Skip to main contentSkip to navigationESPNNFLNFLNBANBAMLBMLBNCAAFNCAAFWNBAWNBASoccerSoccerNHLNHLMore SportsMore SportsWatchWatchBetESPN BETFantasyFantasyWhere to WatchSearchNorth Carolina Tar Heels @ Charlotte 49ersNorth Carolina Tar HeelsNorth CarolinaUNC1-1, 1-0 Away201-1, 1-0 AwayFinal1234TNorth CarolinaUNC1070320CharlotteCLT03003Charlotte 49ersCharlotteCLT0-2, 0-1 Home30-2, 0-1 HomeGamecastRecapBox ScorePlay-by-PlayTeam StatsVideosBill Belichick earns first win as college head coach as North Carolina defeats Charlotte 20-3ByAPSep 6, 2025, 11:35 pmFacebookFacebook MessengerTwitterEmailCHARLOTTE, N.C. -- — threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to on the first possession, ran for a 12-yard score and Bill Belichick got his first win as a college head coach as North Carolina defeated Charlotte 20-3 on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon. Lopez completed 17 of 25 passes for 155 yards for the Tar Heels (1-1). North Carolina's defense held Charlotte (0-2) to 271 yards and forced two turnovers. Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and is the second-winningest head coach in NFL history, downplayed the significance of his first win at this level after the game. “It’s hard to win,” Belichick said. “You gotta do a lot of things right. You gotta do it better than your opponent, so we were fortunate to do that. So it’s, it’s good to be part of it. I tried to do what I could to help them, but look, I didn’t make any blocks, tackles, catches, runs or anything else out there.” North Carolina lured Belichick to Chapel Hill with a five-year, $50 million million contract , but his debut in front of a national audience on Monday night was a disaster as the Tar Heels got . It was the in a season opener. It raised some early questions about whether the 73-year-old Belichick was capable of winning at this level, but his Tar Heels responded with a solid overall performance. North Carolina started fast with Lopez completing two short passes before firing a deep ball along the left sideline to Culliver, who beat his man by 5 yards for the easy touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead. But like Week 1, when the Tar Heels scored on their first possession before going into an offensive funk, the early fireworks faded fast. The Heels offense floundered for much of the first half until Gause broke free off left tackle and scampered 12 yards for the touchdown and a 17-3 lead with 19 seconds left before halftime. "That drive before halftime was a huge momentum killer," Charlotte coach Tim Albin said. “But tonight is about us getting better and showing improvement in a lot of areas but I think we did that.” Charlotte had a chance to make it interesting early in the third quarter, but wide receiver dropped a catchable pass in the end zone on fourth-and-6 after quarterback used his athleticism to escape the pocket. After the play, Harrell put both hands on top of his helmet in disbelief, lamenting the magnitude of the missed opportunity. “We just didn't make a play and that was a tough one,” Albin said. Harrell finished 17 of 29 for 140 yards. Lopez said he hurt his back against TCU, but able to practice with the help of trainers. “We didn't play our best ball against TCU,” Lopez said. “It was good to get back out there on a short week.” “Gio I thought did a really good job of improvising and extending some plays,” Belichick said. TAKEAWAYS North Carolina: Lopez got the start after leaving the season opener with an injury, but was mediocre at best and the UNC offense had way too many lulls. had looked good after replacing Lopez in the season opener, but apparently didn't do enough in Belichick's eyes to earn the start on a short week. The Tar Heels seem to lack a killer instinct on offense. Charlotte: This is a team that is really struggling on every facet on offense, from protecting the passer to opening holes. The 49ers had 21 yards on 29 carries and don't seem to have a game-breaker on offense. UP NEXT North Carolina: Hosts Richmond on Saturday. Charlotte: Hosts Monmouth on Saturday. ------ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: and Game Information7:00 PM, September 6, 2025Jerry Richardson StadiumCharlotte, NC Attendance: 19,233Where to WatchESPN+2025 StandingsFBS (I-A)Atlantic Coast ConferenceCONFOVRGeorgia Tech1-03-0NC State1-03-0Stanford1-01-2California0-03-0Miami0-03-0Florida State0-02-0Louisville0-02-0North Carolina0-02-1Pittsburgh0-02-1SMU0-02-1Syracuse0-02-1Virginia0-02-1Duke0-01-2Virginia Tech0-00-3Wake Forest0-12-1Boston College0-11-2Clemson0-11-2American ConferenceCONFOVRNavy2-03-0Memphis0-03-0North Texas0-03-0Tulane0-03-0East Carolina0-02-1Rice0-02-1South Florida0-02-1Temple0-02-1Army0-01-1Charlotte0-01-2Florida Atlantic0-01-2UTSA0-01-2UAB0-12-1Tulsa0-11-2Full StandingsNCAAF NewsTexas A&M surges to No. 10 in AP Top 25 college football pollTexas A&M surged into the top 10 of the AP Top 25 after its dramatic win at Notre Dame, while Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and USC all made their 2025 poll debuts.5mUCLA fires coach DeShaun Foster after Bruins start 0-3UCLA fired DeShaun Foster after he started his second season as coach 0-3.19mHokies fire coach Brent Pry after starting 0-3Virginia Tech has fired coach Brent Pry. The move comes a day after the Hokies lost at home to in-state foe Old Dominion to fall to 0-3 on the season.2hAll NCAAF NewsTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyYour US State Privacy RightsChildren's Online Privacy PolicyInterest-Based AdsAbout Nielsen MeasurementDo Not Sell or Share My Personal InformationContact UsDisney Ad Sales SiteWork for ESPNCorrectionsESPN BET Sportsbook is owned and operated by PENN Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries ('PENN'). ESPN BET is available in states where PENN is licensed to offer sports wagering. Must be 21+ to wager. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.Copyright: © 2025 ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved., Gio Lopez combined for three touchdowns and freshman Demon June rushed for 148 yards and a score as North Carolina beat Richmond 41-6 for its first win at Kenan Stadium under coach Bill Belichick., Expert recap and game analysis of the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Charlotte 49ers NCAAF game from September 6, 2025 on ESPN..