Bill Belichick staves off hot seat with road win, but star UNC player makes headlines for the wrong reason

Heading into the 2026 college football season, Bill Belichick was squarely on the hot seat. A chaotic tenure so far was only made worse when his good friend, UNC GM Michael Lombardi , was suspended by the program. Winning games can solve anything, though, and Belichick picked up a crucial win this weekend.

His North Carolina Tar Heels took down No. 25 Pittsburgh on the road, bouncing back in a big way from two close losses to Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame . But even when things go right for Belichick, something tends to go wrong - and Saturday was no exception.

Kaleb Cost injures knee then hits lady with helmet in stands

Early in the first quarter of the game between UNC and Pitt, Tar Heels defensive back Kaleb Cost successfully defended a deep pass into his own end zone. Given that Pitt's stadium has very little space between the back of the end zone and the stands, Cost slammed into a wall with minimal padding .

Cost looked to have hurt his knee , although official word on his injury hasn't come through yet. He had to exit the game, but while he was in pain on the ground, he threw his helmet into the stands out of frustration. The helmet ended up hitting a woman , who was tended to be medical personnel.

The woman didn't appear to be seriously hurt, but it was an unfortunate situation all-around. Cost is looking at an extended time off the field, most likely, so his reaction was certainly fueled by high-running emotions.