UNC football falls to N.C. State in overtime, 34-28, to punctuate worst season since 2003

The North Carolina football team fell for the ninth and final time of its 2018 season to N.C. State on Saturday, 34-28, in what might have been the last game of Larry Fedora’s tenure as UNC head coach.

But the Tar Heels’ season finale — which went into overtime, which has only happened twice in this rivalry's history — did not disappoint.

What happened?

True first-year Cade Fortin got the start for the Tar Heel offense, but he couldn’t seem to get anything going early on against the Wolfpack (8-3, 5-3 ACC). 

Through its first four offensive possessions, North Carolina (2-9, 1-7 ACC) had three consecutive 3-and-outs and an interception. On fourth down of UNC’s second possession, senior punter Hunter Lent muffed the snap in his own endzone, resulting in the Wolfpack starting its second possession four yards away from the canvas. Two plays later, senior running back Reggie Gallaspy Jr. trotted into the endzone untouched.

Despite throwing an interception and only accumulating a total of 26 yards on offense in the first quarter, N.C. State led its conference rival going into the second quarter, 7-0. 

After a first quarter characterized by turnovers (one interception for each team), lackluster offense and dropped passes, the Tar Heels began stringing some plays together. 

In the first three minutes of the second quarter, UNC place kicker Freeman Jones knocked in a 24-yard field goal to punctuate a 45-yard drive. Two possessions later, after a 19-yard rush from Fortin off a read-option, Jones knocked in a 43-yard attempt to close the game’s margin to one point.

At halftime, despite leading N.C. State in yards gained (125-92), first downs (9-5) and tackles for loss (5-4), UNC trailed the Wolfpack, 7-6.

The second half, to be blunt, was much more exciting.

After the break, N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley orchestrated a 75-yard drive that culminated in a four-yard touchdown run — Gallaspy Jr.’s second of the day. 

The Tar Heels answered immediately. In a three-play drive — with help from an acrobatic 38-yard catch from Dazz Newsome — Fortin found Beau Corrales for a 37-yard touchdown pass after a double move left the shifty sophomore wide open to make it 14-13, Wolfpack.

Again, though, the teams traded blows. Gallaspy Jr. proved too much for the Tar Heel defense to handle in a 34-yard touchdown run on N.C. State’s ensuing possession, which put the Wolfpack up, 21-13. Just over two minutes later, UNC running back Javonte Williams scored from eight yards out, and a successful Tar Heel two-point conversion tied the game at 21.

The tides began to turn when the UNC defense got a stop, and Fortin capped off a 92-yard drive when he took it in himself, rushing for a one-yard touchdown to put the Tar Heels up 28-21 late in the fourth quarter.

But Gallaspy Jr. answered again. The senior tailback notched his fourth touchdown on the day with six minutes remaining in the game from five yards out to knot the game at 28.

Then came overtime.

After a three-and-out, North Carolina’s Jones sent a 37-yard field goal wide left. As an answer: N.C. State finished the job — using the player that did it all for the team all game. Gallaspy Jr. punched in a one-yard touchdown run, his fifth of the day, to cap off his team’s victory.

Who stood out?

Though Fortin completed just seven of his 21 pass attempts for 61 yards and an interception in the first half, his play was largely the reason why the Tar Heels were down only a point at halftime. 

Fortin repeatedly put the ball in the hands of his receivers, and often times, his receivers dropped well-placed balls. The most significant mishandling by a receiver came in the final minutes of the first quarter when Fortin’s pass bounced off the fingertips of Corrales and into the hands of N.C. State first-year cornerback, Teshaun Smith. 

At the end of the half, Fortin helped North Carolina cut its deficit to one point when the Tar Heels got the ball back with a little less than eight minutes left until halftime. 

The true first-year completed passes of 10, 13 and 14 yards and scrambled for 19 yards to get the Tar Heels to the red zone. Fortin couldn’t hit a receiver in the end zone, but he made the right plays to put the Tar Heels in range to hit a 43-yard field goal that cut the Wolfpack's lead to one point. 

When N.C. State scored on its first possession of the second half to extend its lead to eight points, Fortin had an answer. 

The Suwanee, Ga., native completed a 38-yard pass to Newsome and then put a 37-yard bomb right in the hands of Corrales for a touchdown. 

Then, with the score tied at 21 a piece with less than 10 minutes left in the game, Fortin showed off his athleticism again. This time, on a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-21 and give North Carolina its first lead of the game. 

Fortin finished the game with 276 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown and one interception. Even with a two-win season for UNC, his performance gives Tar Heel fans optimism at the quarterback position for the next few years. 

Why does it matter?

The ultimate truth is that the loss closes the book on UNC’s least-hopeful season in Larry Fedora’s seven years at the helm of the program. 

The coach, who came in with a reputation for lighting up scoreboards, ends the 2018 season with his team averaging 27.4 points, 442.1 yards and 21.3 first downs per game — being outperformed by its opponents, on average, in all three categories. 

UNC’s two-win 2018 season is its worst since 2003.

Earlier in the season, Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham said that he would evaluate the state of the UNC football program at the end of the season. The evaluation, for all intents and purposes, will be whether Fedora is worth keeping for an eighth season; per his contract, if he were to be fired before next season, Fedora’s buyout would be $12.2 million.

When do they play next?

North Carolina won’t meet again until late February or early March, when spring practice begins in preparation for the 2019 season. 

That said, plenty of impactful decisions will be made between now and then.

@alexzietlow05

sports@dailytarheel.com | @DTHSports