Andy & Ari On3 - Clemson STORMS BACK to beat North Carolina | Dabo Swinney knocks off Bill Belichick in ACC play

Episode Date: September 19, 2026

In a battle between two championship football coaches, Dabo Swinney and Bill Belichick played a pivotal ACC game in week three as Clemson took on North Carolina in Memorial Stadium. What's the initial thoughts coming out of this game? How do both teams look moving ahead? Watch here as Andy & Ari recap Tigers vs Tar Heels.Our show is presented by Polymarket!New User Offer: Deposit $10, get $50 upon sign uphttps://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $20 bonus upon sign up.18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirement apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur.Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/joinSubscribe to On3!  ⬇️ youtube.com/on3sports/?sub_confirmati...Welcome to On3 | The best of college football and recruiting https://www.on3.com/Listen to Andy & Ari On3 on podcast!Spotify 🎧: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AhQ4d2m5TQu5Q2vkwtxjt?si=d9016221aa2a4427Apple 🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/andy-staples-on3/id1695325427Follow Andy & Ari On3 on X! https://x.com/AndyAriOn3Follow Andy Staples on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Andy_StaplesFollow Andy Staples on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy_staplesFollow Ari Wasserman on Twitter: https://x.com/AriWassermanFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/on3sportsFollow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/on3/Like/Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/On3Sports/Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River BaileyInterested in partnering with the show? Email [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to an instant reaction edition of Andy and Ari on three presented by Polly Market. And Ari, just like you drew it up in your column that you wrote when it was 173, North Carolina. Clemson wins, Clemson covers. Yeah. What the hell was that? I don't know what that was, Andy. I really don't know what that was. I don't know where to begin here.

Should we begin where Dabo Sweeney is running up and down the sideline like they just won the Super Bowl after the end? end of that game, or do we start with the fact that there was a two and a half hour weather delay and North Carolina had a second in goal from the seven, and if they scored a touchdown, could have an opportunity to go up by two possessions, and then run it up the middle two times for like two total yards and kick a field goal and end up losing. Like, I don't know where it goes, but what I do know is is you have one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and football history on one sideline, and arguably one of the best coaches in college football history on the other sideline, and I don't know what the hell I just watched.

like what was that was that football yeah that's it like i was thinking about this i was like do we come on here and they're like clemson's okay no clemson's not okay no and north north carolina is not okay either yeah and it's like you you have this urge like like you have this urge to like celebrate a win because winning in college football is hard i'm not a head coach i don't know what you know all the things that obviously have to go into it things that have to go right but it's like if you're a Clemson fan, you just disgusted, right? But on the other hand,

if you want to criticize the team that lost, I think there's plenty of criticism that goes around with North Carolina. They couldn't get a first down on the entire second half about the play calling was unimaginative on fourth and one on their last possession or second to last possession. That was imaginative, the fourth and one call.

And then I think they assumed because it was fourth and one that when they fake the handoff, somebody would run for free. Safety picked up the, I think it was the tight end or it was tied into the slot guy, but safety picked him up and it was, it was a tough throw in Billy Edwards

who did not make it. Yeah, that was like a blast the ACC into the sun type of game. And, you know, I don't know if you're with me on that. It was worth the two and a half hour wait, by the way.

Yeah. You know, but listen, I don't know what the main takeaway of this game is. I still think it's Davo, don't you? Like, I do.

It's like that is, you know, North Carolina, I think would be, pleased to win six or seven games. I think you can make the case that North Carolina is better than they were last year, although I thought that that was a very difficult watch if I'm a North Carolina fan, especially, you know, when you had the game in hand and gave it back. Well, think about what, but the North Carolina fans, at least during the weather delay,

they got to watch their rival NC State lose in the most heartbreaking passion possible. Yeah. Yeah. This is, this is turning out to be a pretty crazy day as I look over to the left here in Florida State's beating Bama. You know, it's one of those Saturdays, Andy, where you look forward for six months to the night game, and it's maybe one of the most contentious, toxic games in college football history, and then like everything that happens before it is banana land. Kentucky just went up 287 on Texas.

A&M's getting the doors blown off by Kentucky. I don't know. But to bring it back to this game, this is what we're reacting to. It's the thing that kind of stands out to me is you remember the news conference a few days after the 5110 lost to LSU, and you remember Dabo Sweeney saying it's one game,

You play 12 of them at the end of the year. We'll add them all up and we'll see how it is. And it's like, okay, I've seen enough. So it's one thing to not be able to stay on the same field as a team that we think might have a chance. We'll find out more later tonight, but we think might have a chance to be competitive in the national championship race. It's another thing to run up and down the sideline celebrating. And I know he's like maybe I'm giving him too much crap for that. He's a coach.

His team made a big stock. Well, he was mad that they didn't. He was mad that they didn't go down. on that last touchdown. So, like, because that was, that was bad. Like, especially after watching how NC State lost, when he's running with that ball, you're like, no, no, no, just when you got the first down, just go down, you won the game. Yeah.

And by the way, kind of an insane play call on that, that, that end around because that was a little risky, the exchange on that. So just, do you know, but do you know what stands out to me more than anything about the rant from a few weeks ago and how we can apply it to what happened here? today. And I think it's like the most concerning thing if you're a Clemson fan is if you remember during the rant when he was yelling at that reporter or ranting at the reporter. He said, what if we go 11 and 1? What are you going to ask now? What are you going to ask then? Will you ask that question again? And they said, yeah. But Davos Sweeney is one of the best coaches in college football. And it feels like he is generally,

genuinely confused behind the scenes about how good his team is. Like, why would you even ask what if we go 11 and one. Like you should know, you should have the pulse of your team. You know that's not happening. So, like, that's the thing. It's like, it makes me wonder, like, does he have the proper governor or judgment in 2026 with the way that rosters are constructed and the way that teams are supposed to look to even know when his own team isn't very good? Like that to me is what I would take away from this. That said, if you want to pile on Belichick and then beginning a year or two, you thought he'd be further along the day he was hired. Certainly, obviously, his. his son recently resigned. They had to fire their personnel director. There's a lot of things to talk about there. But like Clemson is the national championship caliber program, at least it was.

And it's starting to feel like they no longer are. Not feeling. I mean, I watched it. They no longer are. That's the thing. Like North Carolina people, you should be mad because you should have won this game. Like you should have been the better team and you weren't.

Now, what a week for Bill Belichick? because part of it, North Carolina concludes its investigation. They say there's nothing systemic that it was all isolated. Translation, we're not going to fire Bill Belichick for free. We didn't find anything that would let us fire him for cause. So if you're Bill Belichick, you're like, okay, I keep winning. This is fine. It all works.

You got to win. Games like this, we have the chance. And that would have meant a lot, Andy. Like, I know Clemson's down, but going on the road and beating Clemson to improve to 3 and O is a massive turnaround from the vibes of last season. And I don't think that anyone's under any illusions that North Carolina is going to go out and win 11 games or compete for the ACC championship game. But when you're playing a team that is getable and you've got them, I mean, you were getting them.

I mean, in the first half, it felt like for a minute he was going to blow them off the field. And you don't get it. Like, it's a missed opportunity. And I do think that it's very interesting. And like, Andy, I don't want to keep coming back to this. But we did wait for two and a half hours, two hours. during a rain delay. And then when the play resumed,

the ball was situated inside of the Clemson 10 and the Tar Heels possessed it with a two-point lead, that you would think that while they were waiting, and maybe the top process was we've been running pretty well in them all day. Let's not stop it, even though we're, like everyone's fresh coming out of there. No one's gassed anymore. You're kind of replenished. Like you would think that they would have drawn, like one of the two plays,

especially after the first run only went for two or three yards, something to catch them off guard because a touchdown there basically put you in a position to win. And for them to kick a field goal after all that time, it's like, what were you doing in there? Yeah. What was going on in there? Well, look, two and a half hour rain delay, there's not really a playbook for. No, I know, but you would think that, like, I mean, we think Bobby Petrino is one of the most gifted play callers in college football, right? Like, I was.

I mean, but we had a lot of questions about his play calls there toward the end. And again, we talked about the fourth and one after that where it looked like they would, they would be absolutely fine. Literally had enough time to design a new annexation of Puerto Rico if they wanted to. They could have like rebuilt a jet engine in there. There was a lot of time to come up with something. Like so anyway, but yeah, like my takeaway and will continue to be, I'm probably still going to write about Clemson after this because, you know,

that's, you know, my thought process. And I think the thing that people are most interested in. And I thought that that was just a, I mean, if like last week 22 to 7 went over George's Georgia Southern wasn't enough. I mean, I think Clemson has the same amount of total offensive touchdowns as year as Malachi, Tony. I have to go look that up. I think, but I think it's the same.

Well, they tacked on a couple right at the end there for you. So that added up. Yeah, I think it was three. And then they found their run game, which is what allowed them to win this game. Yeah. You know, just in at the very end, they found their run game. So, yeah, I don't know what this means the rest of the way. Clemson, by the way, after this.

The game went, you know, finished six hours after it kicked off. They got to play on Friday night in Berkeley, California. Yeah. I don't know how that's going to go. It might not go well. So, you know, we'll see how it goes. But all around just a pressing situation. And if you want, like, you can talk about the sky and how it was dark during the rain delay

and how, like, the light of the program was dimming along with it. I feel like that's your column right there. Yeah. just like do a weather lead and really do it. But, you know, Lori in the chat, Lori in the chat says, props to the Clemson fans who stuck around at the stadium.

Yeah, both of you. Yeah. Props to say like the 14 of them that were in the stadium after the game was over. To all three of you, yes. Also, you know,

and I know that like we just joked about that, Andy, but if this were 2019, how many people come back into the stadium? Everyone? Maybe not everyone. That's two and a half hours. Yeah.

Yeah. But the game was still very much in, contention. They were losing. Yeah, they were losing, but they still had a chance to win. So yes, there would have been more people. But yeah, it's just a strange. All of that was strange. Like watching Davosweeney and Bill Belichick, like if you told someone in 2019 that this would be the scenario in 2006, they would have looked at you like you'd lost your mind. They would tell you you're crazy. But you could have shown them in 2017 a, you know, you beat Bill so Belichick's North Carolina tar heels by 8.

And at that time, it would have made a little bit more sense, you know? Yeah. You've been like, oh, wow. Belichick's in North Carolina. Oh, is he winning national championships? Yeah, you beat him by 8, big win. Especially if you showed the replay of him running up the sideline. Yeah.

Well, it's going to get weirder. It's been a weird day already. It's going to get much weirder. It's very weird. And boy, very, very weird. We'll be back with more weirdness. Thank you.