University of North Carolina Athletics
November 1, 2026 | Football
A narrow loss to the nation’s top team is encouraging but no less disappointing for the Tar Heels.
Billy Edwards Jr. threw a career-high four touchdowns, orchestrated five TD drives of 75-plus yards and was the most accurate passer in a matchup that featured the nation's leader in completion percentage.Â
Yet those elements of his personal performance meant little to the UNC quarterback and captain as he reflected on the Tar Heels' 38-35 loss to No. 1 Miami Saturday night at Kenan Stadium. Â
"We scored 35 points, and people are going to be patting the offense on the back," Edwards said. "Well, we didn't score enough points to win the game."Â Â
The narrow defeat marked the second time this season head coach Bill Belichick's team gave one of the country's top teams a serious challenge, as UNC lost 37-26 to No. 3 Notre Dame a month ago.Â
Against the Hurricanes, UNC (4-4, 2-3 ACC) was just a few plays away — including two consecutively recovered onside kicks nullified by penalties — from earning its first ever win against a top-ranked team. Although few outside of the program gave the Tar Heels a serious chance against Miami, the players themselves expected to execute their game plan and be in a position to win.Â
The pain and frustration of coming up short doesn't go away just because your team was considered the underdog and because of the opponent's ranking.Â
Edwards completed 82% of his passes, going 28-of-34 for 341 yards. It was because of his effort that UNC scored five TDs against a Miami defense that entered Saturday allowing 15.3 points per game, the 11th best mark nationally.Â
Edwards' third TD of the night, a 16-yard toss to Jordan Shipp on the opening drive of the second half, gave the Tar Heels their first lead. On the next drive, he helped lead a 16-play, 75-yard journey that chewed up roughly 8.5 minutes and again gave UNC the lead with just under 12 minutes remaining, sending Kenan into a frenzy.Â
Nine different Tar Heels caught passes, with Edwards again going to favorite targets Jelani Thurman (two red-zone TDs) and Shipp but also getting his backs and others involved.Â
Jaylen McGill led the team in both receptions (six) and receiving yards (69), and Demon June added 40 receiving yards on three catches.Â
Miami couldn't key in on just one or two guys, and it showed as the Tar Heels matched their season high in points and went five-for-five in the red zone, showing improvement in that area of the field from last week. While the Tar Heels amassed only 66 rushing yards, they ran the ball when they needed to, with 11 runs resulting in first downs or TDs.Â
"Were we more consistent today than maybe we have been offensively throughout the season? Absolutely," said Edwards, who completed 14 of his final 15 passes.Â
There were few miscues by either team on Saturday, and it was the type of game where one mistake was the difference-maker. A strip sack of Edwards led to Miami taking the first two-possession lead of the game late in the fourth quarter.Â
But even then, the Tar Heels showed no quit, marching down the field in 55 seconds as Edwards connected with Trech Kekahuna for a 15-yard score, setting up late drama.Â
UNC recovered not one but two onside kicks, the first one called back because of offside and the second due to a blocking penalty on Peyton Seelmann.Â
"It was pretty tough," Seelmann said. "It was a little upsetting we didn't get either of them, but it's what the refs called."Â
Belichick complimented his team on their effort and said he thought his defense played well for the most part while dealing with a tough assignment.Â
"They've got two great players and a lot of good players," Belichick said. "We obviously had a hard time handling them, but I thought we actually defended them pretty well. They made a couple of great plays that I don't see too many other people make."Â
Despite the loss, the Tar Heels showed this week they are capable of putting the previous week's result behind them quickly, as they moved on from a tough overtime loss to Syracuse and strung together a strong performance against the nation's top team.Â
They'll take solace in that but again look to have a short memory as they go on the road to face Connecticut, the first game of the November stretch run.Â
"This isn't the business for moral victories," Edwards said. "While that means a lot, we've got to come out here, and we're going to play a great Connecticut team on the road. We've got to come back here and have the 24-hour rule, watch the tape and then have a great week of preparation."Â
