Tar Heels overcome penalties in win

It was as if Miami’s offense wouldn’t ever leave the field. North Carolina, through miscues of its own, only allowed the Hurricanes to linger.

UNC (5-2 2-1 ACC) was leading Miami 7-0 in the second quarter Saturday and successfully stopped the Hurricanes in their fourth drive of the afternoon, bringing up fourth down. But as Dalton Botts came on the field to punt the ball away, freshman running back Romar Morris was called for roughing the punter.

First down Miami.

A few minutes later, the Hurricanes faced first-and-goal at the North Carolina 1-yard line. The Tar Heels committed not just one penalty, but two.

“I’m not going to lie, that was me. Both times,” safety Tre Boston said about being the 12th man on the field. “They called the first penalty and I’m like, ‘Who is that on?’ And then they call it again and I’m like, ‘Oh, obviously it was me.’”

Miami scored to tie the game on the next play.

Despite accumulating 15 penalties for 140 yards Saturday, UNC beat its Coastal Division opponent 18-14, though quarterback Bryn Renner admitted the win could have been a lot easier with fewer mistakes.

“If we can just eliminate some of those in certain situations and not put ourselves in a hole, I think we could score a lot more points and stop a lot more people,” he said.

Saturday’s win was the second straight game in which the Tar Heels were flagged for 15 penalties. In its 48-34 win against Virginia Tech, UNC lost 126 yards because of miscues.

Coach Larry Fedora said he doesn’t remember teams he’s coached ever accumulating 30 penalties in a two-week span. He’s addressed the issue with his staff. He’s talked to players about it in practice. Still, the yellow flags keep flying.

“It’s not like, going into the last two weeks we said, ‘Hey guys, play reckless,’” Fedora said. “We haven’t really changed the way we’re practicing or how we’re coaching.”

Most of the penalties accrued, Fedora said, were a result of putting in “extra effort,” that is, being a little too aggressive on blocks and tackles.

In the third quarter, with UNC leading by just four, Boston picked off quarterback Stephen Morris and took it 24 yards to Miami’s 11-yard line. Had the interception turned into a score, it could have been a two-possession game heading into the fourth quarter.

Instead, the interception was called back, and North Carolina’s Gene Robinson was called for pass interference.

“North Carolina could win by so many more points if we didn’t have these penalties,” Boston said. “But us prevailing and still winning after these penalties, it shows what kind of team we are.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.