Heels Feeling The Sting

BLACKSBURG, VA - North Carolina’s 43-41 loss to Virginia Tech in Lane Stadium on Saturday after six overtimes hurt for more reasons than one.

Whether it was the early dropped passes, missed field goals or inability to make key plays down the stretch, the defeat stings. The Tar Heels had plenty of chances to win but, in the end, just couldn’t make it happen.

In many ways, UNC’s (3-4, 2-2 ACC) early season losses were games to learn from for a program trying to build a new culture. They were expected and, looking back, it’s really no surprise this team came to Blacksburg sitting at .500.

Entering Saturday’s matchup, the Tar Heels controlled their own destiny in the ACC Coastal Division and were favorites to win against a Tech (5-2, 2-2 ACC) team that has been far from convincing this year. UNC couldn’t make it happen, however, and that aided in the loss hurting more than usual.

“I feel like the first losses were a learning experience to see where we were but, yea, this stings a lot more,” sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said.

For UNC head coach Mack Brown, his first trip to Lane Stadium and second ever overtime game as a coach was one to forget. He was understandably frustrated after the game and didn’t try to hide it.

“There’s nothing you can really say to them because losing really stinks,” Brown said. “You work way too hard to lose, it’s not worth playing if you lose, and, when you do lose, you’ve got to take it and learn from it.”

Brown’s players were visibly down after the game.

“It’s just tough,” junior wide receiver Beau Corrales said. “Just like coach Brown says, we work our butts off way too much and way too hard to come up short, so it sucks.”

Even more infuriating for the Tar Heels was how they lost. They owned a one-touchdown or more advantage on four separate occasions against the Hokies – in the first, second and third quarters plus one of the overtimes – but could sustain or build on those leads. They played well enough to win during some stretches and played bad enough to lose at times, too.

Junior wide receiver Dazz Newsome, who finished with a game-high nine catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns, couldn’t point out just one reason for the defeat. There were simply too many.

“There’s a lot of things that could have changed that game, you can’t really say one thing,” Newsome said. “There were so many things, you can’t even tell.”

This one hurts, it was on the players’ faces and in their voices. They just couldn’t hide, though they didn’t really try.