North Carolina football came up short in its upset bid against No. 1 Miami on Saturday, Oct. 31 — not unlike its final two onside kicks at the end of the game.
The Tar Heels trailed 38-35 with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter, needing an onside kick recovery to regain possession to potentially tie or win the game. They recovered the first attempt, but were ruled offsides, forcing a re-kick. They then recovered again on the ensuing kick — but the recovery was called back due to an illegal block from a North Carolina defender.
Miami finally recovered the onside kick on North Carolina's third attempt, sealing the win. The win improves the Hurricanes to 8-0 this season
before their top-10 showdown with Notre Dame next week in a game with massive implications.
It's an unfortunate turn of events for North Carolina, as a few mistakes were potentially the difference in it securing a huge upset win or not under second-year coach Bill Belichick.
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Both quarterbacks were outstanding, with North Carolina quarterback Billy Edwards completing 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards with four touchdowns in the loss. Miami signal caller Darian Mensah, a Heisman Trophy contender, was 22 of 29 passing for 274 yards with three touchdowns.
Skeptics still remain with Miami, which have survived late scares from North Carolina and Florida State in its last two outings, needing two overtimes to take down the Seminoles. A few late officiating decisions could be the difference between the Hurricanes going into their Notre Dame matchup with a loss or not.
A two-loss Miami team without a signature win would potentially have a tough time even reaching the CFP, given recent history. Unfortunately for North Carolina, it didn't have the opportunity to put Miami in that position.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Carolina recovered two onside kicks vs Miami. Neither counted in narrow loss
