North Carolina at Pittsburgh

North Carolina at Pittsburgh

This is Missed It. North Carolina at Pittsburgh, Saturday, October 10, 66 and overcast at Acrisure Stadium, with the Tar Heels. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

We are on the road in Pittsburgh, and this one has real weight to it. North Carolina comes in at two and two, still finding our footing. Pittsburgh is five and oh, unbeaten, feeling themselves. They get the ball first. We need this one badly.

Q1

The opening drive takes forever. Fourteen plays. Pittsburgh grinds it down the field, and we cannot get off the field. Third downs, fourth downs, they keep converting. And then, at the nine forty-nine mark, Wright takes it left, two yards, and he is in. Touchdown. The extra point is good, and just like that we are down seven to nothing before we have even touched the ball on offense. We get our chance. Nine plays, and we are moving. But at the six oh two mark, Edwards Jr. drops back, and the pocket collapses. Ward gets home. Sacked for a loss of five yards back to our own forty-nine. The drive stalls, the momentum shifts, and we are forced to give it back. That one stings. Pittsburgh takes over again. Ten plays this time. Geriner is finding Hicks underneath, eight yards here, six yards there, each one a fresh set of downs. We bend, but we do not break. They punt it away, and we take over with twenty-three seconds left in the quarter. Four plays, nothing doing. The quarter ends with us still trailing seven to nothing.

Q2

Pittsburgh gets the ball back to start the second quarter, and they chew up more clock. Fourteen plays. We hold them at the forty-one yard line, and Chadha trots out for the field goal. It is good. Ten to nothing. The lead is growing, and we need an answer. We get one. Edwards Jr. drops back, looks deep right, and finds Shipp in stride. Forty-nine yards down to the Pitt twenty-six. The crowd goes quiet. Then, on the next set, he finds Shipp again, eight yards, and Pittsburgh gets flagged for a personal foul. Seven more yards, first down at the seven. And then, at the five thirty-two mark, Edwards Jr. throws short middle to Thurman, caught at the goal line, seven yards, touchdown. The kick is good. Seven to ten. We are back in this thing. Pittsburgh answers with a long drive of their own. Fifteen plays. Geriner keeps finding Hicks, fourteen yards at the one fifty-six mark, another first down. They push all the way into our territory, but the clock runs out on them. Chadha lines up for the field goal, and it misses. We take over with nine seconds left, one play, and the half ends. Seven to ten. We are down three, but we are very much alive.

Halftime

At the break, it is seven to ten. The play that turned this half was Thurman's touchdown catch at the five thirty-two mark. Before that, we were down ten to nothing and Pittsburgh was controlling everything. That score changed the feel of the game. We go into the locker room down just three, and we have the ball coming out of the half. We need to come out sharp, protect the football, and take control of this game.

Q3

We get the ball to start the third quarter, and it goes wrong fast. Four plays in, Edwards Jr. drops back, and Woodson steps in front of the pass at our own forty. Interception. He returns it nine yards to our thirty-one. Pittsburgh takes over in our territory, and the crowd is roaring. But our defense answers. Four plays, and Pittsburgh gives it right back. Turnover. We take over, but we cannot do anything with it. Four plays, punt. Pittsburgh gets it back, and two plays later, another turnover. We are trading mistakes, and nobody is taking control. We get a drive going. Seven plays, but we stall and punt again. Pittsburgh takes over, six plays, and we stop them on downs. Now it is our turn. Eleven plays. We are driving, chewing clock, and at the twenty-two second mark, June takes it up the middle, one yard, and he is in. Touchdown. The kick is good. Fourteen to ten. We have the lead. Pittsburgh gets the ball back with twenty-two seconds left in the quarter. Eight plays, and they keep it going into the fourth. At the twelve forty-seven mark, Wright rushes left, one yard, touchdown. The kick is good. Fourteen to seventeen. They have taken the lead back, and we have to answer.

Q4

We do not wait. Two plays. Edwards Jr. drops back, looks deep right, and finds Easter in stride at the fifty. Seventy-five yards. Touchdown. The kick is good. Twenty-one to seventeen. The sideline erupts. That is the kind of strike that changes a game. Pittsburgh gets the ball back, and they need an answer. Eight plays. They move the ball, but our defense holds. Fourth down, and they cannot convert. Turnover on downs. We take over, and now it is about closing this thing out.

The Sequence

This is where the game is decided. Twenty-one to seventeen, and every possession matters. We have the ball at the nine seventeen mark. Five plays. At the six twenty-one mark, Edwards Jr. drops back, and Harrison steps in front. Interception at the Pitt thirty-seven. He returns it twenty-two yards to our forty-one. Pittsburgh takes over, and the crowd is on its feet. Six plays for Pittsburgh. At the five fifty-two mark, Geriner finds Kent for seven yards, a first down at our twenty-nine. The momentum is theirs. They are knocking on the door. But our defense digs in. Fourth down at the four fourteen mark. Geriner drops back, throws short left to Hicks, and it falls incomplete. Turnover on downs. We take over, and the place goes quiet. Four plays for us. We cannot move it. We give it back on downs at the two thirty-three mark. Pittsburgh takes over at the two twenty-six mark. Four plays. We stop them. Turnover on downs. We take over at the one fifty-seven mark. Four plays. We cannot convert. We give it back on downs at the one thirty-six mark. Pittsburgh takes over at the one seventeen mark. Four plays. At the fifty-six second mark, Geriner drops back, throws deep right to Yates, and Patterson breaks it up. Turnover on downs. We take over at the forty-nine second mark. Two plays. The clock runs out. Twenty-one to seventeen. We win.

Wrap-up

Final score, twenty-one to seventeen. We are three and two. Pittsburgh falls to five and one. We came into their building, took their best shot, and walked out with the win. That is a big one for us.

By the Numbers

The Tar Heels by the numbers. Final score, North Carolina 21, Pittsburgh 17. 269 yards of offense to their 369, 249 through the air and 20 on the ground. 13 first downs. 3 of 11 on third down. 2 turnovers for us, 2 for them. We held the ball for just over 23 minutes.

Outro

That was North Carolina at Pittsburgh, from the Tar Heels side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.

North Carolina at Pittsburgh

This is Missed It. North Carolina at Pittsburgh, Saturday, October 10, 66 and overcast at Acrisure Stadium, with the Panthers. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

It's a big one tonight at home, Panthers fans. North Carolina Tar Heels come into this one at two and two, and we're sitting pretty at five and oh. Undefeated. Perfect. And we've got the ball first. This is about keeping that zero in the loss column, about showing this conference that Pittsburgh is for real. The Tar Heels have had our number before, but tonight, in front of our crowd, with everything on the line, this is our chance to make a statement. We need this one. We want this one. Let's go.

Q1

We open with the football, and we waste no time. Fourteen plays, grinding it out, moving the chains, chewing up the clock. And then, at the nine minute mark, we get the payoff. Shotgun, Wright takes the handoff, rushes left, and he's got a lane. Two yards, that's all it takes, and he's in for the touchdown. The crowd erupts. Chadha's kick is good, and just like that, we're up seven to nothing. That's how you start a game. That's how you defend home turf. But North Carolina doesn't fold. They get the ball back, and they start to move. They're driving, they're getting some momentum, and then, at the six minute mark, we flip it. Edwards Jr. drops back, he's looking downfield, and here comes Ward off the edge. Sack. Loss of five yards. The air goes out of their drive, the crowd gets loud again, and they're facing a long third down. That's the kind of play that changes a game. That's the kind of play that makes a defense believe. We take over, and we're moving again. Geriner finds Hicks on a short pass to the right, caught at the thirty, eight yards, and it's a first down. Then again, a few plays later, Geriner to Hicks again, this time to the left, six yards, another first down. We're controlling the clock, we're controlling the tempo. But we can't punch it in, and we're forced to punt. Still, we've got them pinned back, and the quarter ends with us up seven to nothing. It feels like we're in control.

Q2

We get the ball back to start the second quarter, and we're driving again. Fourteen plays, methodical, patient, eating up the clock. We get down to the North Carolina 41, and we settle for the field goal attempt. Chadha lines up from 41 yards out, and it's good. Seven to ten. We've extended the lead, and it feels like we're building something. But then, the momentum shifts. Edwards Jr. drops back, and he lets it fly. Deep right, Shipp is wide open, caught at the thirty, and he's got a head of steam. Forty-nine yards, all the way down to our twenty-six. The crowd goes quiet. They're in our territory now, and they're threatening. Then, a few plays later, Edwards Jr. again, short left to Shipp, eight yards, and there's a flag. Personal foul on Marcelin. Seven more yards. They're knocking on the door. And then, at the 5:32 mark, they break through. Edwards Jr. takes the snap, short middle, and finds Thurman. Caught at the goal line, seven yards, touchdown. The kick is good, and just like that, it's seven to ten. They've taken our momentum, they've taken the lead, and we're reeling a little bit. We need an answer. We get the ball back with about five and a half minutes left, and we start to move. Fifteen plays, we're grinding, we're fighting, we're getting down the field. Geriner finds Hicks again, this time for fourteen yards, a big first down. We're in their territory, we're knocking on the door again. But we can't get it in the end zone. We settle for the field goal attempt, but it's no good. Missed. We come away with nothing, and the half ends with us down seven to ten. It stings. It stings a lot.

Halftime

Alright, let's take a breath. We're down three at the half, seven to ten. It's not where we want to be, but it's not the end of the world. The play that turned this half was that touchdown pass to Thurman. We had all the momentum, we were up ten to nothing, and then they hit that big play, and the whole game flipped. We let them back in, and now we're chasing. But here's the thing: we're still in this. We've moved the ball, we've had our chances, we just haven't finished. We need to come out in the second half with that same fire we had in the first quarter. We need to get back to what was working. We need to protect the football, we need to make plays, and we need to remember that we're the better team. We've got thirty minutes to prove it.

Q3

We need a stop, and we get one. North Carolina gets the ball to start the half, and on their fourth play, Edwards Jr. drops back, and he throws it right to us. Woodson steps in front of it, intercepts it at the forty, and he's got room. Nine yards, all the way back to their thirty-one. We've got the ball, we've got the momentum, and we're in their territory. This is our chance to take control. But we give it right back. Four plays, and we turn it over. We can't hold onto the football, and we hand it right back to them. The defense holds, they punt, and we get another chance. But this time, it's worse. Two plays, and we turn it over again. We're giving them everything, and we're lucky they haven't scored. They punt again, and we get the ball back. Six plays, and we can't convert. We turn it over on downs. We're stuck in the mud, and they're starting to believe. They take over, and they drive. Eleven plays, they're grinding, they're moving, and at the 0:22 mark, June takes it up the middle. One yard, touchdown. The kick is good, and just like that, they've taken the lead, fourteen to ten. We need an answer, and we need it now. We get the ball back with twenty-two seconds left in the quarter, and we start to move. Eight plays, we're driving, we're fighting, and we carry it into the fourth quarter. And then, at the 12:47 mark, we punch it in. Wright, rush left, one yard, touchdown. The kick is good, and we've got the lead back, fourteen to seventeen. We're not done yet.

Q4

We've got the lead, and we need a stop. But North Carolina has other ideas. On their second play, Edwards Jr. drops back, and he lets it fly. Deep right, Easter is behind everyone. Caught at the fifty, and he's gone. Seventy-five yards, touchdown. The kick is good, and just like that, they've taken the lead back, twenty-one to seventeen. The air goes out of the building. We're chasing again. We get the ball back, and we need to answer. Eight plays, we're moving, we're fighting, we're getting into their territory. But we can't convert. We turn it over on downs. We're giving ourselves chances, but we're not finishing. And now we're running out of time.

The Sequence

This is it. This is where the game is decided. We're down four, twenty-one to seventeen, and we need the football. And we get it. At the 6:21 mark, Edwards Jr. drops back, and he throws it right to us again. Harrison steps in front of it, intercepts it at our thirty-seven, and he's got room. Twenty-two yards, all the way back to their forty-one. We've got the ball, we've got the momentum, and we've got a chance. We start to move. Six plays, we're driving, we're fighting. At the 5:52 mark, Geriner finds Kent on a short pass to the right, caught at their thirty-five, seven yards, and it's a first down. We're at their twenty-nine. We're knocking on the door. This is our chance. But we can't finish. At the 4:14 mark, Geriner drops back, he looks for Hicks, and the pass falls incomplete. Turnover on downs. We had them, and we let them off the hook. The defense gets the ball back, and they hold. They turn it over on downs. We get the ball back with 2:26 left. Four plays, and we can't convert. Turnover on downs. We're running out of chances. The defense holds again. They turn it over on downs. We get the ball back with 1:17 left. Four plays. We're at their territory, we're looking for the end zone. And then, at the 0:56 mark, Geriner drops back, he looks deep for Yates, and the pass is broken up. Turnover on downs. It's over. They take over, they run out the clock, and the game is done. Twenty-one to seventeen. We had our chances, and we couldn't take them.

Wrap-up

Final score: North Carolina twenty-one, Pittsburgh seventeen. They beat us by four. Our record falls to five and one, and they improve to three and two. It's a tough one to swallow, Panthers fans. We had our chances, we had the momentum, and we couldn't finish. But we're still in this race. We're still five and one. We'll learn from this, and we'll come back stronger. We've got a lot of football left to play.

By the Numbers

The Panthers by the numbers. Final score, Pittsburgh 17, North Carolina 21. 369 yards of offense to their 269, 219 through the air and 150 on the ground. 23 first downs. 7 of 16 on third down. 2 turnovers for us, 2 for them. We held the ball for just under 37 minutes.

Outro

That was North Carolina at Pittsburgh, from the Panthers side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.