CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina had the ball and a shot at a winning field goal in the final two minutes Saturday night at Kenan Stadium, but a fourth-down pass bounced into Louisville hands and the Cardinals escaped with a 16-14 win.
The result keeps the Tar Heels at 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the ACC, still one victory away from bowl eligibility with Virginia up next on Nov. 21. Louisville improved to 7-3 and 6-2, its fifth win in a row, and stays in the hunt for a spot in the ACC title game in Charlotte.
Points were scarce all night. Carson Hilbert opened the scoring with a 46-yard field goal, and UNC answered with an 11-yard touchdown run by Benjamin Hall to cap a 75-yard march. Hilbert added a 32-yarder, and Lincoln Kienholz threw a 3-yard touchdown to Jaleel Skinner for the only Louisville touchdown.
Hilbert hit from 36 yards in the fourth quarter to stretch the margin, and Hall answered with a 6-yard run with 3:43 to go that cut it to two. The Carolina defense then forced a punt and gave the offense the ball back with 1:41 left.
Travis Burgess was under center by then, having taken over after starter Billy Edwards Jr. left in the second half following a hard sack. On fourth-and-12, his throw caromed off receiver Jordan Shipp and into the arms of Jabari Mack, who returned it 32 yards with 58 seconds left.
Both defenses carried the night. UNC held Louisville to 302 yards, and the Cardinals limited the Tar Heels to 293 with two takeaways. Edwards threw for 120 yards and Jelani Thurman led UNC with 72 receiving yards. A scuffle broke out after the final kneel-down, and coaches and staff, including UNC coach Bill Belichick, pulled players apart.
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