By R.L. Bynum
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Putting teams away has been a season-long problem for North Carolina, but the Tar Heels finally solved it for one game.
On a rainy afternoon at Rentschler Field, UNC did the job with strong defense and a big late fourth-down conversion. The Tar Heels held UConn scoreless for the last 25 minutes in a 38–21 victory Saturday and are a win away from bowl eligibility with their third straight road win.
UNC (5–4) has three chances to secure a bowl bid, starting with next Saturday night’s home game against Louisville. Coach Bill Belichick said his team earned this one after two painful losses.
“After a couple of close losses, really bounced back with a pretty solid week of practice and competed hard today,” Belichick said. “So proud of what they did.”
Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.’s good numbers (29-of-38, 255 yards, three TDs, 1 interception, 153.5 passer rating) belied the eye test as he returned to the accuracy issues that he avoided a week earlier in the loss to No. 1 Miami.
“Billy’s been doing a good job for us,” Belichick said. “Seems like every week I come in here and guys want to bench him and talk about the passes he missed last week. He’s quarterback of the week in the ACC. He’s been able to move the team, score points, and be consistent. Is there always room for improvement? Sure, but he’s done a good job for us.”
Tight end Jelani Thurman had another big day, catching seven passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns, tying the school record for scores by a tight end. Running back Benjamin Hall collected 107 total yards (82 rushing and 26 passing) and a touchdown.
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“When you lose like that so many times, it’s like, well, something has to be fixed, and we fixed that this week,” said linebacker Timir Hickman-Collins, who forced two turnovers. “And hopefully, going forward, it’ll be forever gone.”
On UNC’s first drive after forcing a three-and-out, Edwards underthrew tight end Shamar Easter. UConn’s Heyden Pegg intercepted it and returned 29 yards to the UNC 48. The defense was strong again, and Jack O’Connor was wide left on a 45-yard field-goal attempt.
UConn (4–5) punted. But after UNC was penalized for Jaziel Hart lining up over the center, the Huskies went for it on fourth-and-three. On the play, UConn quarterback Kalieb Osborne’s pass went off the hands of receiver Kenji Christian and was nabbed by Hickman-Collins for his first career interception. The 6–2, 235-pound linebacker returned it down the right sideline for 70 yards with 5:29 left in the first quarter, giving UNC a 7–0 lead.
Hickman-Collins said the long return made him think beyond the end zone.
“I may have to make sure I had the ball, and then the next step was to get to the pick-six, and I just started running,” he said. “I had a little burst, and then in my head I was like, ‘Let me not get hawked on national television because that’s a little embarrassing. I knew my teammates had my back and were blocking the initial guy, so I was just running straight for it after that.”
UConn tied it on the third second-quarter play: Osborne hit Ryder Treadway up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown pass to end a six-play, 53-yard drive, but UNC responded about 3½ minutes later.
Benjamin Hall helped the offense finally break through, eluding five tacklers on a 39-yard touchdown run down the left sideline with 10:06 left in the first half for his first rushing score of the season. Belichick said Hall’s return, as one of the team’s captains, carried extra meaning.
“It’s great to have Ben back,” Belichick said. “He’s one of our captains, one of our real leaders, and he’s a guy that’s first in, last out, works hard every day. It’s another guy you got to really root for.”
Hickman-Collins recovered an Osborne fumble on the third play on the ensuing drive, a play he said happened almost by accident.
“Their quarterback was trying to get the first down, and once he did that, I was like, ‘OK, I know you’re still up,’ and I just snatched the ball,” he said. “It just landed perfectly in my hands right there.”
Four plays later, Edwards found Jordan Shipp on the right side of the end zone on a six-yard touchdown pass, his fourth consecutive game with a score, and UNC led 20–7.
Belichick said the turnovers were only part of the equation.
“First you got to get them, and then take advantage of them,” Belichick said. “You usually have a chance for more turnovers when you’re ahead like that, and they’re trying to force the ball a little bit.”
UConn responded with a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Osborne (17-of-35, two touchdowns, two interceptions) avoided pressure from Xavier Lewis and lofted a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cam Abshire.
Edwards completed a nine-yard pass to Trech Kekahuna on a fourth-and-four, then a 15-yard pass to Shipp on a 16-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Edwards hit Thurman on a three-yard scoring strike with 24 seconds left, giving UNC a 28–14 halftime lead.
UNC’s initial second-half drive stalled, and UConn drove 93 yards in seven plays to cut the deficit to seven. Running back Cyncir Bowers scored on a 13-yard touchdown run with 10:02 left in the third quarter.
UNC gained 68 yards in eight plays but settled for a 27-yard kick from Rece Verhoff. But Carolina gained momentum when Javion Butts broke up a fourth-and-12 UConn pass after the Huskies drove to the UNC 39.
Verhoff missed his first field-goal attempt in six tries on the ensuing drive, kicking a 49-yard attempt wide left with 8:07 left.
Linebacker Peyton Seelmann, who had a team-highs of nine tackles and two sacks, was untouched in sacking Osborne on the first play of the next drive. Two plays later, junior cornerback Jalon Thompson snagged his first career interception.
UNC kept the ball when Edwards hit Shipp for eight yards on a fourth-and-five, a decision Belichick said was easy to justify after the missed kick.
“It felt like we had a better chance at fourth-and-five than that long field goal,” Belichick said. “Even a field goal there makes it a 13-point game, which forces two touchdowns, but still a two-score game, so it felt like we had a better chance at fourth-and-five than that long field goal.”
Four plays later, Edwards threw a three-yard TD pass to Thurman, who tied Mike Chatham’s school record (1979) for touchdowns by a tight end in a season with eight. Belichick has watched Thurman become a favorite target all season.
“He’s just a really good player,” Belichick said of Thurman. “He’s got good length. He’s fast. He’s got really good hands. He’s good running after the catch and blocks well. It’s almost impossible to overthrow him. He’s got a great catch radius.”
Thurman said he was grateful to share the record in his first season in Chapel Hill.
“It feels good. It feels amazing being able to come in here,” Thurman said. “They put me in a leading role, having such a good position on the team and being utilized so much. I just love being able to at least even tie the record, let alone beat it.”
On UConn’s final drive, Melkart Abou Jaoude got his first sack since the opening-game win over TCU, and Seelmann got a sack on the next play, a fourth-and-19, to end the threat. The defense celebrated Abou Jaoude’s sack, and Belichick said the reaction showed how much his teammates respect him.
“Everybody roots for Melkart,” Belichick said. “He came from basically nothing, and he has continued to play hard and play through a situation where he’s been a little bit limited, but that hasn’t affected his preparation and his competitiveness, his toughness or his work ethic. You can’t help but root for a guy like that.”
Hickman-Collins said he had promised the senior a sack at halftime.
“Melkart is really a quiet leader,” Hickman-Collins said. “The whole defense looks up to him the way he goes about working. It’s that big brother finally reaching that threshold. I told him at halftime he was gonna get him one or two, so it felt great finally seeing him get it.”
Belichick said the Tar Heels are ahead of where they were a year ago, but he was not ready to look back yet.
“It’s definitely ahead of where it was a year ago,” Belichick said. “Let’s play out the rest of the season, then we’ll look back at the end of the year. Right now we just need to focus on Louisville, which will be plenty for us to deal with.”
Notes
— UNC returns home Saturday to face Louisville at 7 or 7:30 on ESPN2 or ACC Network. The Cardinals (5–3, 4–2) played at Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
— Hickman-Collins is the first UNC player with two takeaways in a game since Cedric Gray recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass in UNC’s 41–31 win over Miami on Oct. 14, 2023.
— Carolina’s previous pick-six came from linebacker Power Echols in a 31–24 win over Wake Forest, returning it for 42 yards on Nov. 16, 2024.
— Missing the game for Carolina were linebacker Jonathan Agumadu and defensive back Peyton Waters.
— Linebacker Derek McDonald appeared to injure his right shoulder in the second quarter, but didn’t stay out of the game long.
— It was the sixth time in nine games that it has rained during a UNC game. It also rained two seasons ago when UConn beat UNC in the Fenway Bowl.
— The game drew 36,901, but most left when it started raining in the second half.
— UNC has a 4–1 all-time record against UConn (2–0 in East Hartford) and earned the 760th victory in program history.
UNC 38, UConn 21
| 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. 4 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 | L, 38–35 | vs. No. 1 Miami | 4–4, 2–3 |
| November | |||
| 7 | W, 38–21 | at UConn | 5–4 |
| 14 | 7 or 7:30 | vs. Louisville | ESPN2 or ACCN |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia | TBA |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State | TBA |
Photo via @UNCFootball
