Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney. Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Can Clemson turn season around by beating Bill Belichick, UNC?

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 6:30 PM ET

Dabo Swinney still believes in this Clemson Tigers team. This is even though the Tigers are 1-3 and playing some of the worst football we've seen out of the program since Swinney took over.

Clemson lost to No. 13 LSU to start the season, which is nothing to be ashamed about. It was a huge college football matchup, and someone had to walk away a loser.

The Tigers bounced back against Troy in Week 2, but have since suffered two straight losses. These weren't against a traditional big-time program, either.

Georgia Tech beat the Tigers, 24-21, and then Syracuse put a whoopin' on them to the tune of a 34-21 Orange win.

Last weekend's bye came at a great time for Swinney because he absolutely needed an opportunity to have his program step away from the grind for a minute and regroup.

Now that they have regrouped, and they're looking ahead to a game against Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels this weekend, Swinney is talking like he believes that can be the start of a run for the Tigers.

“We got eight games,” he said in a recent news conference (h/t On3). “We got a long way to go. Why can’t we be the hottest team in America? Why not? There ain’t no quit. We’ve got a long way to go. We’re just getting to October. September was, oh boy, I want to forget that one. It was a rough start, but we’ve got a long way to go."

Dabo Swinney and Clemson can't lose to Bill Belichick and North Carolina

If Clemson is looking for an opportunity to get back on track, then this game against UNC couldn't come at a better time.

Sure, Belichick is a legendary NFL head coach, but his short time in college football has been rocky, to say the least. His Tar Heels are 2-2 with their wins coming against Charlotte and Richmond.

The two legitimate opponents they played, Georgia Tech and UCF, beat the Tar Heels by a combined score of 82-23.

Swinney is talking the talk, but can he walk the walk with this Clemson team?

One thing is for certain: This is a must-win game for the Tigers.

Going into North Carolina and losing to Belichick's first attempt at building a college football team would be an embarrassment for Clemson.

Losing to Syracuse was bad enough, but back-to-back losses to the Orange and Tar Heels would be something that this team likely couldn't come back from.

Swinney believes there's still a chance for his team to make something of this 2025 season moving forward, but Clemson can't get caught looking ahead. The Tigers must beat Belichick and UNC.

“There’s a lot of opportunity out there for everybody. So let’s go compete our butts off and see if we can win a game and just create a little bit of momentum," Swinney said.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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