ACC Notebook: Year Two of the Belichick Experiment Begins in Dublin
By Rory-Joe Daniels
From Saturday, there will be around 946 FBS college football games played over the next 150 days. Around 140 of those will involve a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and we’ll be on top of all of it in our new dedicated weekly ACC Notebook.
Week 0 is not short on intrigue, from Bill Belichick’s beleaguered North Carolina kicking off in Dublin to an all-conference matchup between NC State and Virginia. So, let’s set the table for the weekend and look at the biggest questions the opening slate could answer.
Belichick's Tar Heel Era Starts Season on Life Support
Any hope that things would get brighter for Bill Belichick’s tenure in Chapel Hill seems to have vanished after another tumultuous offseason. GM and long-time friend of Belichick, Michael Lombardi, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, while Bill’s son and Tar Heels defensive coordinator Steve will miss at least some of the early portion of the season due to health issues.
Couple that with another transfer portal class that has lacked the marquee names you’d expect from a programme led by the greatest NFL Head Coach of all time, and onlookers are left scratching their heads as to why Belichick can’t persuade higher-profile players to play under him. North Carolina faces the ignominy of taking part in the season’s curtain raiser against a team that bullied them last year in Belichick’s first-ever college football game as a coach. TCU were 48-14 winners in 2025, and the last thing Belichick needs is to be embarrassed on an international stage.
The bookies have North Carolina as 7.5-point underdogs, suggesting that the gap may have lessened in 12 months, but if the Horned Frogs jump out to an early lead, the narrative surrounding Belichick’s tenure could turn ugly very quickly. The Tar Heels named transfer QB Billy Edwards Jr. as their starter this week. He has experience as a starter from his Maryland days but saw his 2025 season at Wisconsin wrecked by a knee injury.
This weekend won’t define the Belichick era, but it risks putting it on a trajectory that may be difficult to stop should the result not go his way. How long will a man with Belichick’s temperament survive not being competitive? Must-watch TV indeed.
ACC Dark Horses meet in Week 0 Showdown
Outside of Miami, the ACC feels pretty open. Two teams that will both fancy a run at that second spot in the ACC Championship Game meet this weekend. Virginia, under Tony Elliott, is coming off an 11-3 season in 2025 and a 16th-place ranking at the end of the year. It was much needed, given Elliott had failed to produce a winning season since getting the job. It earned him a contract extension, and despite a lot of outgoing talent, the Cavaliers remain many pundits’ dark-horse pick in the conference.
They go up against an NC State team that has been consistent under Dave Doeren but has failed to get over the hump. Now, with experienced QB CJ Bailey at the helm, hopes are that the athletic playmaker can help the Wolfpack get their noses ahead of the likes of Virginia in the pecking order. Bailey will need to find chemistry with a new receiving corps, given he lost his four most productive pass-catchers in the offseason. NC State is a 5.5-point underdog on the road, but if Bailey is serious about boosting his NFL credentials, this would be a good game to pull out a victory.
Virginia has placed its faith in QB Beau Pribula, whose first season as a full-time starter at Missouri was curtailed by injury. He made a promising start there, having flashed potential at Penn State. It’s a tough ask to come in and immediately be productive, especially in a conference matchup early doors. While I think Virginia might have the better year, I would be by no means surprised if Bailey and Co. can pull off the upset.
Quick Hitters Around the ACC
Florida State will begin their season at home against New Mexico State. As of early in the week, the Seminoles are 31-point favourites and are predicted to face little resistance. However, Mike Norvell is in the hottest of seats as it stands, and it’s quite easy to imagine a nervy first half given the pressure FSU are under. Transfer QB Ashton Daniels arrives after spending last season at Auburn, and now he’s expected to be a big part of any turnaround. What worries me is that the ‘Noles have a history of this kind of slip-up; remember 2021 and Jacksonville State? Even if that’s too much to expect, anything but a dominant win and the clouds over this program remain.
You can place me in the pro-Andrew Luck camp. The former number 1 pick has rejuvenated interest around a Stanford Cardinal program that has become largely irrelevant in recent years. Now they boast a top-40 recruiting class and, however unlikely it seems, they could surprise a few teams this year. Their first obstacle is Hawaii. A baptism of fire for QB Davis Warren, who I am less bullish on. The Cardinal lost this fixture 23-20 last year, and despite being the 5.5-point favourite, it’s no easy out for Luck’s former teammate and now head coach Tavita Pritchard. The matchup will show us if Luck and the Cardinal are making meaningful strides forward.
Player to Watch - King Mack (NC State)
Each week I will give you one player in the conference I’m eager to see play. This week it’s Wolfpack safety King Mack. He pinballed between Penn State and Alabama, returning to Happy Valley last season, and finally established himself for the Nittany Lions in 2025. Now, he will want to prove himself as a defensive talisman given his top-100 status as a recruit. Beau Pribula, you’ve been warned.
ACC Week 0 Predictions
TCU 32-17 North Carolina
This may stay close for a half as the teams feel each other out, but I can’t see things getting easier for Belichick after what’s been a tumultuous offseason.
NC State 26-23 Virginia
I predict this could be the start of the CJ Bailey hype machine. NC State wins a close one, but Bailey grabs the national limelight in Week 0.
Hawai’i 22-27 Stanford
Another tight battle, but I think Stanford can start to look more competitive this year, and it has to start in this fixture. Warren plays the game-manager role here to get the Cardinal over the line.
New Mexico State 17-30 Florida State
A win, but probably not enough to stave off media criticism of Norvell. I can imagine the hand-wringing when the ‘Noles are down 14-10 at halftime, only to outlast New Mexico State in the end.
Rory-Joe DanIELS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
AS A LONG-SUFFERING CINCINNATI BENGALS FAN, RORY HAS FOLLOWED THE NFL FOR OVER 20 YEARS. HIS PASSION FOR THE DRAFT LED HIM TO GET ENTANGLED WITH COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND HE HAS BEEN WRITING ABOUT PROSPECTS AND THE CFB LANDSCAPE EVER SINCE.