In a thriller of a game, defensive back Trey Morrison put the game on his shoulders to secure the 26-22 win for the No. 12 UNC Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon.
What happened?
A hot start had the Tar Heel offense showing off their prowess early. On the Tar Heels’ first drive of the game, Sam Howell found Khafre Brown on a 26-yard pass for a touchdown to put UNC up by seven early.
Later, Howell looked to show off the confidence in his legs with a hectic scramble on a 20-yard run that gave UNC great field position. Junior running back Javonte Williams muscled his way into the end zone for a touchdown soon after, putting UNC up 14-3 at the end of the first.
North Carolina's hot start fell flat as a series of unfortunate events led UNC to lose most of its lead. Early in the second, Boston College’s David Bailey plowed past two UNC defenders for a 12-yard rush, securing the first down before a pass to a wide open Hunter Long from Phil Jurkovec connected for a 31 yard gain. The great field position gave the Eagles an easy field goal attempt, which cut the deficit to 14-6.
With momentum and a mistake from senior back Michael Carter, who called for a fair catch and then let the ball drop, that left UNC at the four-yard line, Boston College took advantage and forced an interception on the next play. Bailey continued to shine for the Eagle’s and gave Boston College its first touchdown of the game, cutting the lead to just one. UNC regained its footing when Williams showed off his speed for a 41-yard touchdown that allows the Tar Heels to wrap up the half with a 21-16 lead.
Heading into the second half, the multi-week break proved to take its toll. After a strong start to the opening drive, Howell held the ball too long despite the pocket crumbling and fumbled the ball while scrambling. The Tar Heels recovered, but that left UNC with 4th-and-31 after a 28 yard loss, forcing a punt. Boston College then committed a series of penalties late in the third, which gave UNC 45 free yards and a field goal, putting UNC up by eight to start the fourth.
The Tar Heels struggled to produce offense in the fourth. Senior star receiver Dazz Newsome was held to zero catches until the fourth quarter and the momentum generated by a 35-yard rush from Carter was quickly stalled. A missed 47-yard field goal attempt with just about five minutes left gave Boston College’s offense with time to cut the lead.
UNC’s troubles continued as an interception was overturned with a holding call and an aggressive comeback attempt from Jurkovec put Boston in a scoring position late in the quarter. Costly mistakes caused an Eagles’ touchdown to be called back twice, but the dynamic duo of Jurkovic and Long put pressure on the UNC defense in the final seconds. Soaring with confidence, the Eagle’s scored a touchdown with 45 seconds left, leaving them down by just two points, with time for a two-point conversion attempt.
