CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina. North Carolina still haven't won a game against a Power Four opponent under Bill Belichick, but on Saturday 17-16 overtime loss to No. 16 Virginia showed that the improvement he had long promised was finally happening on the field.
The Tar Heels dominated Virginia at the line of scrimmage, racking up six sacks and all but eliminating the Cavaliers' game, but a failed two-point attempt in overtime proved the difference.
“It's one thing for people to say we're getting better,” North Carolina wide receiver. Jordan Shipp said: “But now we show it. This is a top 20 team in the country that made it to the last play of the game.”
Shipp did not celebrate a moral victory. In the locker room after the game, he said he cried knowing how much work this team had put in and how close they came to their first win of the season.
But if the Heels weren't celebrating, there was plenty of reason to feel good.
North Carolina's defense held Virginia to 259 yards and didn't allow a score in the second half. The offense rushed for 359 yards – a relative pittance but still a season high – and for the second week in a row UNC had a chance to win with its final possession, a sharp improvement from four early losses.
Perhaps another sign of improvement in North Carolina was Belichick's postgame press conference, where he was in great shape.
What influenced the decision to play for two in the first overtime?
“Just trying to win the game,” he said.
Who was the QB Gio Lopezfirst target before deploying a two-point play?
“Whoever is open.”
How much did UNC need these last two games to show real progress on the field?
“I can’t put a percentage on it,” Belichick said.
He spoke passionately about the team's need to avoid disaster at the goal line. After the three-point loss to Cal and Saturday's one-point loss to Virginia, three of the Heels' turnovers in the red zone stood out, including two that were inches from the end zone.
“We have to eliminate them, there’s no doubt about that,” Belichick said. “That's problem No. 1.”
If mistakes remain an issue, UNC appears to be finding the identity it lacked earlier in the season.
Belichick suggested the team, which had 30 transfers since spring training, is a work in progress as it tries to learn more about the personnel. In the last two weeks the recipient Kobe Paisure made nine catches for 154 yards as a freshman Madrid Tucker recorded eight catches for 41 yards in his first game of the season, also on defense Melqart Abu Jaudehwho had just two sacks this season, sacked Virginia QB Chandler Morris three times.
“We've spent more time with these guys and everyone is improving,” Belichick said. “Some guys are getting more playing time or being used in different roles because we see how they can help the team be productive. She is developing. Part of it is getting players better and part of it is figuring out what guys can do to help us.”
But if there was a turning point for UNC, it might have come during the open date two weeks ago. The Heels had just lost to Clemson and there was a flurry of news, including the cancellation of a planned documentary about the team, rumors of discontent among players (including a locker room brawl) and reports that Belichick was trying to get out of his contract, a story he vehemently denied.
All that adversity brought the struggling Tar Heels together, Shipp said.
“I feel like it helped us a lot,” Shipp said. “It's always good to be the center of attention. I feel like that's what brings everyone together. You see, sometimes people try to disgrace people's names on social media and people are ready to defend them… You have to support your brother no matter what happens. There’s a lot going on in this building.”
