It was a long day for everyone involved. While it looked like the North Carolina Tar Heels were going to steal a win on the road at Clemson, a two-hour weather delay took that silly idea and spun it on its head like a top. Clemson bounced back after the extended break to pull off the monumental win of UNC. All Dabo Swinney wanted to do was shake Bill Belichick's hand at midfield after this wild game.
While he did get Belichick to shake his hand, it was incredibly brief, and totally uninspiring. Swinney took his hat off to show his respect to the greatest head coach in NFL history. Belichick may have been emotionally spent from the game that took over a quarter of a day to complete, but Swinney deserved more than this kind of effort out of the UNC head coach. It is just par for the course for him.
This may have been purely coincidental by Belichick, but this was far from his first rodeo after a loss.
Handshake between Dabo Swinney and Bill Belichick after Clemson wins 28-20, plus Dabo's postgame reaction to ESPN@ClemsonFB | @wachfox pic.twitter.com/nvSncSkFTh
— Claire Foley (@clairefoleytv) September 19, 2026
Bill Belichick didn't want to admit that he got outclassed by Dabo Swinney
While neither of these teams have truly hit their stride just yet this season, Clemson is ascending, whereas North Carolina may have to go back to the drawing board when it comes to a few things. Swinney going with Tait Reynolds as his starting quarterback is starting to pay out in early dividends for him. As for Belichick, how many more starts does Billy Edwards Jr. need to look like he can play?
As Tom Allen's defense becomes a more cohesive unit by the week, the rest of the Clemson team may echo suit. We know that Clemson has an incredible receiving corps and is strong on special teams. However, there is still so much ground this team needs to make up to be a high-end team in the ACC once again. Little by little, it does seem as though this team is starting to make its big turn.
It was not exactly a passing of the torch, but rather two head coaches who really needed a win that only one of them could have. Swinney may be able to have his second act leading Clemson. Although North Carolina is already a far better team than it was a season ago, the Tar Heels' offense is still too disjointed under Bobby Petrino. He was outclassed by Chad Morris in the second half of this game.
Ultimately, we just saw a two-time College Football Playoff-winning head coach defeat a former NFL coach who won eight Super Bowls over his 40-plus year career at that level. College football and the NFL are different sports in plenty of ways, but American gridiron football at its core is all about field position, time of possession, and making the necessary adjustments. Swinney just beat Belichick!
Football is an inexact science, but the team that shows the greater level of grit usually comes out on top more often than not. What a tremendous win for the Tigers! Let's try to savor this one a little bit.
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