The Tar Heels had roughly two and a half hours to sit and think about what could potentially have been a program-defining win.
UNC had Clemson on the ropes, just a few plays away from its first win against the Tigers since 2010, and its first win in Death Valley since 2001. With a 2nd-and-goal opportunity and leading 17-15 with 8:11 left, a touchdown would have made things very difficult for fresh-faced quarterback Tait Reynolds and Clemson.
Instead, practically every play from the resumption of the game after a weather delay onward went the Tigers’ way. Clemson forced UNC to settle for a short field goal, then engineered a lightning-quick touchdown drive to take the lead for the first time all game. Despite some questionable late-game management that allowed Carolina two drives to try and salvage a result, Clemson came out on top once again.
Just as the Tigers for years could not seem to get past their own shortcomings in the Dean Smith Center, it seems the Tar Heels are similarly snakebit whenever they see that orange Tiger paw on the football field. However good or bad Clemson is in any given season, it can still get the job done against Carolina.
But running back Ben Hall, only in his second season with UNC after transferring from Michigan, wasn’t ready to make any prognostications of doom for the Tar Heels afterward. Coming off a career-best performance which saw him score a touchdown and total 145 yards of offense, Hall maintained that the team would use Saturday’s loss for good.
“We just gotta get back to work,” Hall said. “We’ll be alright. We’re a good team. I think we showed we can compete on any level. I have faith in my guys. Everything will be alright. Any frustration, we’ll just work through it in practice and continue to get better.”
Even despite his strong statline, it would be hard for someone like Hall not to be frustrated after a particularly questionable playcalling decision late in the game. Facing a 4th-and-1 at midfield and trailing 21-20, UNC elected not to utilize its rushing attack which had been averaging 5.5 yards per carry, but instead had quarterback Billy Edwards try a deep pass to tight end Jelani Thurman. The pass, like 16 of Edwards’ other 30 attempts on the day, fell incomplete.
Hall declined to point any fingers at the decision makers, instead putting the onus on himself.
“Gotta start coming up with seven [points] instead of three,” he said. “Me personally, I need to do a better job of getting us in that end zone. We’ll just keep working, man. We’ll be alright.”
Hall’s positive outlook aside, it’s worth wondering when UNC will have as golden an opportunity to beat Clemson again. The Tigers for years have operated on a higher plane than the Tar Heels in football, and even star-studded Carolina rosters have wilted when seeing that orange paw. The weather delay – which was triggered by a nearby lightning strike but which came as Memorial Stadium was still dry – and the ensuing 8:11 will no doubt live in UNC football infamy.
Bill Belichick, he of the famous “We’re on to Cincinnati” press conference after a humiliating loss on Monday Night Football with the Patriots, made sure to emphasize after Saturday’s game that the season was not over for the Tar Heels.
“In the last eight minutes of the game, we missed a couple opportunities on offense and missed some tackles on defense,” Belichick said. “They had a couple long runs that hurt us. Disappointing end, but we’ve just gotta keep working and keep getting better, which we are.”
Maybe UNC is getting better, baby step by baby step. But in an era of college football where Indiana can go from doormat to champion in two years, baby steps simply aren’t enough for envious fanbases and athletic departments across the country.
And speaking of Indiana, some of that state’s residents will be making a visit to Chapel Hill next weekend to see just how much the Tar Heels have improved.
Look out, Carolina. Here come the Irish.
Featured image via Associated Press/Jacob Kupferman
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