A week removed from a 28-27 upset loss at Duke—a team that had been winless in the ACC–in a game it led by 14 points early on, the UNC football team has spent plenty of time trying to diagnose what went wrong as it prepares for the season’s home stretch.

After scoring on their first two drives last Thursday, the Tar Heels appeared to hit a wall that slowed them down the rest of the night.

Duke responded with three consecutive touchdown drives of its own and UNC never quite looked like the team that had consistently found ways to win all year long.

Nobody exemplified that quite like junior quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Despite having a terrific season to this point, Trubisky made perhaps his most critical error on the Tar Heels’ final drive—tossing a game-sealing interception with no receiver anywhere near the ball.

Elijah Hood led UNC in rushing and receiving against Duke, but touched the ball just seven times after halftime. (Grant Halverson/ UNC Athletics)

Elijah Hood (34) led UNC in rushing and receiving against Duke, but touched the ball just seven times after halftime. (Grant Halverson/ UNC Athletics)

The loss put a serious dent in UNC’s chances to win the ACC Coastal Division, but Trubisky and the rest of the players have chosen to try and find the positives in the situation.

“There really hasn’t been a lot of finger pointing, which shows maturity,” Trubisky said at the team’s press conference on Monday. “We know it’s our fault.

“We ruined our opportunity,” he continued. “We just didn’t execute. We got outplayed. We got outcoached. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

“Hopefully this just brings everyone closer together.”

When head coach Larry Fedora looked at the film after the game, he said he never second guessed any of the play calls—whether they involved getting the ball to tailback Elijah Hood or not. For him, it was more about execution and keeping a level head.

As soon as the Blue Devils started to get a rhythm going offensively, Fedora noticed his team letting its emotions get the best of them.

This, he said, was UNC’s ultimate downfall on both sides of the ball.

“That can’t happen,” Fedora said. “You can’t grow frustrated with the adversity that happens in a game. You gotta look it in the eye, and be excited about it—and know that that’s gonna be the way that you’re gonna be successful because you’re gonna overcome it.

“You’re not gonna accomplish anything through frustration.”

Like Hurricane Matthew, the Tar Heel defense has taken plenty of blame this year when things go wrong for UNC. Against Duke, however, the defense kept hope alive in the second half as the offense slowed down considerably.

Head coach Larry Fedora said frustration got the best of his team last week, something that usually leads to negative results. (Grant Halverson/ UNC Athletics)

Head coach Larry Fedora said frustration got the best of his team last week, something that usually leads to negative results. (Grant Halverson/ UNC Athletics)

Unfortunately, the Blue Devils needed just a single touchdown after halftime to pull out the win—as Trubisky and the rest of UNC’s offense could only muster a pair of field goals during the same span.

“Our defense played well enough for us to win, in my opinion,” Trubisky said. “I blame more myself and the offense for last game.”

While the Tar Heels still have a shot at winning the Coastal Division thanks to Virginia Tech’s loss to Georgia Tech over the weekend, the players realize now more than ever that nothing in the ACC is a given.

Asked whether UNC took Duke for granted because of its record coming into the game, Tar Heel safety Donnie Miles shot that idea down quickly.

“It was a rivalry game,” Miles said. “We knew they were gonna give us their all. We knew it was gonna be their Super Bowl.

“They just came out and did it,” he continued. “They made more plays than us and they were hungry—they wanted it.”

With two games left in the regular season, the Tar Heels are thankful to still have their main goal of a Coastal Division title still within reach, even if it’s not completely within their control.

The loss to Duke was simply a reminder that the margin for error is razor thin for teams trying to make a permanent home atop the college football landscape.

How UNC responds will be critical if it hopes to re-establish itself back among the top 25 before season’s end.