By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Bill Belichick said the ACC didn’t have the needed replay views to overrule the on-field call on Syracuse’s game-winning two-point conversion in overtime.
At his weekly press conference at the Kenan Football Center on Monday, he said the controversy exposed a larger problem with the conference’s replay system, particularly the absence of cameras positioned directly along the goal line and sidelines.
Belichick said videos posted on social media offer better views of the decisive play than the footage available to officials during the game or to the ACC Replay Center in Charlotte.
“There’s really no good look at the play until you go to the fans who have posted videos who had a much better angle at it than anything you could see at the game,” Belichick said of the play that ended the Tar Heels’ 31–30 loss Saturday to Syracuse.
Although those videos provided additional perspectives, officials didn’t have them when reviewing the play. With the angles they had offering no definitive evidence, Belichick said he didn’t see how they could reverse the ruling.
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“I think from what the officials had to work with, it would be hard to tell,” Belichick said. “I think from what the fans showed, they had some good footage of it.”
Belichick wants the ACC to install cameras directly along the goal line and sidelines, similar to the systems he said other conferences use. He pointed to tennis as an example of a sport that uses cameras positioned to resolve close calls and said football should take a similar approach, especially since college overtime rules create more plays near the goal line.
“The ACC doesn’t have goal-line cameras and sideline cameras like the other conferences do,” Belichick said.
Saturday’s home game against No. 1 Miami will be televised by ABC, which will have a pylon camera available to provide another angle on close plays near the goal line.
But Belichick said that isn’t a substitute for cameras installed at a greater height, positioned to provide a clearer view of whether the ball crossed the goal line.
“Pylon cameras are better than nothing, but that’s not the answer either,” Belichick said. “I think you need a little more height than that, personally.”
Belichick recalled a similar situation in Carolina’s game against Virginia last season, when a play near the sideline and goal line left officials without an ideal view.
He said he has advocated for dedicated cameras since his early years with the New England Patriots and questioned why the ACC hasn’t adopted them despite discussions at league meetings.
“I’ve advocated for that,” Belichick said. “I said that back after I took the job in New England back in the early 2000s, and I said that for 20 years, and I’m saying the same thing here that we should have them.”
His concern isn’t necessarily that officials made the wrong decision against Syracuse. Instead, he believes the conference should provide the equipment needed to determine whether a close call was correct.
“If he scored, he scored. If he didn’t score, he didn’t score,” Belichick said. “Just put a camera there and get it right. That’s what I’m for.”
Without those camera angles, Belichick said the officials reviewing Syracuse’s conversion had little choice but to let the ruling stand.
“But based on what was called on the field, the views that the officials had, I don’t know how you could possibly overturn it,” he said.
North Carolina defensive back Coleman Bryson, who was on the field for the conversion, declined to second-guess the officials when asked about the play.
“I was on the field, but we leave that judgment up to the refs,” Bryson said. “It’s our job to play the game. It’s their job to call the game. So, whatever they call, we’re gonna listen to it.”
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Miami | 5–0 | 7–0 |
| No. 19 SMU | 4–1 | 6–1 |
| No. 14 Wake Forest | 4–1 | 6–1 |
| Virginia Tech | 3–2 | 6–2 |
| Louisville | 3–2 | 4–3 |
| Duke | 2–2 | 5–2 |
| Boston College | 2–2 | 4–3 |
| Clemson | 2–2 | 4–3 |
| North Carolina | 2–2 | 4–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–3 | 5–3 |
| Stanford | 2–3 | 4–4 |
| Virginia | 2–3 | 4–4 |
| California | 2–3 | 3–5 |
| Florida State | 1–3 | 3–4 |
| N.C. State | 1–3 | 3–4 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–3 | 2–5 |
| Syracuse | 1–4 | 3–4 |
Friday’s results
Duke 19, Virginia 16
Stanford 31, N.C. State 28
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Miami 52, Pittsburgh 23
No. 19 SMU 59, California 20
Virginia Tech 20, Clemson 16
Syracuse 31, North Carolina 30, OT
Saturday’s games
No. 19 SMU at Syracuse, noon, ESPN2
California at N.C. State, noon, ACCN
Boston College at Duke, noon, The CW
Stanford at Louisville, 3:15, ACCN
Virginia at No. 14 Wake Forest, 3:45, ESPN2
Clemson at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN
No. 1 Miami at North Carolina, 7:30, ABC
Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh, 7:30, ESPN2
Friday, Nov. 6, game
Virginia Tech at No. 19 SMU, 7 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, Nov. 7 games
North Carolina at UConn, noon, CBSSN
Clemson at Syracuse, noon, ESPN2
Florida State at Boston College, noon, ACCN
Duke at N.C. State, 12:30, The CW
Merrimack at No. 14 Wake Forest, 3:30, ACCN
No. 1 Miami at No. 5 Notre Dame, 7:30, NBC
Louisville at Georgia Tech, 7:30, ACCN
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent (current ranking) | Record/TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||
| 29 | W, 15–10 | vs.TCU in Dublin | 1–0 |
| September | |||
| 12 | W, 35–3 | vs. ETSU | 2–0 |
| 19 | L, 28–20 | at Clemson | 2–1, 0–1 ACC |
| October | |||
| 3 | L, 37–26 | vs. No. 5 Notre Dame | 2–2 |
| 10 | W, 21–18 | at Pittsburgh | 3–2, 1–1 |
| 17 | W, 24–20 | at Duke | 4–2, 2–1 |
| 24 | L, 31–30, OT | vs. Syracuse | 4–3, 2–2 |
| 31 | 7:30 | vs. No. 1 Miami | ABC |
| November | |||
| 7 | Noon | at UConn | CBSSN |
| 14 | TBA | vs. Louisville | TBA |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia | TBA |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State | TBA |
| December | |||
| 5 | noon, ABC | ACC championship game in Charlotte | ESPN |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
