There were some moments, throughout his North Carolina football career, when Cole Holcomb didn’t have an answer to give.
There were times like this last season when a stockpile of injuries made it hard to tell how good this Tar Heel team could have been. There was a time like this three years ago when only an offsides call and 50 yards separated the Tar Heels from an ACC Championship title.
And there were times like this in these past few months, when this Tar Heel team was just a few plays away from changing the narrative of Holcomb’s senior campaign.
“The hardest (part) is when guys are looking at you, and you don't have an answer,” Holcomb said. “And you have to come up with one.”
One of these times came after Saturday’s 34-28 loss to N.C. State, when the Tar Heels fell in overtime and lost a game by seven points or less for the fifth time this season.
The rivalry game resembled many of the close games this team had battled in before. In the first half, when dropped passes and poor field positioning characterized the cold and wet afternoon in Kenan Memorial Stadium, the Tar Heels relied on their defense — and the unit answered. UNC only allowed one touchdown, and even that came when the Wolfpack started an offensive series on North Carolina’s 4-yard line after UNC’s Hunter Lent mishandled a snap taken from his own end zone.
In the second half, North Carolina’s offense — led by true first-year quarterback Cade Fortin who still has his redshirt eligibility status intact for next season — woke up. A touchdown pass, two touchdown runs (one by Fortin) and a two-point conversion later, UNC found itself in a position to win late against an impressive opponent.
But, just how it started, it ended in an all-too-familiar way. In overtime, North Carolina’s senior place-kicker Freeman Jones sent a 37-yard field goal wide left, and N.C. State running back Reggie Gallaspy Jr. — who ran for 129 yards and five touchdowns on Saturday — punched in the game-winning score.
Low expectations, then hope, then disappointment. Again.
