounted for five touchdowns, throwing for four and rushing for one, while the unbeaten Fighting Irish (5-0) produced a season-high 241 yards on the ground. Among those watching in Chapel Hill was Belichick’s 25-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
North Carolina has yet to defeat a ranked team during the Belichick era.
“We were certainly competitive, we missed some opportunities,” Belichick said after the loss. “We just need to do a better job of coaching and playing, take advantage of those opportunities. They’re a good team; it’s not like anything was easy today.”
Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels (2-2) appeared headed toward a 28-7 deficit before stopping Notre Dame at the goal line in the second quarter
Jordon Hudson pets Rameses, North Carolina’s mascot, during Saturday’s first half
Jordon Hudson has yet to watch Belichick’s UNC team defeat a ranked opponent
The defeat marked North Carolina’s second in a row, following last week’s 28-20 collapse against ACC rival Clemson.
Hudson drew attention on the sideline in a silky pink outfit as the Tar Heels continued to navigate turmoil away from the field. Investigators examining the football program have considered allegations involving possible drug use, inappropriate relationships and NCAA rule violations.
The program also lost defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the coach’s son, last month after he resigned while on what was described as a mysterious medical leave. His exit followed the departure of Mike Lombardi, a longtime Belichick confidant and UNC general manager.
In a September statement, UNC said its investigation had “determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina’s values and standards of conduct.” The university did not identify the conduct at issue or the people involved, and it has not publicly provided details of the review that began in late July.
“The investigation also found that these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure,” the school said. The statement also announced the suspension of a player after a traffic stop in September.
North Carolina tight end Shamar Easter (84) celebrates with fans after scoring a first-half touchdown
North Carolina quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) reacts after being sacked by Notre Dame
In an interview last month with The Associated Press, The Assembly and Raleigh’s WRAL, lead investigator Nate Huff and UNC general counsel Paul Newton declined to discuss specific findings or identify individuals. Huff, an attorney and former federal prosecutor, did confirm that the inquiry examined allegations involving drugs, relationships and potential NCAA issues.
“This was not a circumstance where we were targeting any individual person or any specific people,” Huff said. “We were looking program-wide – football program-wide.”
Newton said the investigation began “based on the concerns raised by a limited number of former employees.”
“We took those concerns seriously,” he said.
That led the Office of University Counsel to hire Huff as independent counsel to run the investigation, which included more than 60 interviews.
‘At no point did I feel like the university counsel’s office or university leadership or athletics leadership was limiting or steering me,’ Huff said. ‘I felt they were the people to whom I would go to get the access I needed to get to the bottom of all this. And that was my experience.
‘So my team and I were able to immerse ourselves in Carolina football and its compliance and its culture, and in these allegations.’
Mike Lombardi, a long-time Belichick confidant, resigned as UNC’s general manager
Huff said investigators told interviewees that ‘just because we’re asking about something doesn’t mean we think that it happened or that it’s real. It just means it’s part of our job.’
Interviewees included the 74-year-old Bill Belichick, who won those six Super Bowl titles before making his NFL-to-college transition in December 2024 with Lombardi as an immediate hire. The probe ran throughout preseason camp, then continued as the Tar Heels beat TCU and East Tennessee State to start Belichick’s second season.
‘He made his whole staff and himself available to me during football season,’ Huff said. ‘And these coaches that I talked to, people that I talked to in that building, the only thing they were asking me was, ‘When do you need me?’ and ‘Where do you need me to be?’
‘So I was able to investigate football in the middle of football season fully. And I had access to people, even people like coach Bill Belichick.’
In Belichick’s first news conference after Lombardi’s Sept. 3 resignation, he faced questions that largely dealt nothing with football. Belichick said he believes his program ‘totally’ has an atmosphere of following rules, saying: ‘Obviously everybody’s responsible, including me, for doing things properly. And we intend to do that.’
Steve Belichick resigned from the program as it faced an investigation over alleged drug use
That same day, UNC vice chancellor for communications Dean Stoyer – who released Thursday’s statement – said the school ‘continues to support Bill Belichick and the Carolina football program.’
The school announced its probe in late July in the days after putting Lombardi on paid administrative leave. The same day Lombardi resigned, WRAL of Raleigh cited anonymous sources in reporting the type of questions asked of some interviewees, with some focusing on Steve Belichick.
Additionally, Lombardi attorney Tom Mars told The Athletic that the school’s probe now included questions into potential ‘inappropriate’ relationships that didn’t involve his client. Mars didn’t return a call or email from the AP regarding that comment at the time.
UNC said that ‘all necessary corrective actions are now underway’ and that it considers the investigation to be ‘resolved.’ While declining to discuss specific findings, Huff said the school’s corrective steps ‘are likely to include or address issues related to relationships.’
‘The ‘risk’ always of bringing an investigation to ‘conclusion’ is that there are going to be those that will say, ‘Oh, you didn’t do enough. You should’ve looked at something else,” Newton said. ‘The safe harbor there is that we’re always open to anyone who wants to express new allegations, concerns, whatever. And if they’re credible, we’ll take proper corrective actions in the future. So this door is essentially never closed.’
The Tar Heels travel to Pittsburgh next week for Saturday’s game against the Panthers.
