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North Carolina Inches Short of OT Upset of No. 16 Virginia After Gutsy Bill Belichick Call

Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels came up just short of finally securing a big win.

Tyler Lauletta

North Carolina comes up just short on a game-winning two-point conversion attempt against Virginia.
North Carolina comes up just short on a game-winning two-point conversion attempt against Virginia. / ACC Network
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Bill Belichick’s first year with North Carolina has not gone according to plan.

The team is bad, and the conversation surrounding the program might be even worse, with new reports of discontent seemingly sprouting up each week.

On the field on Saturday, UNC was almost able to put all of that talk behind them and secure their first big win of the season. Hosting No. 16 Virginia, the Tar Heels were able to take a 10–10 tie into halftime, then shut out the Cavaliers in the second half. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a score of their own either, so the game went to overtime.

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In the extra period, Belichick made the right coaching move. With the second possession of overtime, the Tar Heels scored a touchdown, and decided to go for two before it was required with a chance to win the game.

Quarterback Gio Lopez took the snap and found running back Benjamin Hall, who turned up and dove for the pylon. He wound up inches short, and the Cavaliers secured the win, 17–16.

It’s a tough break for North Carolina, as a big upset win at home against a conference rival would have gone a long way to steadying the ship in the rocky waters they currently find themselves in.

There are plenty of positive things for the Tar Heels to take away from Saturday’s game against Virginia, especially on the defensive side of the ball. But they still have yet to take home a win against an ACC opponent.

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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