bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina cornerback Kendric Burney admitted he was a little nervous during the review.
The junior had just returned a pick by Miami's Jacory Harris 45 yards and then fumbled the ball to teammate Melvin Williams, who ran the final 44-yards for a touchdown to give the Tar Heels a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.
So when the referee confirmed that the call on the field would stand, Burney had one thought go through his mind.
"Whew, thank you," Burney said.
The wild play, triggered by Burney third interception of the game, helped spur UNC to a dramatic 33-24 victory over No. 12 Miami at Kenan Stadium on Saturday.
With the win, Tar Heels became bowl eligible for the second consecutive season, the first time that's happened since making seven straight appearances from 1992-98.
"I guess if you coach a lifetime, you see just about everything," said UNC coach Butch Davis, who improved to 3-0 against his former team. "It was one of the biggest up-and-down, roller-coaster football games I've ever seen."
The Tar Heels (7-3, 3-3) took a 23-7 lead just after halftime thanks to a 32-yard field goal by Casey Barth. But the Hurricanes (7-3, 4-3) scored on their next two possessions on a 39-yard Matt Bosher field goal and a 3-yard touchdown run by Graig Cooper to cut the deficit to 23-17 at the end of the third quarter.
As UNC's lead shrunk in the second half, the Tar Heels appeared to be headed down the same path as in the Florida State game three weeks ago. In that game, UNC led by 18 points in the third quarter but allowed the Seminoles to rally for the win.
"We just knew we had to go out and finish," defensive lineman Tydreke Powell said. "We just couldn't go out flat. We just had to get back out there and finish the game."
And that's when Burney made his game-changing play.
As Miami began to drive at the start of the fourth quarter, Harris let one fly down field, but Burney -- who had returned an interception 77 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter -- was there to pluck it out of the air. He grabbed it at UNC's 10 and ran it back to Miami's 45, where it appeared he pitched the ball to roommate Williams. The senior then ran into the end zone to put UNC up 30-17, though it also appeared that he may have been stripped of the ball near the goal line.
The review, however, upheld the fumble ruling and the touchdown -- the ball slipped out of Burney's hand, and Melvin had crossed the plane of the end zone before losing the ball.
"I knew I forward passed it, but I didn't think they were going to see the bobble," said Burney, who set the ACC record for interception returns yards in a single game with 170. "It was a fun play and it was funny. And after I pitched it to him, I just laid there because I knew it was a forward pass but I was just hoping they didn't catch it and they called it a fumble, which, you know, it was.
"But I was just happy with the situation that happened."
The play happened almost directly in front of Davis, and he jokingly said he wanted to slap both of them.
"I didn't think there was any chance it was going to be reversed," Davis said. "[Kendric Burney] got tired, pitched it to Melvin [Williams], and Kendric said Melvin's eyes got real big. That's a play playmakers make."
UNC's two-score lead didn't last for long, however. On the ensuing possession Miami drove 69 yards in five plays and Harris connected with Jimmy Graham for a 14-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 30-24 with 7:21 to go. Harris finished the game 28 of 50 for 319 yards.
But then the Tar Heels handed the ball off to bruising running back Ryan Houston and ate 5:18 off the clock while moving downfield. Barth booted his fourth field goal of the game -- a 33-yarder -- to seal the victory with 1:57 to play.
Houston finished the game with 76 yards, 33 of which came on the final drive.
"We fought back and didn't quit," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "We kept going, but when you have four turnovers and two of those go for touchdowns, it's going to be a long day."
NOTES -- No. 12 Miami marks the highest-ranked team UNC has beaten since topping the then-No. 4 Hurricanes in 2004. ... Miami is 0-4 all-time in Chapel Hill. ... Burney became the first Tar Heel with three interceptions in a game since Dre' Bly against Georgia Tech in 1996.
