UNC Football: Tar Heels fall short against Clemson

The UNC football program fell short against Clemson but there was a lot to build on moving forward and we could be headed for a rematch in Charlotte.

The North Carolina Tar Heels hung with No. 1 Clemson for the entire game on Saturday and they even had a shot to win it.

After Javonte Williams rumbled into the end zone from three-yards out to cut Clemson’s lead to 21-20 late in the fourth quarter, Mack Brown sent his offense back out on the field to attempt the two-point conversion. From there, quarterback Sam Howell ran the triple option but was met before he could really turn up field and Clemson survived with the stop, topping the Tar Heels 21-20 for their 20th consecutive win.

Still, even with the loss the Tar Heels showed that this program is heading in the right direction as they were able to go toe-to-toe with the best program in the country and the favorite to win it all this season.  While you may question the decision to go for two, Brown made the right choice. The play call however could be questioned. With the No. 1 team on the ropes and the chance to go for the juglar, Brown took that opportunity even though he came up short in the end.

Brown talked about his decision following the game via Inside Carolina:

"“My job is to decide what is the best chance for our team to win, and we were tired,” Brown said. “We had two or three guys limping on the series before on defense. They’ve got a lot of depth. They’ve got more confidence than we’ve got. I’ve always had the theory that the longer the game goes, the best team wins, and they have the best team. So, my thought was, ‘Go now. They’ve got momentum. They’re tired. They’re on the field.’ That was the best chance for us to win the game. If I had to do it again, I’d do it. I’d run a different play since that one didn’t work.”"

The Tar Heels got the scoring started early again in this one as Howell found Dyami Brown for the first touchdown of the game. From there, UNC would lead or be tied with Clemson for most of the game until the final minutes.

It was the first touchdown Clemson had given up all season long in the first quarter.

Clemson would answer back with a touchdown early in the second quarter to make it 7-7. But after a UNC three-and-out, Clemson fumbled inside their own territory setting up UNC for another short field. Howell and the offense took advantage as he found Beau Corrales for a touchdown.

With UNC leading 14-7, the Tar Heels had the chance to hold that going into halftime. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had other ideas, however. The sophomore marched Clemson right down the field and then took it in himself on a third down run to tie the game again.

Both team’s defenses showed up in the second half, forcing stops until Clemson pulled ahead with 9:51 left on a touchdown pass from Lawrence. But back battled UNC as Howell gave his team one last chance to win it before they fell short.

Howell finished the game 15-of-27 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The Tar Heels didn’t turn it over once as a team, a big reason why they were able to hang in there. They also gave Clemson a steady dose of the run game.

Michael Carter led the way on the ground with 99 rushing yards on 16 carries while Williams had 49 on 10 carries.

For the Tar Heels, the loss may sting and drops them to 1-1 in conference play but there is a long way to go. This should be used as a confidence builder for this program as brighter days are ahead.

Those could come sooner than we think too as UNC will take on Georgia Tech who is 1-3 overall so far this season. From there they will have a bye before traveling to face a struggling Virginia Tech team. If UNC wants their rematch with Clemson, they are going to have to start winning some conference games. And boy would it be fun to see these two teams once again.

For more on the Tar Heels, please check back with Keeping It Heel.