UNC’s Near-Upset of No. 1 Miami Ends on Strip-Sack, 38-35

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina came within a handful of plays of the biggest upset of the college football season. Instead, the Tar Heels are 4-4.

Top-ranked Miami survived a 38-35 scare at Kenan Stadium on Saturday, staying undefeated at 8-0 overall and 6-0 in ACC play behind 274 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Darian Mensah. UNC, coached by Bill Belichick, matched the Hurricanes score for score deep into the fourth quarter before a strip-sack ended its last realistic chance.

Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 341 yards on 28-of-34 passing with four touchdowns for the Tar Heels, repeatedly answering Miami scoring drives. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Shipp in the third quarter gave UNC its first lead at 21-17.

Miami reclaimed the lead on an 80-yard drive, and the teams traded scores from there. Edwards capped a 16-play, 75-yard march with Demon June’s one-yard touchdown run, but Mark Fletcher Jr. put the Hurricanes back in front on a two-yard run with 7:49 remaining.

The decisive sequence came when Marquise Lightfoot strip-sacked Edwards and Miami recovered at the UNC 37. Mensah found Malachi Toney for a nine-yard touchdown and a 10-point cushion with 2:33 left.

UNC answered with Edwards’ fourth touchdown pass with 1:38 to play, and the Tar Heels twice recovered onside kicks only to have both negated by penalties — first offsides, then a player hitting a Miami recoverer before the ball crossed 10 yards. Miami recovered the third attempt and ran out the clock.

The Numbers Behind the Story

Edwards’ 341 yards and four touchdowns came against a Miami defense that had not allowed an opponent to stay within one score this late. Mensah’s 274 passing yards plus 36 rushing yards kept the Hurricanes efficient when they needed it. Toney caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns; Fletcher scored three total touchdowns.

UNC’s offensive line protected Edwards well enough for a completion rate above 82 percent, but the strip-sack was the one pressure that mattered. The Tar Heels out-gained Miami for much of the afternoon and still lost the only statistic that counts.

Who Wins and Who Loses

Miami keeps its College Football Playoff résumé unblemished, though a one-score escape against a .500 team will not impress selection committee members looking at margin. UNC loses a game it nearly stole, but the performance against the No. 1 team in the country is the strongest evidence yet that Belichick’s program can compete with the ACC’s best.

For Belichick, the game also briefly quieted off-field questions. Earlier in the day, TMZ reported that the 74-year-old coach and 25-year-old Jordon Hudson had ended their romantic relationship more than a year ago and remain “committed to their business partnerships” and “close friends.” Belichick did not address it publicly, and the Tar Heels played as if the noise did not exist.

What Happens Next

Miami returns to ACC play with its undefeated record intact and little room for error in the conference race. UNC, at 4-4, needs two wins in its final four games to reach bowl eligibility — a modest goal that looked far less certain before Saturday.

The Tar Heels did not get the upset. They did get proof they belong on the same field as the top team in the land. Whether that translates into wins is now the question Belichick has to answer.