Bill Belichick has classic response to Duke’s fake FG

North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick took six losses in his collegiate coaching debut. Saturday became defeat No. 7 — and his first loss against Duke. Although the talk of postgame became his response to a fake field goal the Blue Devils pulled off.

With 2:26 left, Duke refused to settle for three points. Todd Pelino instead brilliantly executes the fake FG run for the score, sealing the rivalry win at Chapel Hill.

Manny Diaz and his coaching staff end up outsmarting, arguably, the smartest head coach ever in Belichick. The first-year UNC head coach was indeed asked about that special teams fake.

“There’s always a chance they’d fake it,” Belichick said when asked if there was a chance Duke would call that play.

But Belichick gave this five-word answer on why the play went wrong — in a typical succinct Belichick fashion.

“We didn’t have it covered,” Belichick said.

Bill Belichick praises winning QB in Duke vs. North Carolina

Belichick game planned against countless of dual-threat passers during his illustrious NFL coaching run. But Darian Mensah of Duke became his latest challenge.

Mensah showed strong moxie during his own North Carolina versus Duke debut — as he came over via the portal. The native of San Luis Obispo, Ca., kept pivotal drives alive for the Blue Devils, who went 5-of-6 during fourth down scenarios. Mensah even completed a 27-yard pass on fourth-and-three during the first quarter.

“Mensah is a good player, and he got us a couple times on that third or fourth down. We got him some,” Belichick told reporters.

He completed 20-of-33 passing for 175 yards and added 27 rushing yards against a Belichick-led defense. Mensah gets Duke to official clinch bowl eligibility.

Belichick, meanwhile, won't be going bowling as his Tar Heels took their seventh loss of the season. He's guaranteed to finish below .500 in what became one of his most scrutinized coaching seasons to date for both professional and personal reasons.