North Carolina football nearly went from a scandal-plagued curiosity to a national contender on Saturday before a valiant comeback effort fell short against third-ranked Notre Dame in Chapel Hill.

Coach Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels (2-2) were on the verge of going down 28-7 when they pulled off a goal-line stand against the Fighting Irish in the second quarter. UNC’s offense responded with a long touchdown drive before the Tar Heels special teams opened the second half with a 98-yard kickoff return for another score. 

And with that, the Notre Dame lead was cut to 21-20.

Unfortunately for the Heels fans in Chapel Hill, including Belichick’s 25-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson, the Irish would figure things out en route to a 37-26 road win. Quarterback CJ Carr threw for four touchdowns and ran for another for the Fighting Irish, who ran for a season-best 241 yards to remain 5-0. 

The Tar Heels are still without a single win over a ranked opponent in the Belichick era.  

‘We were certainly competitive, we missed some opportunities,’ Belichick said after falling short of his first signature win since joining the Tar Heels last season. ‘We just need to do a better job of coaching and playing, take advantage of those opportunities. They’re a good team; it’s not like anything was easy today.’

Coach Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels (2-2) were on the verge of going down 28-7 when they managed to pull off a goal-line stand against the Fighting Irish in the second quarter

Jordon Hudson pets Rameses, the North Carolina mascot, during the first half on Saturday

Jordon Hudson has yet to see Belichick’s UNC Tar Heels beat a ranked opponent 

North Carolina has now lost two straight, including last week’s 28-20 collapse against ACC rival, Clemson.

Hudson did steal some of the spotlight on Saturday while wearing a silky pink outfit on the UNC sidelines, which is hardly an unwelcome distraction for a scandalized football program. Investigators looking into team conduct have examined a range of allegations tied to potential drug use, inappropriate relationships and NCAA rule violations.

Last month, Belichick’s son and defensive coordinator Steve resigned from the program amid a mysterious medical leave. His departure followed that of long-time Belichick confidant and UNC general manager, Mike Lombardi.

According to UNC’s September statement, the school’s investigation ‘determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina’s values and standards of conduct.’ The school didn’t reveal specifics of those actions found by the review, nor had it discussed details of the investigation launched in late July.

‘The investigation also found that these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure,’ the school said in a statement that also announced a player suspension following a September traffic stop.

North Carolina tight end Shamar Easter (84) celebrates with the fans after a first-half TD

North Carolina quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) reacts after getting sacked by Notre Dame

In last month’s interview with The Associated Press, The Assembly and WRAL of Raleigh, lead investigator Nate Huff along with UNC general counsel Paul Newton refused to detail any findings or reveal conduct by specific individuals. But Huff – an attorney and former federal prosecutor – did confirm his team looked into allegations tied to drugs, relationships and NCAA issues.

‘This was not a circumstance where we were targeting any individual person or any specific people,’ Huff said. ‘We were looking program-wide – football program-wide.’

Newton said the probe launched ‘based on the concerns raised by a limited number of former employees.’

‘We took those concerns seriously,’ he said.

That led the Office of University Counsel to hire Huff as independent counsel to run the investigation, which included more than 60 interviews.

‘At no point did I feel like the university counsel’s office or university leadership or athletics leadership was limiting or steering me,’ Huff said. ‘I felt they were the people to whom I would go to get the access I needed to get to the bottom of all this. And that was my experience.

‘So my team and I were able to immerse ourselves in Carolina football and its compliance and its culture, and in these allegations.’

Mike Lombardi, a long-time Belichick confidant, resigned as UNC’s general manager 

Huff said investigators told interviewees that ‘just because we’re asking about something doesn’t mean we think that it happened or that it’s real. It just means it’s part of our job.’

Interviewees included the 74-year-old Bill Belichick, who won those six Super Bowl titles before making his NFL-to-college transition in December 2024 with Lombardi as an immediate hire. The probe ran throughout preseason camp, then continued as the Tar Heels beat TCU and East Tennessee State to start Belichick’s second season.

‘He made his whole staff and himself available to me during football season,’ Huff said. ‘And these coaches that I talked to, people that I talked to in that building, the only thing they were asking me was, ‘When do you need me?’ and ‘Where do you need me to be?’

‘So I was able to investigate football in the middle of football season fully. And I had access to people, even people like coach Bill Belichick.’

In Belichick’s first news conference after Lombardi’s Sept. 3 resignation, he faced questions that largely dealt nothing with football. Belichick said he believes his program ‘totally’ has an atmosphere of following rules, saying: ‘Obviously everybody’s responsible, including me, for doing things properly. And we intend to do that.’

Steve Belichick resigned from the program as it faced an investigation over alleged drug use

That same day, UNC vice chancellor for communications Dean Stoyer – who released Thursday’s statement – said the school ‘continues to support Bill Belichick and the Carolina football program.’

The school announced its probe in late July in the days after putting Lombardi on paid administrative leave. The same day Lombardi resigned, WRAL of Raleigh cited anonymous sources in reporting the type of questions asked of some interviewees, with some focusing on Steve Belichick.

Additionally, Lombardi attorney Tom Mars told The Athletic that the school’s probe now included questions into potential ‘inappropriate’ relationships that didn’t involve his client. Mars didn’t return a call or email from the AP regarding that comment at the time.

UNC said that ‘all necessary corrective actions are now underway’ and that it considers the investigation to be ‘resolved.’ While declining to discuss specific findings, Huff said the school’s corrective steps ‘are likely to include or address issues related to relationships.’

‘The ‘risk’ always of bringing an investigation to ‘conclusion’ is that there are going to be those that will say, ‘Oh, you didn’t do enough. You should’ve looked at something else,” Newton said. ‘The safe harbor there is that we’re always open to anyone who wants to express new allegations, concerns, whatever. And if they’re credible, we’ll take proper corrective actions in the future. So this door is essentially never closed.’

The Tar Heels travel to Pittsburgh next week for Saturday’s game against the Panthers.