North Carolina Beat UConn 38-21 in Belichick Return to New England

North Carolina beat UConn 38-21 on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The game was head coach Bill Belichick's first return to New England since parting ways with the Patriots, and his team left with a win that moved North Carolina to 5-4.

North Carolina snapped a two-game losing streak with the result. The Tar Heels are now within one win of bowl eligibility for the first time under Belichick. UConn fell to 4-5 with the loss.

A defensive score opens the game

The only points of the first quarter came from the North Carolina defense. Linebacker Timir Hickman-Collins intercepted UConn quarterback Kalieb Osborne off a deflection and returned the ball 62 yards for a touchdown. The play gave North Carolina an early lead in a game played in the region where Belichick built his coaching career.

North Carolina scored 28 points in the first half. That total was the most the team has scored in a first half under Belichick against an FBS opponent. The first half set the shape of the afternoon, with North Carolina in control before UConn could find a sustained answer.

Edwards and Thurman close it out

Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. threw three touchdown passes for North Carolina. Two of those passes went to tight end Jelani Thurman. The second touchdown to Thurman came with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter and closed the scoring at 38-21.

Thurman's two touchdowns gave him eight for the season. That total matches the North Carolina single-season record for a tight end, set by Mike Chatham in 1979. The record-tying score came on the same play that finished the scoring for the day.

UConn turned the ball over three times in the game. The first turnover became the Hickman-Collins touchdown return, and the turnovers as a group made UConn's path back harder after North Carolina built its first-half lead.

For North Carolina, the win combined three parts that have not always come together in the same game this season: a defensive touchdown, a productive first half on offense, and a closing touchdown in the fourth quarter. For UConn, the home loss dropped the Huskies below .500 at 4-5 after a game in which they gave the ball away three times and allowed 28 first-half points.

The return to New England was the backdrop for the week. The result on the field was a 17-point win, a record-tying day for Thurman, and a North Carolina team one win away from bowl eligibility.