CHAPEL HILL -- Upon further review, Carolina apparently still won Saturday.
With bells tolling and objects being thrown onto the field and 60,500 wild-eyed people speaking in tongues, one of the best games we'll ever see was in the hands of some unseen forces. Football players were gathered in small groups all over the Kenan Stadium floor, some in prayer, some in states of shock, some dressed in Carolina blue and some in the traditional colors of Notre Dame.
The fans were already in formation, standing in two-point stances with their game faces on.
No one knew how much time was on the clock.
North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 29-24 Saturday in a game that ended with the Irish in the shadow of UNC's students who were perched angrily behind UNC's end zone. The clock showed one second left, and then it showed zero. And then it showed :03, and the conspiracy theorists in the crowd knew what was coming next.
The luck of the Irish. Or the brazen theft of a football game, which was the same thing in the eyes of the conspiracy theorists.
Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd had just been tackled on the UNC 7-yard line after a 26-yard gain with 3 seconds to play. What happened next was anyone's guess. Notre Dame was lined up to spike the ball before time ran out but didn't make it.
While a wild celebration erupted on the field, a review of the entire ballgame was being conducted behind soundproof glass somewhere high above Kenan Stadium. A black stealth bomber had flown over earlier in the day, and suspicious helicopters were circling the crowd. A referee from the Big East finally walked out onto the field, and turned on his microphone.
He uttered some gibberish about a ball being caught and then fumbled and then recovered, the key words being something to the effect of "North Carolina ball."
Then for the second time in an interminable period of un-time, the players rushed the field and the patrons began throwing babies in the aisles and the bells started going off again, and there were still 3 seconds to play.
North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 29-24 Saturday in a game that ended with the UNC players celebrating for a second time and the UNC band blaring the school fight song and the Big East referees running for cover.
A wonderful college football game somehow fell into the hands of the pencil necks because we've come so far as a people that we've determined that players and coaches and referees can no longer handle their own affairs, the rules and clocks and scoreboards now being controlled by men with radios and television monitors.
UNC fought from behind all day and then held off a desperate Notre Dame finish to win its biggest game in a generation, but not before an ACC review committee could convene and render its verdict.
Carolina's players were suspicious of their decision.
"It was like the Notre Dame Special," linebacker Mark Paschal said. "They always get that lucky Irish break. I don't know what it is. But I'm just so thrilled that we caught the last break of the game."
Carolina's coaches were frozen, having justified the final play in their minds and convinced themselves there was no way the officials could rule otherwise. Were they still worried?
"Please," UNC coach Butch Davis said.
"Based on the previous experiences during the course of the game, I was not severely, overly optimistic about the potential outcome," he said.
Carolina scored five touchdowns in the second half, three of which counted, and saw four plays decided in the replay booth, losing three decisions before the last one. That came with Notre Dame driving for what would've been another Irish miracle amid confusion.
Replays showed that Floyd caught the pass and was tackled on the UNC 7-yard line before apparently fumbling it on purpose, clearly after he was on his back.
The referees ruled him down, but the ACC review guys had buzzed in as Notre Dame lined up to spike the ball with one second left. They didn't get the snap off, and the first celebration ensued.
Then time stopped and chaos ensued.
North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 29-24 Saturday in a game that validated the Heels as a contender for something this season, giving them the spotlight for at least a day and proving that sometimes right conquers wrong.
As long as no one's there to review it.
Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com
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