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Bill Belichick opts to go for two, UNC falls inches short in overtime vs. Virginia

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko13 hours agonickkosko59
USATSI_27350660 (1)
Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

North Carolina nearly upset No. 16 Virginia at home as Bill Belichick opted to go for two in overtime in a 17-16 loss Saturday. Rather than tie the game in OT, Belichick called for Gio Lopez to throw a pass.

Davion Gause was on the receiving end of the pass but was inches short. In fact, he might’ve been an inch short of the pylon as he fell out of bounds shy of the goal line and the winning score.

You can see the play below. Belichick and North Carolina fell to 2-5 on the season and 0-3 in ACC play in heartbreaking fashion.

Lopez finished the game 23-of-36 passing for 208 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Gause had three carries for 30 yards but also had one catch for a nine yard touchdown.

Belichick’s defense limited UVA QB Chandler Morris to 200 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but it was not enough. The ACC Network broadcast, as well as a bevy of social media takes, said Belichick going for two was probably the right call as they tried to steal a win and an upset.

However, it’s been tough sledding for the Tar Heels and Belichick this season. Now more than halfway through the year, they’ll need a miracle, likely, to finish at .500 to make a bowl game this season.

While making an appearance on SportsCenter last Sunday morning, Paul Finebaum addressed the UNC program. There, he gave the Tar Heels an “F” grade, while in his Professor Finebaum character, for how they’ve played to this point in the season.

“That was another inane question,” Finebaum said. “Go ahead and head to the bathroom right now, young man, while I answer very intelligently. No, they do not get a good grade. They have been failed. They have been expelled. So have you. So, please, no more questions.”

Given that Belichick is still the coach who won six Super Bowls as a head coach and another two as a defensive coordinator, it’s easy to understand why expectations were so high. It’s also, given the massive roster turnover UNC has battled, easy enough to understand why things have been a struggle on the field. After all, this is a roster with around 70 new players from last year’s team. That’s a roster that Belichick has defended, given the circumstances in which it was recruited.

“Look, when we got here, we had three defensive linemen,” Belichick said. “You can’t practice with three defensive linemen. We went out and signed a lot of players. We signed players who didn’t have offers or offers that they didn’t want. Kind of slid through the cracks in terms of the recruiting process. We signed players in the transfer portal that were available. We were late in the running on a lot of them. We were late on relationships. We were late on it in contacts. We ran out of time. We did the best we could.”