TCU’s Sonny Dykes Made His Thoughts Extremely Clear On Facing Bill Belichick In Week 1

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By J.C. Shelton | Last updated May 29, 2025 8:11 PM ET

Head coach Sonny Dykes and TCU have the opportunity to welcome new North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick to college football when kicking off the 2025 season.

Much has been made about Belichick's move from a legendary NFL coaching career to the college ranks. The NFL's second all-time winningest head coach had previously never held a college coaching role.

The Week 1 matchup between TCU and UNC won't be the first time Dykes and the Horned Frogs have been on the opposing side of an anticipated debut. Colorado's Deion Sanders also made his Power Four debut against TCU to open the 2023 season.

And that game didn't go as planned for Dykes, as the Buffaloes pulled off a 45-42 win on the road.

Dykes was asked by ESPN's Andrea Adelson about the happenstance of playing both Sanders and Belichick for their debuts.

"Not sure how we pulled that off," he quipped. "It's called bad scheduling."

TCU is hoping for a different outcome when it comes to Belichick's debut, which will be held in UNC's Kenan Stadium on Sept. 1.

"Hopefully we'll fare better than we did last time," Dykes said. "We didn't play well last time, but we've got a second chance."

There is a lot of uncertainty around North Carolina's largely new roster, forcing Dykes and his staff to evaluate multiple transfer players by their tape with previous teams.

The Tar Heels lost 51 players from the 2024 team that finished 6-7 under head coach Mack Brown. Belichick and his staff have answered by adding 41 transfers of their own.

"We're in the process of trying to look at all those players, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and figure out how to attack the schemes and go play a big game," Dykes said.

Things haven't come easy for the Horned Frogs since getting boat raced by Georgia, 65-7, in the 2022 national championship game. TCU followed that 13-2 finish up with a disappointing 5-7 season before bouncing back with a 9-4 season in 2024.

The Horned Frogs could get off to a big start in 2025 with a non-conference victory over Belichick's new-look Tar Heels.

"It's a big game for our program. It's a big day for the Big 12, and we certainly need to get off to a good start," Dykes said.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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