The North Carolina Tar Heels had No. 1 Miami on the ropes Saturday night, but one fourth-quarter mistake changed the game. Coach Bill Belichick didn’t blame an unexpected defensive scheme for the turnover that helped the Hurricanes escape Chapel Hill.
North Carolina fell 38-35 on Oct. 31 after quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. lost a fumble with less than six minutes remaining. The ending became even more frustrating when the Tar Heels recovered two late onside kicks, only to have both erased by penalties.
Bill Belichick Explains Costly Billy Edwards Jr. Fumble Against Miami
The Hurricanes had just taken a 31-28 lead on Mark Fletcher Jr.’s 2-yard touchdown run when North Carolina got the ball back. Edwards moved the Tar Heels to their 41-yard line, but Miami’s Marquise Lightfoot stripped him from behind on second down. Justin Scott recovered at the UNC 37 with 5:33 left.
Asked whether Miami had changed its pressure to create the turnover, Belichick rejected that premise in comments published by On3’s Jack Morris.
“They didn’t mix it up. They did what they did the whole game. They ran what they ran the whole game, which is honestly what they’ve been running the whole year. It wasn’t perfect on our part. We could have done a better job executing the play. The protection was good, but you know, we just end up holding the ball too long.”
Miami cashed in six plays later when Darian Mensah found Malachi Toney for a 9-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 38-28 with 2:33 remaining. Edwards finished with 341 passing yards and a career-high four touchdowns, but that one turnover gave Miami a two-possession cushion.
Belichick had opened his news conference by praising his players’ fight while acknowledging how the fumble changed the final minutes.
“Really proud of our effort tonight, but unfortunately, came up a little bit short. Disappointing. Miami’s really good, really good on offense. They’ve got two great players and a lot of other good players. We obviously had a hard time handling, although I thought we actually defended them pretty well. But I mean, they made a couple of great plays that you don’t see too many other people make. So they’re very good, very good on offense, and one-score, back and forth game, and then they got the turnover, and then it became a two-score game, and we couldn’t get the onside kicks, so that’s pretty much the story of it. A lot of effort, a lot of toughness, a lot of mental toughness, a lot of competitiveness, and just disappointing to come up short here two weeks in a row.”
Controversial Onside Kick Penalties End North Carolina’s Upset Bid
North Carolina still wasn’t finished. Edwards found Trech Kekahuna for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:38 left, bringing the Tar Heels within three points and setting up a chaotic closing sequence.
UNC recovered the ensuing onside kick, but officials called an offside penalty on Shamar Easter, forcing a retry. The Tar Heels recovered the second attempt as well, only for an illegal blindside block by Peyton Seelmann to wipe out that recovery.
As NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reported, both recoveries were nullified. Miami finally secured the third kick and ran out the clock.
The Hurricanes improved to 8-0 while North Carolina slipped to 4-4. Belichick had already celebrated his first ranked win at UNC earlier in October, but the Tar Heels remained winless in 12 games against AP No. 1 opponents.
This one slipped away despite two chances to reclaim the ball at the end.
UNC’s Bill Belichick Has Blunt Answer on Costly Play After Controversial Miami Loss