It's interesting what firing the head coach can do to a football team. 370 yards of offense, with a balanced attach in the air and on the ground. Sustained scoring drives of 80, 72, and 57 yards. A defense that only gave up 289 yards, their second best performance of the season, behind oddly enough, the Virginia Tech game. It was an entirely different football team.
Except for the fumble, the allowed punt return for a touchdown, and two interceptions thrown in scoring position. So maybe everything hasn't changed.
The funny thing was, during that last drive attempting to tie the game, I kept flashing to the Duke-Wake Forest game back in September. I fully expected a similar ending, but with UNC scoring and then somehow screwing up the point after. Although to be honest, I'd hope had UNC found the end zone - correction, a blue jersey in the end zone - they'd have gone for two. Win the game in regulation; what's the worst they could do, fire you?
(The two Wake games are remarkably similar, with wake being held under 300 yards offense, and beaten in first downs and time of possession. The main difference is they beat the Blue Devils through the air and the Tar Heels on the ground. It doesn't look that great for the Deacons, although the operative word in that last sentence was beat, so a top 25 team can't take too much criticism from two squads winless in D1A ball.
In the end, it leaves the Heels with another loss, officially eliminated from bowl contention, and facing a top ten team on the road. Unless there's a heretofore unnoticed 60 Minutes jinx, the week ahead does not look promising.