North Carolina rallies to beat Miami and put Canes at 0-2 for first time since 1978
If they do nothing else, the Miami Hurricanes make their fans’ hearts pump heavy.
For the first time in 41 years, the University of Miami has lost its first two football games in a season.
Buoyed by a 10-yard touchdown from Sam Howell to Dazz Newsome with 1:01 left, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Hurricanes 28-25 late Saturday at Kenan Stadium.
Saturday marked the first time since 1978 that the Hurricanes (0-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) have opened a season with two consecutive losses.
“We’ve got to go home, and we’ve got to get well and learn how to win a football game,’’ UM coach Manny Diaz said. “We talk about it all the time — when we get it all sorted out, we have a chance to be a good football team. But, obviously, right now we don’t have it figured out yet.”
The Canes have now lost six of their past eight games, dating to last season, when they finished 7-6 overall and 4-4 in the ACC.
The loss put the Hurricanes in a four-way tie at the basement of the Coastal Division of the ACC, as Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech are all 0-1 in the league.
With 1:01 left in the game, the Hurricanes drove to the North Carolina 32-yard line, then missed a 49-yard field-goal attempt wide left to give the Tar Heels the victory.
North Carolina’s final touchdown happened only because the Tar Heels completed a fourth-and-17 pass to Rontavius Groves, which brought the Heels to the UM 40-yard line.
Down 10 points in the first quarter, UM rallied to score the go-ahead touchdown with 4:38 left in the game — an 11-yard grab by tight end Will Mallory from quarterback Jarren Willams — to take its first lead of 25-20. The two-point conversion failed when Mallory couldn’t hold on to the ball.
Williams, making his second career start, finished 30 of 39 with 309 yards and two touchdowns.
“Yeah, it’s a tough one to take for sure,’’ Williams said. “:But we’re all staying together. We’re a team, and we know we just got to work harder.”
The Canes fell as far behind as 17-3 in the first quarter, rallied for 10 points to make it 17-10 at halftime, but just couldn’t convert when it counted most — until Mallory’s touchdown.
After a 75-yard touchdown drive was culminated with a 4-yard Cam Harris rush, Miami had a chance to tie the score at 20 in the third quarter. But at 20-19, UM kicker Bubba Baxa’s extra-point attempt was blocked by Deerfield Beach grad Jason Strowbridge, and UNC still led.
Down 17-13 at halftime, UM drove from its own 25-yard line to the North Carolina 21, then, as it had in the first half, failed to punch it in. On fourth-and-1 from the UNC 19, Williams rushed up the middle. But officials reviewed the play and called him down short of a first down. The Tar Heels took over and scored on a 40-yard field goal to go up 20-13.
The first half started miserably for Miami, with UM’s defense appearing helpless. North Carolina got possession first and jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal with only 2:08 off the clock. The drive included a 39-yard pass from Sam Howell to Antoine Green.
After the Hurricanes went four-and-out on the ensuing drive, the Tar Heels immediately went to work. On first-and-10 from the North Carolina 38, Howell’s deep pass torched the UM secondary as cornerback Trajan Bandy, with no safety help whatsoever, watched Dyami Brown sprint past him on the left side and pull in the 62-yard catch before entering the end zone.
The one-play drive lasted nine seconds, and the Tar Heels led 10-0 with 11:23 left in the opening quarter behind a torrid start from Howell. The freshman, also making his second career start, finished 16 of 24 with 274 yards and two touchdowns.
The Canes then put together a lengthy drive, but on second-and-10 from the UNC 25, Williams was absolutely demolished by linebacker Tomon Fox, losing 8 yards. Two plays later, however, Bubba Baxa hit a career-long, 50-yard field goal to put the Canes on the scoreboard.
North Carolina scored yet again on its third drive, during which UM safety Amari Carter was flagged for targeting Howell and ejected for the rest of the game. On second-and-goal from the UM 9-yard line, cornerback D.J. Ivey, back after being suspended for the season opener, was penalized for pass interference. The Heels got the ball on the Miami 2 and scored on a Javonte Williams run to make it 17-3.
Miami then scored 10 consecutive points second-quarter points, though it should have been more.
After driving from its own 40, the Canes reached as far the UNC 8. Williams was sacked, fumbled and recovered the fumble. Two plays later, Baxa, who missed a 27-yard field goal in the opener against Florida, missed a 26-yard field goal wide left against the Tar Heels.
Baxa got another chance the next series, this time nailing it from 21 yards out to make it 17-6. But again the Canes couldn’t punch it in for a touchdown after driving as far as the UNC 2-yard line. Cam Harris had runs of 20, 8, 10 and 5 on the drive, but lost 2 yards on third down from the UNC 2.
A North Carolina shank on a fourth-down punt gave UM good field position at the UNC 47, and Williams’ 6-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn, aided by DeeJay Dallas’ runs of 16 and 13 yards and a 15-yard catch by tight end Brevin Jordan, put UM down 17-13 with only 25 second left in the half.
Dallas finished with 107 yards on 14 carries in the loss.
The Canes return to South Florida to begin a five-game homestand that starts with their 4 p.m. home opener next Saturday against FCS school Bethune-Cookman and includes ACC rivals Virginia Tech, Virginia and Georgia Tech. The next time Miami plays on the road will be Oct. 26 at Pittsburgh.
This story was originally published September 7, 2019 at 11:46 PM.