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  • 3 months ago
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00:00Another game we'll take a look at, Coach, took place in Chapel Hill.
00:04We had talked that Bill Belichick in North Carolina showed a little bit more consistency.
00:09A couple of weeks ago, they went toe-to-toe with a very good Cal team.
00:13They fumbled right on the goal line.
00:15They lost that matchup 21-18 but covered as a 9.5-point underdog in Cal Berkeley.
00:22They were 9.5-point home dogs to Virginia and Chandler Morris.
00:26Coach, this game went to overtime.
00:28In the end, Virginia and Tony Elliott survived.
00:32But that was another gutty effort by Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels Saturday afternoon.
00:38You know, it really was.
00:39I saw nothing about that team that suggested to me they would get much better this year,
00:44but they have been.
00:45They've lost two games in goal line.
00:48They've lost the ball on the goal line going into score.
00:51They lost this game on the two-point play first overtime where they went for two points.
00:56A lot of people say, well, why don't you just kick the field goal?
00:58I mean, kick the extra point and take it to the next overtime.
01:02But a lot of times when you don't think you've got quite as good as offense as the other team,
01:07the best odds are to go ahead and go for two and get it over with.
01:10And I think Coach Belichick, he was just trying to win the game, but they lost a second one.
01:15But I will say this.
01:15Virginia finds a way to win.
01:18That's why they're having this year that they have.
01:21They've won three out of their last four games in overtime.
01:24And when you do things like that, you're going to have a great year.
01:26And they're having a fantastic year.
01:28Seven and one, still in the hunt.
01:31Yeah.
01:31When you look at the job that Tony Elliott has done, already bowl eligible, his best season in Charlottesville.
01:38They've had to overcome a lot of adversity during his tenure there.
01:42He's gotten the playmakers, and it starts with their quarterback, Chandler Morris.
01:47I know you were very high on Chandler Morris, a dual threat coming over, by the way, at TCU in North Texas.
01:53He's elevated that team.
01:55But even defensively, Coach, they are very physical, especially in run support,
02:00and a team to keep an eye out on the rest of the way.
02:04Well, you know what happened?
02:05I think like some other schools out there that have not had the top athletes,
02:10they did a great job with the NILs.
02:12They aren't getting the super superstars, but they're getting a solid football team.
02:16They're filling in positions on defense and not just the skill positions on offense.
02:21And when you do that, you've got a chance to win these close games.
02:24And that's where an outstanding coach like Tony Elliott comes in.
02:28To win those close games, you've got to make those tough calls, make those great decisions at the end.
02:33They seem to have done that.
02:35Coach, I want to take a look at the flip side with North Carolina.
02:38They have lost four straight, but the last two have been by a total of only four points.
02:45I know when you took over Akron, you always said that the biggest change in elevating a losing program is to lose close.
02:52That's what North Carolina is doing right now.
02:54Back-to-back games, they were within striking distance.
02:56Is this a team now where Bill Belichick has weeded out the talent, and now we could see maybe bigger dividends in year number two?
03:06Well, I'm glad you brought that up because that is what happens when you take over a bad program.
03:10You lose big, then you lose close, then you win close, and then you win big.
03:15The last two games, North Carolina has been every opportunity to win, but they're losing close.
03:20They're playing better, and I think that's the key to them turning that program around.
03:25I think we do have to accept the fact that Belichick has got to know what he's doing.
03:30The whole key is, did he really go there with the intent of putting all that time and effort in?
03:35It looks like they've got that team moving where he wants it to go.
03:38That'll be an interesting program to watch.
03:39They won't go too far this year, but that will be an interesting program to watch in the next couple of years.
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