UNC football's season-long woes continue, culminating in loss to UConn in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl

BOSTON — Heads lowered, the 2024 UNC football team walked off the field for the last time.  

As they made their way toward the dugout of Fenway Park and to the locker room within, some players paused to take in the sights of the stadium — to soak it all in. Others jogged off without looking up. Among the clusters of Carolina Blue uniforms worn by stoic teammates, a mix of players in navy sweatpants stood out.  

North Carolina was a shell of itself, missing many of its key contributors. There was no Omarion Hampton to put the offense on his back. There was no All-American Willie Lampkin to lead the offensive line. No Mack Brown coaching on the sideline, either. 

And yet, UNC was still the same UNC: doomed by the same mistakes that have plagued the Tar Heels this season. Inefficiency on offense. Defensive collapses. Quarterback struggles. 

With a depleted roster, the problems were even more glaring, culminating in yet another bowl game loss for the fifth year in a row. The Tar Heels haven’t won one since 2019. And for the fourth year in a row, they ended the season on a losing streak.  

North Carolina fell, 27-14, to Connecticut on Saturday in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl, concluding UNC’s turbulent season with a 6-7 record and a three-game losing streak. Before Saturday, UConn hadn’t won a bowl game since 2010, hadn’t beaten an ACC team all year and hadn’t won a Power 4 game. The Tar Heels allowed the Huskies to record 361 yards of total offense, while only notching 10 first downs for themselves compared to UConn's 21. 

“We didn’t really catch any breaks today,” interim head coach Freddie Kitchens said. “You gotta make your own breaks at some times, but we didn’t really catch any breaks.”

It’s a closing chapter representative of what the team has struggled with all year. 

With less than five minutes to go in the first quarter and down 3-0, graduate quarterback Jacolby Criswell scrambled for seven yards in an attempt to prevent back-to-back three-and-outs. He was dragged down to the ground. He didn’t get up for a while. 

Grimacing in pain, he kicked his foot against the grass as he laid out on his back and gestured to his left shoulder. Minutes later, he was helped to his feet and escorted to the dugout. Criswell, who threw for 2,459 yards this season, did not return to the game. 

“It’s definitely a big shock,” graduate tight end John Copenhaver said. “You don’t like seeing any of your teammates getting hurt, no matter who it is. But in that situation, where we haven’t had any other quarterback get any game reps, it’s next man up — that’s the mentality.”

The next man up? First-year quarterback Michael Merdinger, who hadn’t seen game action all year and entered the transfer portal on Thursday. He’s the fourth UNC quarterback to see game action this season. 

It was a familiar scene for UNC. 

In August, graduate quarterback Max Johnson — North Carolina’s chosen starter for the beginning of the season — broke his right leg in the third quarter of the season-opener against Minnesota. Sophomore quarterback Conner Harrell replaced him. Before then, Harrell had only started in one game: the 2023 loss to West Virginia in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. 

On that day in August, UNC got lucky after the Golden Gophers missed a walk-off field goal attempt.  

And after Harrell replaced Johnson, the Tar Heels struggled to find consistency under center. The sophomore only started in two games before Criswell — initially third in the quarterback order — became QB1. 

But on Saturday, Criswell was taken down. There was no Harrell to step in. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4, along with 13 other players.

There was no luck on North Carolina’s side. In 12 attempts, Merdinger threw for 86 yards and one interception. UNC recorded only two first downs through the first three quarters. The Tar Heels were 0-9 on third down. 

And without Hampton, who is second in the nation in rushing yards, there was no offensive catalyst. UNC leads the ACC in rushing and ranks top-30 nationally, averaging 189.5 yards per game. Against UConn, the Tar Heels only ran for 96 yards. 

North Carolina’s offense did not score a touchdown until the last six minutes of the fourth quarter, and that was with senior running back Caleb Hood — who played quarterback in high school — taking the direct snap for the entire drive and slinging it to Copenhaver in the end zone. 

The lone other score came from a 95-yard kickoff return by sophomore wide receiver Chris Culliver. 

Both of which were too little, too late. 

“They didn’t do anything special,” Copenhaver said. “We just weren’t executing.”

And without execution, the Tar Heels couldn’t keep up. Not when the defense struggled to string together stops — another issue that plagued North Carolina all season. 

In regular season losses, UNC’s defense gave up an average of about 485 total yards per game. In wins, the Tar Heels only allowed 269 yards per game. 

“They had a good scheme where they’re just trying to run pretty much side-to-side,” sophomore defensive lineman Beau Atkinson said. “It puts our D-line in a tough bind and doesn’t give us the ability to use our skill sets the way that we usually do, so they do a pretty good job of that. But I don’t know, at the end of the day, we need to do a little better.”

North Carolina allowed UConn to execute nine explosive plays, totaling 192 yards. The Huskies converted on 8-16 of third downs. 

There was no answer. On both sides of the ball.

At ACC Kickoff in July, then-head coach Brown said he wanted to focus on finishing the season stronger. He wanted to build depth. He wanted to win a postseason game. But like the past five years, UNC didn't find the solution, just like it didn't discover the answer to its season-long struggles.  

And now, the Tar Heels have no choice but to look to the future, leaving behind the disappointing season and the ways of the past. They’ll turn to new head coach, Bill Belichick, and get back to work. 

“We’re just gonna go to work tomorrow and try to make the program better from top to bottom,” Kitchens said. “Players will do the same thing. Then we’ll see where we’re at the next time we kick the ball off.” 

@carolinewills03

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