Chapel Hill

For nearly 55 minutes of the game, the swinging arm of Billy Edwards Jr. almost always led to something good for the North Carolina football team. But with 5:33 left in the game, Edwards was just a half a second slow, so Miami defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot swatted at his arm and down to the ground fell the last chance that Saturday could provide something magical for a team that needed it. Bad.

No. 1 Miami’s sack-fumble and lead-extending touchdown with 2:37 left in the game ended a near upset bid for the Tar Heels (4-4, 2-3 ACC) in heartbreak, falling 38-35 to the Hurricanes (8-0, 6-0) on Saturday night at Kenan Memorial Stadium. UNC moves to 0-12 against the nation’s top-ranked team all-time with an effort that’s hardly deserving of that distinction. Because the magic still, almost, almost continued. When the Tar Heels offense trotted onto the field with 2:33 left in the game down 10 points, it looked like they were already out of luck. They needed to score, fast. But UNC did, with Billy Edwards Jr. connecting with wide receiver Trech Kekahuna to complete a 55-second drive to pull the game within three points. Then the Tar Heels recovered the ensuing onside kick, twice. But both were called back by flags.

Miami recovered the next one, and a stunning performance by the Tar Heels was all for naught. It totaled 407 yards of offense, pacing Miami’s 416 in the game and tying the most points scored against the Hurricanes this season. But stopping the best offense in the country didn’t seem like an option. It hasn’t been for anyone this season. To complete the upset, the Tar Heels needed an out-of-body offensive performance. It almost got it. But though the two losses over the past two weeks for UNC cannot be viewed on equal footing, the impact on its record is the same.

Still, Saturday should give the Tar Heels something to build off of. Miami entered Saturday as the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense, scoring 49.0 points per game through seven unbeaten appearances. Yet the Tar Heels’ offense matched the Hurricanes every step of the way in the first half — Miami just got one more drive than UNC did. Yet when the Hurricanes kicked a field goal with 22 seconds in the half, taking the 17-14 lead they took into the break, it was a win for North Carolina.

A pass breakup in the end zone by freshman defensive back Javion Butts on third and goal forced Miami into a field goal, despite completing a 40-yard pass earlier in the drive — just another example of how the Tar Heels continued to hold firm. Running back Demon June said earlier in the week that UNC knows it “let one slip” in a 31-30 overtime loss to Syracuse last weekend, but that negative energy didn’t seem to impact how it came out on Saturday.

Miami’s first drive was long and methodical, star wide receiver Malachi Toney capping it with a toe-dragging touchdown after 13 plays and 6:21 elapsed. But the Tar Heels put together their first touchdown drive in 11 plays and 84 yards between the end of the first quarter and start of the second.

Tight end Jelani Thurman caught a wide-open pass for an eight-yard score at the 11:50 mark of the second quarter, and after Miami responded with a touchdown its next drive, UNC went 12 plays for 75 yards before another eight-yard touchdown to Thurman to tie the game at 14 with 1:56 left in the half. UNC’s 152 yards through the air was its second-most passing yards in any half this season by the Tar Heels, and they only trailed Miami 228-185 despite the extra drive.

And their first drive of the second half proved they were capable on Saturday to engage in a shootout with the country’s best offense. A 23-yard pass from Edwards to Thurman to convert a third down kept alive an eventual eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for the Tar Heels to open the half, taking a 21-17 lead on a 16-yard catch by wide receiver Jordan Shipp with 10:51 left in the third quarter. Miami responded with a nine-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to take the lead back, 24-21, aided by a pass interference by UNC defensive back Jaiden Patterson in the end zone on a third and 1 inside the five-yard line.

But even a holding penalty that wiped away a touchdown couldn’t keep North Carolina out of the end zone again. The 16-play, 75-yard drive featured a fourth-down conversion — UNC’s second of the game — and was finished off by one-yard rushing score by running back Demon June that put the Tar Heels up 28-24 with 11:46 to play.

UNC kicked the ball out of the end zone on the ensuing kickoff, and members of its special teams unit ran all the way to the students behind the end zone, leaping and waving their arms as the crowd responded with a score.

But someone had to get a stop eventually.

The Tar Heels couldn’t on their next drive, allowing Miami to score in nine plays to take a 31-28 lead with 7:49 left in the game. It looked like Edwards had it going, though, turning a seven-yard sack on the first play of the Tar Heels’ ensuing drive into a 22-yard screen pass to running back Jaylen McGill for a first down to extend the drive. But he didn’t see the pressure behind him two plays later.

And for all the craziness that followed, that was the difference.

Here’s what stood out from the game.

Billy Edwards Jr. delivers signature performance in near upset

Edwards was mid-celebration over the Tar Heels taking the lead with 12:57 left in the game, but then he noticed the flag on the ground. Running back Benjamin Hall’s would-be 12-yard rushing touchdown was called back with a holding penalty. So Edwards did what — amid everything else that could be said about the UNC signal-caller — he’s always done. He pushed his hands to the ground as if to tell his team: Stay calm.

Edwards isn’t always perfect, but more often than not, he’s calm and poised. And Saturday was the signature version of that. Edwards hit Marlon Humphrey for a 10-yard pass, then hit June for an 11-yard pass the next two plays before June punched the go-ahead score into the end zone three plays later. It was one of the biggest moments in a game full of them for Edwards, who passed for 341 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

Edwards had his struggles last week. But despite his limitations that come into play, at times, the quarterback has largely progressed over the course of the season to be at least a reliable leader of productive offense for UNC. His poor throw to Shamar Easter in the end zone last weekend against Syracuse took a would-be touchdown away from UNC. But also, where would the Tar Heels have been without Edwards against Miami? He looked elite in every sense of the definition, taking the running lanes he had, hitting intermediate throws with accuracy. He gave North Carolina a chance.

Jelani Thurman keeps proving himself

Thurman had proven himself to be perhaps the Tar Heels’ best offensive weapon long ago. But as he reached high, between two defenders, for a touchdown score with 1:56 left in the first down and broke out in a touchdown dance inspired by Michael Jackson’s classic, Thriller, he continued to position himself as one of the best pass-catchers in the entire ACC.

With a Heisman hopeful pass-catcher, Toney, in the building, Thurman looked almost just as dangerous. He finished with five catches for 75 yards, catching two touchdowns. He was reliable and explosive again, and after becoming Edwards’ favorite target in the season’s first game, what’s asked of him seems to only grow each week. And he continues to deliver.

UNC’s running game moves the ball

UNC seems committed to getting every (healthy) member of the running game involved. It didn’t seem to ride the hot hand last week, handing starting running back Jaylen McGill 12 carries and the second back, Demon June, nine carries after a fairly-even split the week before, too. On Saturday, June seemed to be the hot hand. He made some plays in the receiving game, and then opened the second quarter with a 12-yard burst up the middle.

But later in the eventual touchdown drive for the Tar Heels, it was running back Benjamin Hall that was on the field. And UNC was right to spread the carries around — its three-back approach was working.

Since McGill’s breakout 24-yard game-winning touchdown rush in the Tar Heels’ win over Duke, he’s been a featured part of UNC’s rushing attack. He earned the start for the second-straight week on Saturday, but against the Hurricanes, every one of North Carolina’s running backs looked effective. June made several tough catches in the receiving game, showing good burst on his runs. And Hall had several touch rushes himself as the three backs combined for 175 yards on 39 touches.

This story was originally published October 31, 2026 at 11:10 PM with the headline "UNC puts Halloween scare into No. 1 Miami. Observations from a near upset."