Bill Belichick needed one drive to take over college football the way he did the NFL

The only thing we knew about what Bill Belichick's debut as head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels was that it would be good theater. What we certainly didn't know was whether that theater would be a comedy or tragedy. On Monday night in Chapel Hill, though, the crowd donning Carolina blue only needed one drive to come to the realization that Belichick had just started taking over college football, just like he did the NFL for a decade.

Against TCU and veteran head coach Sonny Dykes, the Tar Heels completely steam-rolled a solid Horned Frogs defense (or what was forecasted to be as such). From the moment Caleb Hood ripped off nine yards on the opening carry, to the way that he set up some deep shots with play action, it was hard for anyone not to sense the inevitability that Belichick's Patriots had to them, that they were going to crush you in time, maybe immediately or maybe eventually, but always in the end.

It took one drive consisting of seven plays and rolling 83 yards in just over five minutes before Bill Belichick announced that UNC is about to be an unstoppable force in college football, capped off with Hood taking it to the house from eight yards out to give the Heels a 7-0 lead.

Look into the depths of the unamused smirk and see thine own demise.

Bill Belichick won over UNC football fans after one drive

Of course, this is all a bit of hyperbole caught up in the excitement of seeing this. But like with any good stretch of reality, there's a kernel of truth in what we did see North Carolina do immediately in Belichick's tenure and what it could ultimately mean.

By the end of last season and the unceremonious departure of Mack Brown, so much about the Tar Heels looked disjointed, sloppy, and frankly difficult for the players to get up for week in and week out. There wasn't an inkling of that in the first drive in the Belichick era, though. The line was blocked up beautifully, Gio Lopez looked like the veteran the offense needed, and everything seemed like it was simply too much for TCU's defense to handle.

Now, it should be said that this isn't a game against a Clemson or a Florida State in terms of talent or national-level expectations. At the same time, the Horned Frogs are still a Power 4 roster with bowl game expectations as a minimum, and a roster built with 70 new additions under the new UNC regime looked that cohesive and locked in for their first drive.

Even if the Horned Frogs eventually tied it back up, it was an incredible start for UNC and one that should have everyone excited to see what the Tar Heels can become with a coach of Belichick's caliber and pedigree.

Perhaps NFL coaches have an advantage in college football

What's interesting about the early returns for Belichick in Chapel Hill is what we saw in Columbus on Saturday. A former Belichick defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, made his college debut in the same role for Ohio State. And his debut was equally as eye-popping, entirely overwhelming Arch Manning and running circles around his offensive counterpart, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Even without the Belichick ties, though, one does have to wonder if the strong NFL backgrounds of these coaches (Patricia's time in Detroit aside) has them in a unique position entering the college world. With how much of modern college football has been simplified, just consider what complex, pro-level schematics might be able to accomplish as an opposition. There's got to be something to that.

Now, we're obviously not going to get over our skis here and say everything with UNC and even Ohio State's defense will be perfect all year long. It's been one full game and less than a quarter for Patricia and Belichick, respectively. However, it's definitely something to monitor after getting some glimpses at what this could look like.