Before Clemson, take a look at UNC football's biggest upsets of the last 50 years

As North Carolina’s matchup with No. 1 Clemson approaches, most betting lines have labeled Clemson somewhere in the neighborhood of 27-point favorites to beat the Tar Heels. That’s the largest underdog point spread for UNC since 2004, when Florida State was a 28.5-point favorite.

Before the Tar Heels try for a historic upset, here's a look at four of UNC’s most impressive upset wins from the last 50 years.

UNC 33, #10 N.C. State 14 – Oct. 19, 1974

North Carolina had a 3-2 record and a defense that finished the year ranked No. 89 when it hosted No. 10 N.C. State in Chapel Hill during the 1974 season.

The Wolfpack entered the matchup riding a 14-game ACC win streak. That was immediately in jeopardy, though, once the Tar Heels opened the game with three touchdowns in the first quarter.

Running back Mike Voight scored one of UNC’s early touchdowns with a 36-yard run down the left side of the field. Voight and James Betterson were a dominant duo in North Carolina’s backfield that season, both finishing the year with over 1,000 rushing yards.

UNC 26, #8 Texas 10 – Dec. 25, 1982

If you think UNC has been impressive in fourth quarters this season, then wait until you hear about the 1982 Sun Bowl.

Entering the final quarter, North Carolina was facing a 10-3 deficit to No. 8 Texas before a well-rounded effort from the offense, defense and special teams sealed the comeback win for the Tar Heels.

UNC rattled off 23 unanswered points thanks to a trifecta of field goals, a rushing touchdown from the 3-yard line by Ethan Horton and a fumble recovery in Texas’s end zone by the North Carolina defense.

UNC 22, #9 UVA 17 – Oct. 7, 1995

In one of Leon Johnson’s best games in a UNC jersey, the high school quarterback-turned-running back was able to carry the Tar Heels to victory in both the run and pass game.

Johnson ran in a touchdown in the first quarter, and on a trick play threw a 19-yard pass to Marcus Wall during the second quarter.

Virginia started the fourth quarter with a 32-yard field goal to take a 17-16 lead into the final minutes of the game, but Johnson was able to lead North Carolina to the UVA 25-yard line, then convert on a critical 4th-and-1 to set UNC up for a 1st-and-goal.

From there, Johnson rushed into the end zone untouched for the game-winning score to secure the upset for the Tar Heels.

UNC 31, #4 Miami 28 – Oct. 30, 2004

Coming off of a 2-10 season in 2003, North Carolina played seven teams ranked in the top 25 in 2004. The game against Miami was the only one in which UNC managed to emerge victorious.

The entire game was a back-and-forth effort, with neither team able to take more than a seven point lead at any point.

With less than three minutes left, Devin Hester capped off an 89-yard drive by the Hurricanes with an 11-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28.

After three clutch passes for a total of 48 yards from North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant helped get the Tar Heels within field goal range, Connor Barth sent the Kenan Stadium crowd into a frenzy with a 42-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

@McMastersJ

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