CHAPEL HILL– Shockingly, the Tar Heel football team is now sitting at 1-5 on the season. But it was the latest defeat at the hands of the Miami Hurricanes on Zero Dark Thursday that may have hit the Carolina players the hardest.

UNC had a 23-13 lead after all in the fourth quarter only to see it disappear in a 27-23 loss to a team now ranked No. 6 nationally in the polls.

Senior quarterback Bryn Renner says the offense settled for field goals rather than touchdowns far too often in the red zone.

“We had a lot of chances in there, and obviously we came up with a ton of field goals. We have to capitalize and get touchdowns in a game like this against a top ten opponent,” Renner says.

Renner couldn’t say enough about the exhilarating 199-yard performance from tight end Eric Ebron. He says Ebron may be the best tight end in the country.

“He’s essential. He’s one of the best tight ends in the country, if not the best. He’s critical to our success passing the ball. And he’s a heck of a player,” Renner says.

Speaking of Ebron, how did he continually find himself open against the top-notch Miami defense? He says it all starts with belief.

“Just doing my job and running my routes. You know, just believing in the concepts, believing in the coaches, believing in everything,” Ebron says.

Despite the setback, Ebron says he believes the Tar Heels displayed to the nation that this Carolina team is much better than their unfortunate record suggests. In fact, Ebron says some of the younger guys really grew up on Zero Dark Thursday.

“We showed the world that our record doesn’t speak for the way that we can play. We are young, and we are developing as a team and a unit. I feel like this game really helped mature some of our younger players,” Ebron says.

Going forward, senior defensive lineman Kareem Martin says the Tar Heels have two options: feel sorry for themselves or fight for wins.

“It’s always tough after a loss. But at the end of the day, next Saturday we’re going to be playing another football team. Whether we’re down or not, they’re going to come into Chapel Hill and we’re going to play them,” Martin says. “We can feel sorry for ourselves and get another loss against Boston College or take this loss, learn from it, and get ready for Boston College.”

Saturday’s game against Boston College will kick off at 3:30 p.m. in Chapel Hill.