MINNEAPOLIS, MN – As cold as ice as Noah Burnette’s veins were Thursday night, he still had butterflies when walking onto the field with 1:44 remaining and a chance to give his team the lead over Minnesota.

But as the nerves subsided, the North Carolina kicker got his bearings straight, calmed his mind, and went into routine-mode, something he does every day in practice.

And just like that, Burnette converted a 45-yard field goal attempt for the game’s final points in the Tar Heels’ 19-17 win over the Golden Gophers in the season-opener for both teams.

“You can get some butterflies when you go out there, but when you get set, sort of everything goes away,” Burnette said on a small media room located a few doors down from the Tar Heels’ locker room. “(It) gets quiet and it’s just shooting the ball.”

In addition to the pressure-cooker conversion, Burnette also hit from 29, 42, and 52 yards in the game, all in the second half, which were UNC’s only points after halftime. The biggest boom was a career high.

In fact, after an 18-for-19 season a year ago, Burnette has now made eight consecutive attempts between 40 and 49 yards. He has become a huge weapon for the Heels. And obviously, the confidence everyone in the program has in him is soaring.

“I started to go out and talk to Noah tonight, And I said, I went out, and I was kind of gonna say, 'you got this,'” UNC Coach Mack Brown said, referring to the clutch kick that gave the Heels a victory. “And he never looked at me, he looked down. Just really, really proud of him."

More confidence from Tar Heels, including from the defensive side of the ball.

“Honestly, I believe in Noah every single play,” defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie said. “Literally, on the sideline, we were all saying, ‘you got this, Noah, you got this Bernie gonna get this.’ No doubts, no fear in Bernie.”

Bernie?

“That’s what we call him (laughing),” Ritzie said. “It’s a habit.”

Burnette has made a habit of getting the job done unlike late in the 2022 campaign.

His misses against NC State in overtime and late in a bowl loss to Oregon were low points in his Carolina career, but they also served as learning opportunities. And now, after having gone through that rough patch, Burnette has come out on the other side a much better and more reliable player.

“Definitely just experience,” he said, noting the difference between those noted misses and now. “Getting those reps under my belt, sort of pressure situations I don’t let get to my head as much as I did that first year. Just continue to build on the experience.”

And UNC will build on Burnette’s leg, too, as the season moves along. He has become a verifiable weapon.