Bill Belichick Talks 1st ACC Win with UNC vs. Syracuse, 'Good to Be Back on Track'

North Carolina appeared to make progress during its most recent two losses, and it finally got over the hump and won a conference game during Bill Belichick's first season as head coach on Friday.

"The guys just keep grinding," Belichick told ESPN's Paul Carcaterra after the 27-10 win over Syracuse (h/t Nick Schultz of On 3). "I thought our conditioning really helped us. We were able to take over in the fourth quarter and kind of ran the ball. When they knew we were gonna run it, we knew we were gonna run it. That was encouraging.

"Defensively, got a great effort, giving up three points. It was just a good team win. Good to be back on track."

UNC Dominates Syracuse

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The Tar Heels looked like a completely different team than the one that lost to TCU, UCF and Clemson by a combined 87 points earlier in the season. It was a continuation of the progress they made with a 21-18 road loss to California and a 17-16 overtime loss to No. 15 Virginia.

A late fumble against California and a failed two-point conversion against Virginia proved to be the difference in those games, but North Carolina made sure Friday's win didn't come down to a single play.

It seized control in the second half with three touchdowns, two of which came from Gio Lopez passes. The defense also held the Orange scoreless after intermission and dominated the majority of the game while holding quarterback Joseph Filardi to 4-of-18 passing for 39 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Syracuse also averaged just 3.4 yards per rush as the visitors controlled the line of scrimmage.

While Belichick surely didn't want to start his career as a college coach with a 3-5 overall record and 1-3 mark in the ACC, the progress has been clear in recent weeks for the Tar Heels.

If it continues, they might just make a bowl game after all.