Bill Belichick unintentionally jabbed UCF ahead of Saturday’s game against the Knights after calling them “Central” earlier this week during a press conference. UCF coach Scott Frost used Belichick’s words as bulletin board material inside his locker room and following a 34-9 win over the Tar Heels, revealed the remarks bothered the program a bit.
“This is only my third season coaching at UCF, but I’ve been around coach (Sean) Beckton a lot and Travis Fisher a lot, and that kind of seems like the ammo of UCF,” Frost said. “Going a long way back, little disrespected … we’re not Central Florida, we’re UCF. You know, people picking us last. Not having any confidence in several people on the coaching staff … we haven’t done anything yet. I think it fits with what UCF has been for a long time if we play with a little chip.”
UCF (3-0) jumped out to 20-3 halftime lead thanks to a touchdown run and touchdown pass from Tayven Jackson. Myles Montgomery’s 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the game out of reach for the Tar Heels, who have lost both of their games against Power conference foes by double digits this season.
The Belichick era began for the Tar Heels earlier this month with a season-opening blowout loss to TCU before wins over Charlotte and Richmond got the team back on track under their first-year leader.
“First of all, he did a great job with UCF today,” Belichick said of the Tar Heels’ loss following the game. “Their team played well, certainly better than we did. There were too many problems out there to be consistent.”
South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez threw two interceptions for North Carolina before leaving the game in the second half with a leg injury.
“There are a lot of things that we need to do a better job of and they were just better than us today,” Belichick said.
Coaching reunion
Frost played for the New York Jets in the late 1990s when Belichick worked as the franchise’s defensive coordinator.
“Yeah, I was with Bill for two years. You know, I can’t say enough about how intelligent he is, and how much football he knows,” Frost said before the game. “And that was before he went on a run as a head coach. So a tremendous amount of respect for what he’s accomplished in the game.”
Frost took the UCF job for a second time during the offseason, hoping to re-create some of the magic he found with the Knights in his first run with the program, which included an undefeated season in 2017.
Read the full article here