Bill Belichick's message after first ranked win at UNC was one Patriots fans will recognize

Who said Bill Belichick doesn't have a sense of humor? In fact, he's apparently got a great sense of utilizing callbacks from his career's own meme-worthy moments. After North Carolina pulled off a massive 21-17 win over No. 25 Pittsburgh on Saturday, Belichick was asked by ESPN's Quint Kessenich what was next for his program after the "breakthrough" victory. With a cheeky grin on his face, Belichick's answer was a nod to one of his most famous quotes.

"Yeah, we'll just get ready for Duke," he said. Followers of the eight-time Super Bowl winner should immediately recognize that quip as referencing his famous "We're on to Cincinnati" quote following a 2014 New England Patriots loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The major difference between the two lines is Belichick's intended humor this time around. New England had been blown out 41-14 and he decided to answer every question surrounding QB Tom Brady's age and the team's talent with that exact response. Saturday flipped the script and he knew exactly what he was doing when he dropped that banger.

Bill Belichick and North Carolina look to turn a corner after upset over Pittsburgh

Belichick and the now 3-2 Tar Heels certainly do have to get ready for their rivalry game in Durham. The Duke Blue Devils are 4-1 and coming off a brutal last-minute loss at Georgia Tech. If Saturday was any indication of Carolina's potential, the Week 6 battle could be an entertaining toss up.

Saturday's win was held at Acrisure Stadium, home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. Belichick has had significant success in that building, now owning a 9-5 record across his career. He also improved to 10-3 as a head coach or defensive coordinator playing against quarterbacks making their first career start against his teams (NFL or FBS). Pittsburgh started senior transfer QB Holden Geriner in Saturday's loss.

So, you can chalk up the win to a lot of things lining up for Belichick but the team showed vast improvements with the limited roster talent he managed to muster this year. That being said, the Duke game will be a serious test of whether his coaching has actually turned a serious corner in the college game. A win would get the program more than a single game over .500 for the first time since Belichick arrived in Chapel Hill.

Let's not forget, North Carolina had Clemson on the ropes in Week 2. If the Tar Heels don't cough up a 17-6 halftime lead and finish the job when it was 20-15 in the fourth quarter, Belichick would be leading a 4-1 football team into a massive rivalry game.

Even if the Tar Heels are going to continue to play inconsistently, having Belichick at the helm makes them an ACC spoiler candidate at the very least. Getting the Belichick regime its first ranked win could also be the catalyst it needed to make noise in a conference that shouldn't be too eager to crown the Miami Hurricanes as champions so early.

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