Red zone failures lead to loss for UNC football program against Pittsburgh

Football is a sport where one or two drives can change the complete narrative of a game.

On Saturday, the UNC football program's contest against Pittsburgh was defined by two drives.

On homecoming weekend, North Carolina wasn't able to stop their losing skid, losing by 10 to the currently undefeated Pittsburgh Panthers.

Holding a 7-3 lead near the end of the first quarter, the UNC football program put together a 19-play drive that ate up 9:03 of game clock.

The result- no points.

The Tar Heels offense failed to convert on fourth down as quarterback Jacolby Criswell overthrew his receiver to turn the ball over on downs inside the red zone.

Just a minute and 33 seconds later in game time, Pittsburgh drove 91 yards down the field on five plays for a touchdown drive to take the lead.

Fast forward to later in the game, when the UNC football program found themselves back in the red zone. After not electing to take points earlier, the Tar Heels faced a fourth down and one situation on the eight yard line. Given that they converted earlier on fourth down on the drive, Mack Brown elected to take a timeout and keep the offense on the field, only to put together the most predictable play that anyone could have guessed.

Hand the ball to Omarion Hampton out of the shotgun formation.

Hampton missed his hole and was stuffed, giving the Panthers the ball back with a seven point lead to work with. Their ensuing drive resulted in a field goal, essentially putting the game out of reach.

Sure, it wasn't just those two opportunities where the Tar Heels failed to capitalize, but they are moments that you will look back on and scratch your head. If a drive lasts almost 10 minutes, there's no excuse not to put points on the board, and, given the moment, the UNC football program's offense showed once again their inability to thrive in the red zone due to mediocre play calling.

The UNC football program has now lost three consecutive games heading into next week's matchup against Georgia Tech. Although they weren't projected to win this game, it's one that you can definitely say they should've won on their home field.