CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina stole one from Pittsburgh on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.

On the surface, the Tar Heels had no business beating the Panthers 37-36, and on the flip side, Pitt had no business losing. But common sense and typical patterns are not always what a season is comprised of, and with that, Carolina eked out a victory on a last-second 2-yard touchdown reception by Bug Howard to push the Heels to the victory.

Here are some of the positives in Carolina’s third win in four games, and third in a row since a season-opening loss to Georgia:

Character – Forget the hole the Heels put themselves in. Forget all they did wrong to lead to the extremely difficult scenario they faced. Instead, focus on what it required to overcome a quality team that was seemingly in control of the game and somehow emerge with a last-second victory.

Larry Fedora always talks about what adversity can reveal in a person, a player and a team, and the Heels faced a degree of adversity they hadn’t in some time. The crowd booed the staff’s decision to punt a couple of times in the fourth quarter, no doubt fueled by their belief the defense wouldn’t stop Pittsburgh.

But the head coach believed in his team and it paid off. The Tar Heels answered the call, and it revealed something about who they are.

“We learned a lot about our football team tonight,” Fedora said. “We talked about it before the game. We had an opportunity to establish the identity of this football team, and I can say there is a lot of grit in this football team for one, a lot of toughness, and all the intangibles that we need to be successful.”

Mitch Trubisky – Yes, Trubisky can play. He made one bad throw all night, and otherwise he was sensational in completing 35 of 46 pass attempts for 453 yards and 5 touchdowns against no interceptions. At one point, Trubisky was 15-16 but then the passing game went into a funk. However, his vision, legs getting him sightlines against a heavy pass rush, and his arm and accuracy got the Heels going again.

Trubisky engineered touchdown drives of 45 yards on 8 plays and then 63 yards on 17 plays on Carolina’s last two possessions to lift the Tar Heels to the improbable victory. Trubusky was helped out by his teammates on some plays, but the will factor began with him, he had to see them and throw them the ball for them to make the plays they did.

“Mitch is stone cold,” UNC junior running back Elijah Hood said. “I do not know how Mitch did it. But he stayed focused, relied on his training, and trusted his reads. Ultimately, he made the throws.”

On that final drive, Trubisky and the Tar Heels converted three 4th downs – the Heels were 4-4 on 4th down for the game – something he doesn’t recall ever being a part of in a game.

“I don’t think so,” Trubisky replied when asked if he’d completed three 4th-down passes on a single drive before. “That was nuts.”

Trubisky was 15-22 for 129 yards and two touchdowns on the final to possessions.

Ryan Switzer – The senior came to play Saturday. He had a career-high 208 receiving yards on a career-high 16 receptions, and just appeared more in a groove than in any previous game this season. He had a ton of yards after the catch, and that’s beyond the 58-yard reception he had in the first half. Switzer said after the game the staff felt he could have a big game because of the way Pitt’s defense allowed some of the under stuff, and with his ability to turn up field quickly, he’d have a chance at gaining a lot of yards after the catch. He did.

His most impressive reception of the night, however, had no yards after the catch, but none were more impressive. It was a 4th-down reception for 9 yards giving the Heels a 1st down at the Pitt 17 with 51 seconds left in the contest. It may have been the best catch of his career and likely the most important. It was maybe the best of his career. He had to extend as much as his 5-foot-10 frame would allow.

“It’s not about reach, it’s not about height, anything, it’s all about his heart,” Trubisky said. “he found the hole, I threw it to him, he went up and got it, and I know he’s capable of making those plays. He’s a great receiver, he’s awesome.”

Switzer’s 16 receptions ties a single-game school record…

“I think I had the performance I did today because they are a predominantly run-stopping oriented defense, so they played their safeties low and I was able to get looks from Mitch,” he said.

Late Stops – The defense had a rough day. Not only was it on the field seemingly forever (41:07), missed a ton of tackles, and failed to execute more than is acceptable. But the Heels got some late stops that allowed the offense a chance to win the game late, turning the ball over to the offense at its own 37-yard-line with 3:25 left in the game.

Pitt had 362 total yards over its first seven possessions of the game, building a 33-23 lead in the process. But the Tar Heels’ defense stiffened and allowed the Panthers only 9 total yards over their last four possessions, and 47 came on one of them. But Carolina held Pitt to a field goal on that series, and on the other three series forced 3-and-outs.

“No adjustments, they just bowed their neck,” Fedora said about his defense. “They gutted it up and they got it done. They made plays, they made tackles.”

Senior defensive end Mikey Bart said the Tar Heels just got tougher, played with more of a purpose, and simply buckled down.

“The last couple of series, we really shut them down on the D-line,” Bart said. “A lot of players inside got a lot of tackles before they got out to Cole and all the linebackers. So, we definitely just focused and got the job done.”

Bug Howard – His catch with 2 seconds left to tie the game was simply amazing. He fought off a defensive back who was flagged for holding on the play, came down landing hard and held on to the ball with one hand.

“We know we had the fade all night, they was playing one-on-one,” Howard said. “

(Number) 38, he was holding all night, so I anticipated holding. All I knew was if I got my left arm free that I’m making this play, and Mitch threw a great ball that only I could get it and I wouldn’t let it drop to the ground…

“It was one of the greatest feelings of my life.”

For the game, Howard caught 6 passes for 66 yards and 2 scores.

Austin Proehl – The junior receiver had perhaps his best game as a Tar Heel. He made some very tough catches, a couple when absolutely needed, and complimented Switzer and company very well as the fourth receiver. He finished with 7 receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Narrowing The Play Gap Discrepancy - At one point in the second quarter, Pitt had run 38 offensive plays while the Heels had run just 7. But Carolina narrowed that gap considerably over the final 7:32 of the game, running 25 of the last 28 offensive plays of the game.