After making the difficult decision to part ways with long-time head coach Mack Brown, the North Carolina Tar Heels appear to have made the right choice.
They've worked out a deal with long-time New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, and the early chatter suggests this is the perfect move for the program.
Sportsbooks opened up the North Carolina Tar Heels season win total odds at 6.5 on Wednesday afternoon, and as you can see, money has come in on the Over, pushing it to 7.5 juiced slightly to the Under.
Join me as I break down the college football odds and the Tar Heels 2025 season outlook with Belichick at the helm.
North Carolina Tar Heels season win total odds
| Over 7.5 | Under 7.5 |
|---|---|
| +124 | -158 |
Odds courtesy of FanDuel on 12-12.
Tar Heels 2025 season outlook
The North Carolina Tar Heels were about as consistently inconsistent as you could get in 2024, posting a 6-6 record and never really looking like a team ready to take the next step. Sure, they are headed to the Fenway Bowl to take on the UConn Huskies, where they are 3-point favorites, but the Tar Heels expected bigger and better things.
Losing Drake Maye to the NFL definitely played a part in the lack of success, but the defense was the unit that let them down the most.
With a defensive-minded coach like Bill Belichick now patrolling the sidelines, the defense will be much better in 2025. My belief is that the Tar Heels will return to relevance in the ACC and in the college football playoff picture.
Belichick was brought in early in the transfer portal process and with plenty of big names already opting out of their bowl games and placing themselves in the transfer portal, the hope is Belichick can lure some of those names to Chapel Hill.
With a great track record in the NFL Draft and the ability to mold these young men into true NFL players, I am bullish on what Belichick can do for UNC.
With a schedule that has a positive outlook, facing only Clemson as a big-name team, the Tar Heels should be able to rebuild enough to crack eight wins for the second time in three seasons.
Can they reach the 11-win plateau like they did in 2015? With Bill Belichick involved, I wouldn't rule that out.
Best bet: Over 7.5 wins (+124 at FanDuel)
North Carolina football history
| Year | ACC record | Overall record | Bowl game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3-5 | 6-6 | Fenway Bowl |
| 2023 | 4-4 | 8-5 | Duke's Mayo Bowl (Loss) |
| 2022 | 6-2 | 9-5 | Holiday Bowl (Loss) |
| 2021 | 3-5 | 6-7 | Duke's Mayo Bowl (Loss) |
| 2020 | 7-3 | 8-4 | Orange Bowl (Loss) |
| 2019 | 4-4 | 7-6 | Military Bowl (Win) |
| 2018 | 1-7 | 2-9 | Not eligible |
| 2017 | 1-7 | 3-9 | Not eligible |
| 2016 | 5-3 | 8-5 | Sun Bowl (Loss) |
| 2015 | 8-0 | 11-3 | Russell Athletic Bowl (Loss) |
