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UNC's ACC Championship loss to Clemson ends with 'head-scratching' offside call

Wide receiver Ryan Switzer (3) advances into the end zone for a UNC touchdown. 

Wide receiver Ryan Switzer (3) advances into the end zone for a UNC touchdown. 

CHARLOTTE — When North Carolina’s Ryan Switzer returned to the locker room after Saturday’s 45-37 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship football game, a message on his phone confirmed what the Tar Heels already suspected.

In a group text with the UNC receivers who didn’t make the trip to Bank of America Stadium, a shared image indicated the Tar Heels should have had possession of the ball after recovering an onside kick with about a minute left. But controversy arose.

North Carolina cut the deficit to eight with 1:13 left on a touchdown reception by Switzer. After recovering the onside kick near midfield, it looked like the team had a chance to tie the game with a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion.

But a penalty flag was thrown. An offside call was made. The UNC sideline, once celebratory, erupted in frustration.

The Tigers recovered the subsequent onside kick, and they ran the clock out on the game and the Tar Heels’ shot at a spot in the College Football Playoff. Switzer returned to the locker room, where he saw the picture showing UNC hadn’t been offside and the play should have stood.

“It sucks,” the junior receiver said. “You never want to leave the game in the ref’s hands, but we did everything we were supposed to do on that play. We executed it correctly, and we recovered the ball.

“I heard the referee say he could have picked three guys who were offsides, but when you look at the replay, guys are almost a foot behind the line when the ball is kicked. So it’s head-scratching.”

For the No. 8 Tar Heels, who trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half, the penalty wasn’t the defining factor in the defeat. But the idea of a lost opportunity weighed heavily during postgame interviews.

Coach Larry Fedora saw a replay of the onside kick before talking to reporters, and he didn’t shy away from sharing his opinion when asked about the penalty.

“I had a chance to look at it, and they missed it,” said Fedora, who continued yelling at officials after Clemson (13-0) recovered the second onside kick. “They were wrong. That's all I'm going to say about it. They were wrong.”

UNC (11-2) would have possessed all three of its timeouts entering the potential game-tying drive. And after the offense scored touchdowns on three of its past four drives, Fedora was left wondering about the chance his team didn’t receive.

“I don't know if we would have gone down and scored,” he said, “but it was like a minute and eight seconds left on the clock and we should have had the ball at about midfield, and the way we had moved it the last couple series I would have felt pretty good about that.

“It isn't going to change. It doesn't matter one way or the other, so I'm going to have to swallow it like a man and just take it, and that's just the way it is.”

Despite the momentum they built just before the offside penalty, the Tar Heels struggled both offensively and defensively more so than in any other game this season, as the No. 1 Tigers snapped UNC’s 11-game winning streak.

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson — who was named the game’s MVP — scored five total touchdowns and accounted for 420 yards. He wore down the North Carolina defense, leading his team to touchdown drives of 96 and 97 yards.

UNC also never found a rhythm offensively in the first three quarters, as Clemson used a variety of blitzes and formations to pressure quarterback Marquise Williams.

“That’s the best team I’ve ever played in my entire life, I won’t lie,” said sophomore tailback Elijah Hood. “That was a very good football team, and I think we’re a good football team. So for them to come out there and earn a victory like that, I would put them up there. Yeah, they’re the No. 1 team in the country.”

North Carolina surrendered a season-high 608 yards and mustered a season-low 382 yards. But with just over a minute left in the game, UNC still had a chance to beat the top-ranked Tigers and to claim its first ACC title since 1980 as well as a place in the national semifinal.

That was until the Tar Heels recovered an onside kick, only to lose their momentum and the ball on a controversial penalty.

“At the time, we thought it was the correct call,” Switzer said. “Obviously, that wasn’t the case. So, yeah, it is frustrating. It didn’t lose us the game, but it didn’t help us win the game, either.”

@patjames24

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