By R.L. Bynum

MINNEAPOLIS — Noah Burnette has come a long way since he missed a field-goal attempt against N.C. State in 2022 that would have forced a third overtime.

There were plenty of highlights last season, the biggest being his six field goals against Duke, including a tying boot at the end of regulation and a field goal in overtime of UNC’s 47–45 double-overtime victory.

Burnette, a graduate student from Raleigh’s Leesville Road High School, came into the season wanting to validate that success. He did that impressively in Thursday night’s opener by confidently making all four field-goal attempts, including a career-high 52-yard boot, in Carolina’s 19–17 victory at Minnesota.

After his game-winning 45-yard field goal with 1:44 left on Thursday, he took his helmet off on the sidelines and showed plenty of emotion.

“That was the result of just a bunch of couple Minnesota fans just saying some things on the sideline — sort of reaction to that,” Burnette said. “But also just the reaction to getting into that position again and making it. I don’t want people to just think that it was a fluke in the Duke game. I want it to be something that more people trust me to go out there and make those kicks.”

That contrasted with when he had to be consoled as he walked off the Kenan Stadium turf after that N.C. State loss.

“I started to go out and talk to Noah,” UNC coach Mack Brown said of the moments ahead of the game-winning field goal. “I was kind of gonna say, ‘You got this.’ And he never looked at me. He looked down. Just really, really proud of him. He’s got a really strong leg.”

Burnette is accustomed to the pressure kicks. He seems unfazed and ready to meet the big moments when given the chance.

“You can get some butterflies before you’re out there,” Burnette said. “But when you get set, sort of everything goes away. It gets quiet, and then it’s just you and the ball. And that’s another thing — just working on not letting your heartbeat get up too high. That’s definitely something I’ve been working on.”

Whether Brown simply wanted to be aggressive when facing a fourth-and-three on UNC’s first drive of the game or the trust wasn’t there, Carolina went for it at the Minnesota 31 instead of giving Burnette a chance to attempt a 48-yard field goal.

Burnette proved his mettle with his four second-half field goals.

“A lot of people have questioned my distance, my range, so it felt good to get that one under the belt and just continue to work to hit the same ball every time I go out there,” Burnette said.

He said his dependable range is “55, with a little bit of wind in the back, maybe 57, 58.”

The coaching staff’s trust in Burnette once waned so much that UNC brought in graduate transfer Ryan Coe from Cincinnati. Burnette only got another chance to attempt field goals following Coe’s injury. Coe is now at Cal (his fourth school).

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After Burnette made all 43 PATs and 19 of 20 field-goal attempts last season and earned second-team All-ACC honors by making a league-high 95% of his field-goal attempts.

Given Burnette’s career progression and ability to convert at long range, most would assume his leg strength has improved, but he says that’s not the case.

“I wouldn’t say it’s gotten stronger,” Burnette said. “I’d say I’ve definitely started hitting the ball a lot better, which allows me to truly maximize the distance that I have.

“It’s definitely just experience, definitely getting those reps under my belt,” he said. “Pressure situations, I don’t let get to my head as much as I did that first year. So just continue to build on the experience and just getting those in game reps and being there for the for the guys.”

In that first year, the 2022 season, Burnette missed an extra-point try (his only career miss) and converted 15 of 21 field-goal attempts.

Burnette is a different and more confident kicker this season. Until the offense gets into a consistent rhythm, his dependable kicking could be the difference between a win and a loss, just as it was in the opener.

Burnette career statistics

2022	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	Pts
Florida A&M	8	8	100.0	0	0		8
App. St.	7	7	100.0	2	2	100.0	13
Ga. State	5	5	100.0	0	0		5
Notre Dame	2	2	100.0	0	0		2
Va. Tech	5	5	100.0	2	3	66.7	11
Miami	3	3	100.0	2	2	100.0	9
Duke	5	5	100.0	1	2	50.0	8
Pitt	6	6	100.0	0	0		6
Virginia	4	4	100.0	1	1	100.0	7
Wake Forest	3	4	75.0	1	1	100.0	6
Ga. Tech	2	2	100.0	1	1	100.0	5
N.C. State	3	3	100.0	2	4	50.0	9
Clemson	1	1	100.0	1	2	50.0	4
Oregon	3	3	100.0	2	3	66.7	9
2023	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	Pts
Minn.	4	4	100.0	1	1	100.0	7
Pitt	5	5	100.0	2	2	100.0	11
Syracuse	4	4	100.0	4	4	100.0	16
Miami	5	5	100.0	2	2	100.0	11
Virginia	3	3	100.0	2	2	100.0	9
Ga. Tech	6	6	100.0	0	1	0.0	6
Campbell	8	8	100.0	1	1	100.0	11
Duke	3	3	100.0	6	6	100.0	21
Clemson	2	2	100.0	0	0		2
N.C. State	2	2	100.0	0	0		2
West Virginia	1	1	100.0	1	1	100.0	4
2024	XPM	XPA	XP%	FGM	FGA	FG%	Pts
Minn.	1	1	100.0	4	4	100.0	13
Totals	101	102	99.0	38	45	84.4	215

Statistics via sports-reference.com

Month/ date	Score/ time	Opponent	Record/ TV
September
1	L, 48–14	vs. TCU	0–1
6	W, 20–3	at Charlotte	1–1
13	W, 41–6	vs. Richmond	2–1
20	L, 34–9	at UCF	2–2
October
4	L, 38–10	vs. Clemson	2–3, 0–1 ACC
17 (Fri.)	L, 21–18	at California	2–4, 0–2
25	L, 17–16, OT	vs. No. 16 Virginia	2–5, 0–3
31 (Fri.)	W, 27–10	at Syracuse	3–5, 1–3
November
8	W, 20–15	vs. Stanford	4–5, 2–3
15	L, 28–12	at Wake Forest	4–6, 2–4
22	L, 32–25	vs. Duke	4–7, 2–5
29	L, 42–19	at N.C. State	4–8, 2–6