Midway through the fourth quarter of UNC’s crucial ACC matchup with Pitt (2-2, 0-1 ACC) on Saturday, a sea of fans wearing light blue made their way to the exits at Kenan Stadium.

Little did they know, Mitch Trubisky was getting ready to orchestrate the comeback of his life.

With his team down 13 points, the quarterback put together a pair of clutch touchdown drives in the final five and a half minutes—ultimately finding Bug Howard in the end zone with two seconds left on the clock to give UNC (3-1, 1-0 ACC) a stunning 37-36 victory.

It was the type of finish that left the crowd utterly speechless as to what they had just witnessed.

The Pitt rushing attack allowed the visitors to control the flow of the game all throughout—making the Tar Heel defense appear helpless. Meanwhile, UNC’s tailback duo of Elijah Hood and TJ Logan combined for just 33 yards against an aggressive Panther defense content to blitz on nearly every down.

Senior Bug Howard used his size to haul in two fourth quarter touchdowns for UNC--including the game-winner. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Senior Bug Howard used his size to haul in two fourth quarter touchdowns for UNC–including the game-winner. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Although Trubisky ended up with a career-high 453 yards and five touchdowns, the UNC faithful knew their quarterback would have to take matters into his own hands—provided their defense could finally get a stop.

After Howard scored his first touchdown with just over five minutes to play, the defense did just that, stepping up when it mattered most.

Then, over the next three minutes, Trubisky conducted a 17-play death march that included three fourth down conversions—remaining calm, cool and collected the entire time according to head coach Larry Fedora.

“That’s who he is,” Fedora said of his quarterback. “When good things happen, you don’t really see him going crazy and when bad things happen you don’t really see anything. He’s pretty even keel all the way.

“You don’t know what his emotions are, which is really an ideal situation for a leader,” the coach continued. “Because everybody on the team knows exactly where he’s gonna be all the time.

“He’s just solid as a rock, and I don’t think he ever doubted they were gonna make the plays.”

Two of the all-important plays on fourth down were passes to senior receiver Ryan Switzer, who exploited the space behind the blitzes all day to finish with a school-record 16 catches for 208 yards. The third went to Austin Proehl, who was only in the game thanks to an injury to starter Mack Hollins.

When it came down to crunch time, though, with the ball on the two yard line and the clock ticking—there was only one option. The 6-foot-5 Howard sensed a mismatch with his defender, so the Tar Heels decided that if they passed the ball in that situation the only move was to lob it up to the big man.

Lost in all the comeback drama, Ryan Switzer put together one of the greatest games by a receiver in UNC history with his 16 catches and 208 yards. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Lost in all the comeback drama, Ryan Switzer put together one of the greatest games by a receiver in UNC history with his 16 catches and 208 yards. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

“Before the last drive, Fedora came to me and said ‘Hey, we’re coming to you, you better make it happen,’” Howard told reporters afterwards.

“And 50-50 balls are my deal,” he added, with a smile creeping across his face. “I make those jump balls 80-20.”

Players like Switzer and defensive end Mikey Bart said they all took notice of the fans leaving early and booing the team each time it punted during the fourth quarter.

In response, the team stood strong together and refused to give up or point fingers during the moments where it seemed nothing was going their way.

Listening to Bart speak afterwards, it seemed the postgame locker room vibes were very similar to UNC’s conference opener last season in Atlanta—when the team rallied from down 21-0 to stun Georgia Tech.

“We know we’ve got each others backs, we just don’t say it [as much as we should],” Bart said. “And that’s kind of where it all started, last year against Georgia Tech. It’s just been carrying on.”

This year’s Tar Heels remain on the right path to repeat as ACC Coastal Division Champions, especially now that they hold the tiebreaker over Pitt—which finished second behind UNC in 2015.

Mikey Bart and the rest of the UNC defense stopped Pitt when it mattered most late in the game. This after struggling for most of the day. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Mikey Bart and the rest of the UNC defense stopped Pitt when it mattered most late in the game. This after struggling for most of the day. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

As they watched their main goal slowly slipping away during the late stages of the game, the fight-or-flight response kicked in.

Now, the Tar Heels will head to Tallahassee next week with a much clearer picture of who they are.

“We learned a lot about our football team tonight,” Fedora said. “What we talked about before the game is we had an opportunity to establish the identity of this football team.

“And I can say there’s a lot of grit in this football team—for one—a lot of toughness, and all the intangibles that we need to be successful,” he continued. “Our guys had a great week of preparation, and that was the key.”

Up Next:

The tough early season gauntlet continues for UNC next week, when it travels to face No. 13 Florida State and its star tailback Dalvin Cook.

Game Notes:

  • Trubisky set the school record for most passing yards in back-to-back games with 885 yards.  He had 432 last week vs. JMU and added 453 against Pitt.  The previous mark of 764 was set last season by Marquise Williams (270 vs. Pitt, 494 vs. Duke).
  • UNC has won nine consecutive games in Kenan Stadium. That is the longest home win streak since Mack Brown’s teams won 10 straight from 1995-97.
  • The Tar Heels held the lead for just two seconds the entire game–the last two.
  • Pitt scored points on five of its first seven drives, including four touchdowns and a field goal (31 points).  UNC forced punts on three of its final four drives.

 

FINAL STATS