University of North Carolina Athletics
October 25, 2026 | Football
After experiencing the thrills of late wins the past two weeks, UNC felt the pain of losing on the final play in Saturday's 31-30 overtime loss to Syracuse at Kenan Stadium.Â
The Tar Heels led by 10 points in the first and second halves and took a seven-point lead in overtime before the Orange reached the end zone on 4th-and-goal and scored the game-winning 2-point conversion by the smallest of margins on a reception at the goal line.Â
"They made a couple more plays than we did today, and that was the difference in the game," UNC head coach Bill Belichick said. "It was a hard-fought game, just like all the other ones we've seen Syracuse play, and we just came up a little bit short."Â
Like the rest of his teammates, Tar Heel linebacker Derek McDonald stood on the Kenan field as the officials reviewed the game-deciding play.Â
"Praying to God he didn't get into the end zone," McDonald said when asked about what he was thinking in that moment. "It's a tough one."Â
The Tar Heels were inches away on that inconclusive final play from winning their third straight contest and are instead pondering missed opportunities to put the game away earlier.Â
UNC's defense held Syracuse to just 10 points and just 83 passing yards through three quarters before the Orange turned things around in the fourth quarter, buoyed by a 76-yard TD pass.Â
"It all comes back to fundamentals. We preached that all week," said McDonald, who finished with a game-high 16 tackles. "We could've tackled better. We had a lot of leaky yardage we let them get. Could've covered better and had better eyes."Â
On offense, the Tar Heels are left ruing how difficulties in the red zone spoiled an otherwise impressive offensive performance that included a two-TD effort by running back Demon June and a big game by junior wideout Jordan Shipp.Â
UNC was clinical on its open drive, moving the ball 83 yards on seven plays, the final one being a 5-yard TD pass from Billy Edwards Jr. to Shipp.Â
Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, field goals in the red zone were more common than TDs the rest of the night. Â
While kicker Rece Verhoff was great and made all three of his field goal attempts, UNC knows finishing more drives in the end zone could've swung the game in their direction. Ahead 20-17 midway through the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels had 2nd-and-goal at the Syracuse 4 yard line but only extended their lead by three more points instead of making it a two-score game.Â
"Offensively, we played a good game, but it's not good enough if we're just constantly getting three," said Shipp, who had eight catches for 102 yards, his second 100-yard game of the season. "We've got to push it in the end zone. Got to get some touchdowns. I know that's going to be a big emphasis."Â
The last time the Tar Heels let a game slip away in the fourth quarter was the Sept. 19 loss to Clemson. UNC responded to that setback with a competitive showing against No. 3 Notre Dame before winning on the road against Pittsburgh and Duke.Â
McDonald said this loss can serve as another chance for growth. "You can look at is as a really good learning opportunity, right?" he said. "Obviously there's things we need to improve on. They exposed some things we need to get better at."Â
Shipp, one of McDonald's fellow captains, offered a similar outlook as UNC shifts its focus to No. 1 Miami.Â
"We got a great opportunity next week," Shipp said. "There's nothing we can do to get this one back."Â
