For a moment, Chapel Hill looked ready to witness a massive upset. North Carolina had Miami on the ropes and was just a few plays away from a memorable victory. Instead, the Tar Heels fell 38-35 after Billy Edwards Jr.’s late fumble changed the game’s complexion. Yet Bill Belichick was not looking to single out one player for a defeat this close.

Following the heartbreaking defeat, Belichick took questions about the game and the team’s response. The UNC head coach refused to point fingers, making it clear that the defeat was a collective responsibility rather than the fault of a single player.

“Give the credit to the players, and they executed well,” Belichick told the reporters. “We’re able to overcome some long-yardage situations to get the third and reasonable from, like, second and 20 and first and 20 and a couple of those first and second and 19 or whatever it was. But yeah, I mean, overall, just again, it’s team offense. It’s not one player.”

He pointed to how widely the offense was distributed.

“We threw the ball to a lot of different guys… So, everybody contributed. It’s not just one guy,” he added.

The Tar Heels came out swinging, doing everything in their power to bring Miami to its knees. They controlled possession, dictated the tempo, and kept the Hurricanes’ high-powered offence waiting on the sidelines.

Edwards was the driving force behind North Carolina’s offensive surge, delivering arguably his best performance of the season. He completed 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception, but a fourth-quarter fumble proved costly.

With 5:33 remaining and Miami holding a 31-28 lead, Edwards looked to spark a late comeback. However, Miami’s defence had other plans. Defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot chased the quarterback down from behind and knocked the ball loose.

Justin Scott was quick to recover the fumble at North Carolina’s 37-yard line, handing the Hurricanes possession in prime scoring territory and delivering a potentially decisive blow to the Tar Heels’ comeback hopes.

The Hurricanes wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover. Just six plays later, Darian Mensah connected with Malachi Toney for a nine-yard touchdown, extending Miami’s lead to 38-28 with 2:33 remaining. Edwards answered by finding Trech Kekahuna for a touchdown to cut the deficit to three points, but the Tar Heels’ late push fell short, and Miami held on for a 38-35 victory.

“I mean, we were ahead a big part of the game. Then we were down two scores after we turned the ball over. So if we don’t turn the ball over, maybe we’re not down by two scores,” Belichick said.

For Belichick and the Tar Heels, it is a defeat that will sting for a long time. They had the No. 1 team in the country on the ropes but failed to deliver the knockout blow. More concerningly, it is becoming a familiar story for UNC, which has repeatedly struggled to put games away when the pressure is at its highest.

The Tar Heels held a 17-15 advantage over Clemson heading into the fourth quarter back in September, but ultimately surrendered their lead and suffered a 28-20 defeat following a lengthy weather delay. A similar story unfolded against Notre Dame in early October, when a narrow 21-20 lead early in the third quarter eventually turned into a 37-26 loss.

Just last week, the Tar Heels watched another promising opportunity slip away as a 10-point lead over Syracuse midway through the third quarter ended in a heartbreaking 31-30 overtime defeat at home.

After Saturday’s game, UNC has outscored its opponents 115-81 in the first half, but has been outscored 103-91 after the break, including overtime. Its struggles in the fourth quarter and overtime are even more alarming, with opponents holding a commanding 78-47 scoring advantage.

If the Tar Heels can solve this problem next year, they could become a playoff-caliber team. This season, though, their hopes appear to have slipped away.