Bill Belichick beats Duke for first time to match 2025 win total in six games

The Belichicks can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

More than 70 years after Steve Belichick lost to Duke three times in a row as a North Carolina assistant coach, his son Bill Belichick broke the family curse and led the Tar Heels to a 24-20 victory over their rival on Saturday.

It's another strong win in what has been a strong turnaround for the legendary coach in his second season in the collegiate ranks at North Carolina. Through six games, Belichick already has matched the win total from his debut season (four) in half the number of contests.

It's all about character. These guys battled all the way," Belichick said. Battled all the way against Notre Dame, Clemson. We've been fighting all the way. I don't have any questions about their competitiveness, character, toughness."

RING THAT BELL ALL THE WAY BACK TO CHAPEL HILL pic.twitter.com/e64cCDUvgm

- Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) October 17, 2026

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, center right, celebrates with Jaziel Hart (30) after his team defeated Duke 24-20 on Oct. 17, 2026 in Durham, N.C. AP Photo/Ben McKeown

But a night that ended with a beaming Belichick emphatically ringing the reclaimed Victory Bell very well could've ended in disaster and made fans wonder if the Chapel Bill experiment was headed toward another failure.

After jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter, the Tar Heels remained dormant for nearly 42 minutes while allowing Duke to score 20 unanswered points, including a fumble recovered for a touchdown at North Carolina's own 9-yard line.

North Carolina fumbled the ball again in the red zone near the end of the third quarter, wasting what was otherwise a strong drive by quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. that could have put the Tar Heels up 24-10 and shifted momentum back in their direction.

Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick rings the Victory Bell after North Carolina's win over Duke. Getty Images

They looked helpless for most of the fourth quarter until the two-minute warning, when they finally pulled away. Jaylen McGill broke through on a 24-yard touchdown run to put the Tar Heels up for good.

An interception with 14 seconds left sealed the deal for Belichick's squad.

Belichick and the Tar Heels hope to keep it rolling next week against Syracuse before hosting No. 3 Miami on Halloween.