CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Miami continued to finish drives in the end zone, just as it has all season in leading a high-scoring offense to an undefeated record and No. 1 ranking.
Defense? It was a struggle, until Marquise Lightfoot came up with the play that ultimately helped the Hurricanes avoid an earthquake.
“All night,” quarterback Darian Mensah said, “they were just waiting for this play to happen.”
Mark Fletcher Jr. scored the go-ahead run for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth down with 7:49 left, then Lightfoot forced a fumble on the ensuing possession that ultimately helped the Hurricanes break free to beat North Carolina 38-35 on Saturday night.
That ultimately helped the Hurricanes advance to next week’s showpiece road game against No. 5 Notre Dame, but only after watching their defense struggle to get off the field the rest of the way.
The Hurricanes (8-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) got their latest performance from the nation’s best offense, from Fletcher accounting for three touchdowns to the Mensah-Malachi Toney connection hitting twice for touchdowns. Miami needed that to surprisingly keep pace with the Tar Heels (4-4, 2-3), who continued to move the chains and maintain drives to take a surprising 28-24 lead on Demon June’s 1-yard run with 11:46 to play.
But after Fletcher’s go-ahead run, Lightfoot and Justin Scott teamed up for the critical stop, Lightfoot stripping Billy Edwards Jr. from behind as he tried to throw, and Scott recovering the fumble with 5:33 left.
“He decided to make a second decision, hit the ball, hold it a little longer,” Lightfoot said, “so I was able to make it happen.”
It was part of what turned into a decisive sequence. The Miami offense then expanded the lead, getting a terrific individual effort on Elija Lofton’s leap on a would-be tackler on a catch to move the chains and eventually setting up Mensah’s 9-yard strike to Toney to make it 38-28 with 2:33 left.
“In games like this, it’s really important — like we tell our players — you keep playing,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “Because you don’t know what play is going to turn everything around. And certainly the fumble was a massive turnover that shifted the momentum of the game.”
This one against the team led by NFL coaching icon Bill Belichick went down to the final minute, with Miami having to recover an onside kick — after North Carolina had two recoveries negated by penalties — before finally being able to get to its knees.
“We knew they were up for the challenge,” said Fletcher, whose two rushing scores allowed him to tie the program’s career TD mark.
North Carolina fell to 0-12 against No. 1 ranked teams.
Edwards threw for a season-high 341 yards, with four touchdowns for UNC, two of which went to tight end Jelani Thurman. Edwards and the offense spent the entire night in motion, with the line opening lanes and receivers finding wide spaces for Edwards to target.
As the game progressed, the Tar Heels continued to maintain drives, including a 16-play TD drive lasting nearly 8 1/2 minutes, which kept them within reach of an upset deep in the fourth quarter.
“Obviously, with a team like Miami, it’s going to come down to critical plays, critical moments,” said Edwards, who later noted, “It’s not about moral victories.”
Takeaways
Miami: The defensive performance was a worrying way to approach the fight against the Fighting Irish, with Miami giving up its highest total in regulation this year.
“I thought there were some weak spots in our coverage where our zone drops weren’t as good, as detailed,” Cristobal said.
“I didn’t think we were rushing the ball like we did, we were usually running toward the ball and getting a lot of hats on it. That didn’t happen. We were very sporadic in the way we tackled. And then sometimes we just got beat in man coverage, it’s as simple as that.”
UNC: The Tar Heels had lost momentum after back-to-back wins at then No. 1 seed. 25 Pitt and Duke losing at home in overtime last week to a Syracuse team that was 0-4 in the ACC. The Tar Heels responded with a performance few could have expected against the Hurricanes.
“A lot of effort, a lot of toughness, a lot of mental toughness, a lot of competitiveness,” Belichick said. “It’s just disappointing to fail here two weeks in a row.”
To be continued
Miami: The Hurricanes’ game at Notre Dame next Saturday is a rematch of last year’s game that ultimately tipped the Hurricanes’ College Football Playoff bid over the Irish.
UNC: The Tar Heels leave ACC play to travel to UConn next Saturday.
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