For the second straight week Larry Fedora and the UNC football team needed a miracle, and for the second straight week they got one.

Nick Weiler’s 54-yard field goal as time expired gave the Tar Heels a 37-35 victory over No. 12 Florida State in Tallahassee, as Fedora earned perhaps his most important win as a head coach.

Not since 2001 had UNC defeated a top-15 team on the road, and with 23 seconds remaining on Saturday it appeared as if that streak was about to continue.

The Seminoles had just taken the lead for the first time all game after trailing 21-0 early on.

UNC needed to drive a little over 40 yards in that short amount of time to even think about a field goal try.

Mitch Trubisky continued his flawless stretch at quarterback for UNC--posting his third straight 400-yard game without throwing an interception. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Mitch Trubisky continued his flawless stretch at quarterback for UNC–posting his third straight 400-yard game without throwing an interception. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky found Mack Hollins for 23 yards on the first play of the drive, before Florida State helped the Tar Heels out with a 15-yard pass interference penalty two plays later.

With the clock down to four seconds, UNC hadn’t quite made it within Weiler’s range. Unfortunately, there was no other choice but to kick it.

Fedora then sent Weiler out for the biggest kick of his life from 54 yards away, and sure enough, he hit it–then exploded with joy as he ran down the field doing the Seminoles’ signature tomahawk chop.

If last week’s game-winning throw from Trubisky to Bug Howard is known as “The Fade”, then this finish might as well be called “The Kick.”

“I was playing with the grass a little bit [before the final play], and there was no wind,” Weiler said after the game. “Which I was happy with, because I didn’t have to worry about playing the wind at all—and it was a really long kick.

“I just knew if I went and struck it true I’d have the distance for it,” he continued. “I’m just so happy I had a chance to redeem myself.”

It was a poetic ending that saw the Tar Heels find themselves in that position only because Weiler had an extra point blocked just two minutes earlier.

Weiler's field goal allowed UNC to escape with a win despite losing tailback Elijah Hood to concussion-like symptoms midway through the game. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Weiler’s field goal allowed UNC to escape with a win despite losing tailback Elijah Hood to concussion-like symptoms midway through the game. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

After a 34-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to running back Thomas Jackson put UNC ahead, it was easy to wonder if it had scored too fast—especially with the Seminole offense finally starting to click.

The extra point mishap only furthered those worries, which would later prove to be warranted.

Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois—who threw for 372 yards in the game—found the end zone with a spectacular run on 2nd-and-goal where he escaped sack attempts by two Tar Heels in the backfield.

All hope appeared lost to anyone not on the UNC sideline.

What Fedora saw, though, was a group that never stops believing—and the results certainly back that up.

“The term we use is grit,” Fedora said. “And this team’s got it. No matter what’s going on, they keep persevering, they keep playing hard and they never give up—no matter what the circumstances are.

“They keep playing,” the coach continued. “And they believe in each other and they love each other.”

The finish capped off Trubisky’s third straight 400-yard passing game with no interceptions, as the quarterback overcame an injury to tailback Elijah Hood by asserting his dominance yet again.

His close friend Ryan Switzer put together another spectacular performance of his own—following up on last week’s 16 catch outing with 14 more on Saturday for 158 yards—but make no mistake about it. Trubisky is changing the vibes around UNC football—making the impossible appear routine.

This Tar Heel team is quickly proving to fans, that anything is possible with them. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

This Tar Heel team is quickly proving to fans, that anything is possible with them. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

This was the junior’s first true statement victory over one of college football’s elite teams, but many more could easily be on the way.

“I don’t get tired of talking about that, I assure you,” Fedora said, when asked about the latest dazzling effort from his quarterback. “He is what he is, he is what we thought he was, and he’s leading this football team.

“You’re never out of it with him behind center.”

The heroics of Weiler and Trubisky not only improved the team to 4-1 and 2-0 in the ACC for a second straight year, they kept the Tar Heels from suffering the same fate they always seem to find in these marquee games.

Florida State still tallied nearly 600 yards of offense against the struggling UNC defense, but as Fedora said earlier in the week—all that matters is having one more point than the opponent, and as it turned out the Tar Heels got two more.

The Seminoles—at 3-2 and 0-2 in the ACC—are now likely out of the conference title race.  UNC, meanwhile, will continue its tough early season schedule with a home game against Virginia Tech next week.

For one night, though, Fedora doesn’t mind his guys soaking in what they’ve just accomplished.

“We’re gonna enjoy this one tonight,” Fedora said. “You know I’ll start thinking about it on the plane ride home as far as what we got coming.

“But you go on the road and beat the No. 12 team in the country—and they’ve got a 22-game home winning streak,” the coach added. “[We’ve] accomplished something today.”

Up Next:

UNC will return home next week to face a Virginia Tech team that has played well this year under new head coach Justin Fuente. Dual-threat quarterback Jerod Evans could very easily present a significant problem for the Tar Heel defense.

Game Notes:

  • This is the highest ranked team UNC has beaten since knocking off No. 12 Miami in 2009.  It’s also the highest ranked team the Tar Heels have beaten on the road since a win over No. 9 Syracuse in 1996.
  • Weiler’s 54-yard field goal equaled the second-longest in UNC history.  Only Dan Orner’s 55-yard field goal in 2002 vs. Syracuse was longer. Earlier in the game on Saturday, Weiler missed from 51 yards out. His previous career-high was 49 against Illinois in Week 2.
  • Ryan Switzer’s 30 receptions over the last two weeks is an ACC record for back-to-back games.
  • UNC beat Florida State in Tallahassee in 2010 by the same score of 37-35.

 

FINAL STATS