Billy Edwards and Shamar Easter connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to give the Tar Heels a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, helping UNC beat No. 25 Pitt on the road Saturday afternoon. It’s Carolina’s first ranked win under head coach Bill Belichick, and the program’s first ranked win on the road since 2020.
UNC earned the win despite falling behind 10-0 early. The Panther offense, led by backup quarterback Holden Geriner, marched 75 yards down the field on a 12-play opening drive, capping it with a short touchdown run. Geriner was once again efficient on Pitt’s third drive, which went 67 yards and ended with a field goal.
The Tar Heels finally got on the board midway through the second quarter. Edwards began the team’s third drive of the game with a 49-yard completion to Jordan Shipp and ended it with a five-yard touchdown pass to Jelani Thurman, cutting the deficit down to 10-7. Pitt had a chance to increase the lead before halftime, but missed a long field goal in the final seconds.
The Panthers enjoyed lopsided statistical advantages in the first half, running 47 plays to UNC’s 16. That differential was the largest of any first half in college football this season.
Carolina finally got to Geriner in the third quarter, picking off two of his passes on consecutive possessions. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, the offense couldn’t make either takeaway count: both drives after the picks ended in punts.
After forcing a Pittsburgh punt, the offense managed to cobble together a 10-play, 51-yard drive, one which was kept alive by a holding call against the Panthers on a third-down incompletion. Edwards rifled a pass to Shipp at the goal line on the next play before Demon June punched in the go-ahead touchdown from a yard away.
Not to be outdone, Geriner led the Panthers down the field on the next possession, taking the top off the defense with a 40-yard pass to receiver Malik Knight at the UNC 16-yard line. Pitt scored two plays later to take the lead back, 17-14.
The long touchdown from Edwards to Easter came on the first play from scrimmage after that touchdown. It was the longest offensive play for Carolina this season.
UNC’s defense buckled down after the swing of momentum. Pitt’s offense had four drives following Easter’s touchdown, one of which ended in a punt and three of which ended in turnovers on downs. The Tar Heels enjoyed some good luck on one of those fourth down stops, as Geriner threw to an open Panther receiver in UNC territory, but the pass was just off target and went through the receiver’s hands.
Carolina got decidedly unlucky on the next fourth down, as running back La’Vell Wright was stopped short on a run and fumbled the ball, which as recovered by the Tar Heels and run back for a potential game-sealing touchdown. However, video review concluded Wright’s elbow was down just before the ball was stripped loose. UNC kept the ball on the turnover on downs, but lost the points.
The Tar Heels weren’t able to get a clinching first down after the change of possession, giving the ball back to Pitt one more time. This time, Geriner and the Panthers didn’t come close to Carolina territory. A desperation pass down the sideline on fourth down was knocked away, and UNC got the ball back.
Edwards finished 18-for-26 for 249 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also threw another interception which was negated by a UNC false start penalty before the snap. Shipp and Thurman were his favorite targets, combining to catch 12 of his 18 completions. Shipp led the way with 93 yards. Easter’s 75-yard jaunt was his only reception of the day.
With the win, UNC improves to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in ACC play. For Pitt, the loss is its first of the year after a 5-0 start. The Tar Heels will be back in action next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when they visit Duke in Durham.
Featured image via Associated Press/David Dermer
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