Eric Ebron got so close and yelled so loudly that his voice was picked up by the referee’s microphone.
His hands were extended out to his sides, gesticulating wildly to express his disbelief and his frustration.
But the referee was undeterred, declaring calmly that North Carolina would be charged with a delay of game call.
The flag moved the Tar Heels from third and 1 on their own 49 to third and 5, and it initiated a downward spiral that sent UNC (1-5, 0-3 ACC) plummeting from a 23-20 lead with about six minutes left Thursday night to a gut-punching, morale-sapping 27-23 loss at the hands of No. 10 Miami.
“That shouldn’t have happened,” Ebron said. “I mean, there’s nothing that we can do. The referees felt like they did their job, but we felt as if that play happens, maybe the game changes. Maybe it doesn’t. But it’s not as much frustration as losing the game because of that one play.”
The UNC offense was making a substitution. Quarterback Marquise Williams, who saw more reps than usual Thursday, came off the field in favor of starter Bryn Renner. The Tar Heels set up a new package, scrambled to get ready for an off-tackle run, but the referee didn’t remove his hand from the ball until there was one second left on the play clock, keeping UNC from getting off the snap.
By rule, an offense has to allow the opposing defense three seconds to make its own substitution, which officials used as the reasoning for preventing the snap.
“I thought there was a lot more than three seconds on the clock when we substituted,” coach Larry Fedora said. “I thought there was well over that.
“I didn’t think they were going to hold it up all the way to the end, but … that’s my fault, I should have called a timeout — it’s my responsibility.”
