A stalled goal-line drive and conservative rushing plays cost the Tar Heels a signature win, leaving the legendary coach questioning his offense’s inability to finish against Clemson.
North Carolina had the ball at Clemson’s 7-yard line on second and goal when its drive was stalled thanks to a lightning delay.
The Tar Heels were up 17-15 with 8:11 left to play in the fourth quarter. During the weather delay, UNC had an opportunity to cook up a couple of plays that would give the team a chance to make it a two-score game.
UNC offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino dialed up two rushing plays, one for three yards and the other for 0 yards. Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick opted to settle for a 22-yard field goal to put UNC up 20-15 with 6:34 remaining.
It was a killer to see North Carolina's 12-play, 60-yard drive that ate up over six minutes of clock end in a field goal.
The Tigers would take the lead via a touchdown on its next possession and didn't look back, earning a 28-20 win over North Carolina.
During his postgame news conference, Belichick was asked by a reporter if the plan was for North Carolina to run it twice coming out of the weather delay. Belichick didn't call out Petrino by name, but suggested the offense missed an opportunity.
“We missed an opportunity down there," Belichick said, via InsideCarolina. "I’ll just leave it at that.”
Belichick noted that the Tar Heels settling for field goals hurt their chances of winning, and that was the big reason why the momentum changed from the fast start.
“We ran the ball consistently," Belichick said. "We didn’t finish in the end zone a couple of times when we got down there. But again, you know, we’re playing against a good football team.”
The passing game was a struggle for UNC for most of the afternoon. Quarterback Billy Edwards went 13 of 30 passing for 135 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He was sacked twice by Clemson edge Will Heldt.
UNC had a robust run game, rushing 39 times for 214 yards and a score. But in order to win big games in the ACC, the Tar Heels have to have an effective passing attack.
