North Carolina loses 28-20 to Clemson after surrendering lead

North Carolina surrendered a 17-3 advantage and was defeated 28-20 by Clemson on Saturday. The Tar Heels led most of the game, but Clemson responded with long scoring drives of 88, 92, 68 and 44 yards against the North Carolina defense.

The defensive unit, previously overseen by Steve Belichick, was taken over by his brother Brian after Steve resigned amid an investigation. Late in the fourth quarter, with North Carolina trailing 21-20, Bill Belichick called a play-action deep pass on fourth-and-1 instead of a running play; the pass was incomplete and resulted in a turnover on downs. Clemson then drove downfield and scored the game-winning touchdown.

The loss moved North Carolina to a 2-1 record in Bill Belichick’s second season, following a 4-8 debut year. The team’s next matchup is against No. 3 Notre Dame.

"We’ll learn from this and focus on the next game," a North Carolina spokesperson said.