Just when you thought the North Carolina Tar Heels couldn’t get any worse, they did on Saturday afternoon.
UNC welcomed an undefeated Pitt team to Kenan Stadium for homecoming, a game which home teams typically win. North Carolina’s offense looked solid early, scoring 17 first-half points and entering halftime deadlocked in a 17-all tie.
The Tar Heels’ offense – and defense – then disappeared in the second half of a 34-24 loss that dropped them to .500. Today’s game was very reminiscent of last weekend at Duke, with the lone difference being Pitt (5-0, 1-0 ACC) scoring in the first half.
What frustrates me most about today’s loss is what likely frustrates the entire UNC (3-3, 0-2 ACC) fan base: another poor defensive performance. Today gave me reason to believe early, though, as Kaleb Cost provided the game’s most electric play on an 84-yard, first quarter pick-6.
Both teams played a pretty even game, with tons of offense and little defense, but the Panthers won Saturday largely based on decision-making and converting late downs.
North Carolina made several questionable calls to go for it on fourth down, only converting on two of its six tries. If the Tar Heels played it safe and chose to kick field goals, they would’ve only trailed by a possession late and had an easier chance trying to crawl back in.
Pitt’s offense was moving at will, recording 520 yards. The still-undefeated Panthers converted 9-of-16 third down tries and their lone fourth down try. UNC, on the contrary, converted just 5-of-15 third downs.
While we continue debating how North Carolina might actually be the ACC’s worst football program this year, let’s take a look at some photos: