UNC falls short but shows improvement in OT loss

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina still hasn't won a game against a Power Four opponent under Bill Belichick, but as Saturday's 17-16 overtime defeat against No. 16 Virginia showed, the improvement the head coach has long promised is finally showing up on the field.

The Tar Heels dominated Virginia at the line of scrimmage, racking up six sacks and largely eliminating the Cavaliers' run game, but a failed two-point try in overtime proved the difference.

"It's one thing for people to say we're getting better," wide receiver Jordan Shipp said, "but now we're showing it. That's a top-20 team in the country that went down to the last play of the game."

Shipp wasn't exactly celebrating a moral victory. In the locker room after the game, he said he shed tears, knowing how much work this team had put in and how close it had come to ACC win No. 1.

But if the Heels weren't exactly celebratory, there was ample reason to feel good.

The Heels' defense held Virginia to just 259 yards and didn't allow a second-half point. The offense managed 359 yards -- a relative pittance, but still a season high -- and for the second straight week, UNC had a shot to win with its final possession, drastic improvement after four early blowouts.

Perhaps another sign of North Carolina's improvement was Belichick's post-game news conference, where he was in vintage form.

What went into the decision to go for two in the first overtime?

"Just trying to win the game," he said.

Who was QB Gio Lopez's first target before rolling out on the two-point play?

"Whoever was open."

How much did UNC need these last two games to show real improvement on the field?

"I can't put a percentage on it," Belichick said.

Where he was effusive was in the team's need to avoid catastrophe near the goal line. After a three-point loss at Cal and today's one-point defeat to Virginia, what stood out was three red-zone turnovers by the Heels, including two that were within a hair of reaching the end zone.

"We've got to eliminate those, no doubt about it," Belichick said. "It's the No. 1 problem."

If the miscues remain an issue, UNC does seem to be finding an identity that it lacked earlier in the season.

Belichick had suggested the team, which took 30 transfers after spring practice, was a work in progress as they tried to learn more about the personnel. In the last two weeks, receiver Kobe Paysour has emerged with nine catches for 154 yards, freshman Madrid Tucker came out of nowhere Saturday to record eight catches for 41 yards and on defense, Melkart Abou Jaoude, who had just two sacks on the season, took down Virginia QB Chandler Morris in the backfield three times.

"We've spent more time with these guys, and everybody's improving," Belichick said. "Some guys are getting more playing time or are being used in different roles as we see ways for them to help the team be productive. It's evolving. Some of it is the players improving and some of it is identifying things guys can do to help us."

But if there's a true turning point for UNC, it might've come during the open date two weeks ago. The Heels had just been blown out against Clemson and a bevy news stories erupted -- including the cancellation of a planned documentary on the team, rumors of dissatisfaction among players (including a locker room fight) and reports that Belichick was angling to get out of his contract, a story he firmly denied.

All that adversity had a way of bringing the struggling Tar Heels together, Shipp said.

"I feel like it helped us a lot," Shipp said. "It's always good to be under a spotlight. I feel like that's what brought everybody together. You see, sometimes, people trying to trash people's names on social media, and people are there to defend them. ... You're supposed to have your brother's back, no matter what's going on. There's a lot of that going on in this building."