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Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels came an inch away from their first ACC win of the season, but fell just short in a 17-16 loss to No. 16 Virginia in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon,. 

The good news for North Carolina is it's the second consecutive week they've looked better after their woeful start to the season, but the bad news is it's back-to-back weeks falling just short of a conference win in gutting fashion. After allowing a touchdown to Virginia on the first possession of overtime, North Carolina answered by punching it in with a screen pass to Davion Gause. 

Belichick, correctly, chose to go for two rather than kick the extra point to force double overtime; they'd be forced to go for two after a TD in the next overtime period anyway. They opted for a straight drop back pass on the 2-point try, and after extending the play, Gio Lopez checked it down to Benjamin Hall, who nearly trucked through Virginia defenders but went down with the ball a literal inch from the end zone to give the Cavaliers the win.

It's impossible to get closer to the goal line without breaking the plane than Hall. It's somewhat ironic that after UNC fumbled through the end zone twice in the last two weeks for touchbacks, it's a player listening to Belichick's advice of trying not to fully extend the ball that ends up costing the Tar Heels a win. 

The defense played well enough to win again on Saturday, but back-breaking turnovers and offensive miscues kept the Tar Heels from ever taking the lead. For the second straight week, they had a player fumble the ball through the end zone for a touchback. A missed field goal and wild tipped pass interception in the red zone compound their issues. 

In total, UNC's offense outgained Virginia 353 yards to 258 yards, but a pair of red zone turnovers and a missed field goal will erase that advantage quickly. Given Belichick's teams in New England were known for their execution and commitment to the details, UNC's struggles in those areas are particularly frustrating for Tar Heels fans who expected, at the least, that Belichick would be able to instill that kind of discipline quickly. 

A win on Saturday would've been huge for Belichick as it would've offered an opportunity to turn this season around and build some kind of momentum for 2026. He still has three in-state rivalry games to try to create that kind of positivity in the program, but each loss adds more questions even as the team shows some improvement. 

On the flip side, Virginia continues to dance through the rain drops after escaping a loss to Washington State a week ago in similarly dramatic fashion. The Hoos' offense has struggled in recent weeks, but they have managed to find wins and remain undefeated in conference play -- despite a loss to NC State that was technically a nonconference game -- and hold out hopes of a magical run to the ACC Championship Game.