CHARLOTTE — Bank of America Stadium is no friend to the 2015 North Carolina football team.
The No. 8 Tar Heels began the year in Charlotte with a loss to South Carolina — their sole loss of the season until No. 1 Clemson ended UNC's 11-game winning streak in the same stadium with a 45-37 defeat in Saturday's ACC Championship game.
While it could easily be said the Tar Heels (11-2) beat themselves during that season-opening game against the Gamecocks, that argument becomes much more difficult when looking at the loss to the Tigers.
Quarterback Marquise Williams had a poor game passing the ball — finishing just 11-for-33 with 224 yards and a key interception that resulted in a 97-yard Clemson touchdown drive. But he was also under pressure the entire game.
Against South Carolina, the mistakes could have been pinpointed to Williams. But for possibly the first time this season, the North Carolina offensive line looked vulnerable against the Tigers (13-0).
Clemson’s defensive front seemed to be in complete control throughout the game, giving Williams little time to operate in the pocket. The Tigers had two sacks on Williams and hit him eight times.
And while the Tar Heels started out strong on defense and created a key turnover in the third quarter — courtesy of a Nazair Jones deflection and interception — Heisman Trophy hopeful Deshaun Watson proved to be too much for them, as he won the game's Most Valuable Player award.
The Clemson quarterback set an ACC Championship game record for total yards, finishing with 420. Watson provided a challenge Gene Chizik’s defense had yet to face this season, with his ability to throw and run effectively. The sophomore finished with five total touchdowns, along with 289 passing yards and 131 rushing yards.
As it did all season, UNC continued to fight throughout the entire game, and seemed to have created one last scoring chance after recovering an onside kick with 1:13 left in the contest. But the play was called back on an offsides penalty, and the Tar Heels were unable to secure the ensuing onside kick to challenge for overtime down eight points.
