MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — North Carolina’s defense — yes its defense — got it done.
The Tar Heels had a goal-line stand and two turnovers, including a DeAndre Boykins interception with eight seconds left, to preserve a 27-24 win over Miami on Saturday.
North Carolina (5-1, 2-0 ACC) worked its way out of tough positions all game, so it seemed fitting that the defense held for one last time.
Miami (2-3, 0-1) attempted an onside kick that UNC tight end Kamari Morales tried to bat out of bounds. He missed the ball and Miami’s Al Blades Jr. knocked the ball from going out of bounds into the awaiting arms of Chase Smith.
The play went under review, though, and it was determined that Blades went out of bounds when he touched the ball, giving possession to the Heels.
Carolina couldn’t come up with a first down when it took over, meaning its defense needed to come up with one more stop.
The Canes took over the ball with 46 seconds left and had reached the UNC 47. One long pass and Miami could have potentially been in range for a game-tying field goal attempt. But Boykins picked off a pass intended for Colbie Young to seal the game.
The defense was peppered through the start of the season with questions about what was wrong. The past two weeks, they still showed some flaws, but the Heels played like a confident bunch that makes Carolina a contender for the ACC Coastal Division crown.
Last week, with 28 seconds left in the first half against Virginia Tech, Maye led the Heels into field-goal range and took momentum into the locker room. Against Miami, they faced a similar scenario again with 28 seconds left.
This time, Maye threw an interception on their first play. The Canes converted a field goal to end the half and went from a team down two touchdowns to floating with confidence, down just 21-17.
When Maye’s first two plays of the second half were a sack on first down and his second interception in as many passes on second down, Miami took possession, poised to take its first lead of the game.
Carolina’s defense did not allow any points this time. The Canes moved to the UNC 49 and faced a fourth-and-3. Boykins blitzed untouched and dropped quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for a seven-yard loss.
With a short field, the Heels took their ensuing drive down to the Miami 7. But their chance to score a touchdown was also thwarted by a sack. Maye took a 10-yard loss that made it too long for the Tar Heels to go for it.
Noah Burnette’s 38-yard field goal put UNC ahead 24-17. But it was also the second time in the game Carolina did not get a touchdown on a trip to the red zone. It entered the game 17 for 19 scoring touchdowns inside its opponents' 20.
The two times they didn’t score red-zone touchdowns were because they let time expire at the end of their win over Florida A&M, and last week when Maye got the breath knocked out of him trying to dive for a touchdown against Virginia Tech. It forced backup quarterback Jacolby Criswell to take the third-down snap, and he threw an incomplete pass, forcing the Heels to settle for a field goal.
In the first quarter, Carolina came up short after reaching the Miami 7. It could have taken a 10-0 lead with a field goal, but Maye and receiver Josh Downs appeared to miscommunicate on fourth down, leading to an incompletion.
After the Heels came up empty, the defense came up big on the ensuing Miami drive. The Canes reached the UNC 2 and had a first-and-goal. Carolina stuffed three straight runs, giving up just one yard. On fourth-and-goal, Van Dyke was pressured by Kaimon Rucker into throwing an incomplete pass to tight end Will Mallory.
The Heels’ first goal-line stand of the season was complete. The Heels’ defense has come a long way the past two weeks from the team that gave up 40 points in the fourth quarter against Appalachian State.
