After loss at Clemson, UNC seeks to end regular season on a ‘high note’ at rival NC State
North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton was on his way, legs pumping high, ball tucked in his right hand as he sprinted down the right sideline Saturday at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium.
Hampton’s fumble earlier in the first quarter? It was his first of the season, a shocker, but he was on his way to making up for it with a 64-yard touchdown run to give the Tar Heels a two-score lead in the opening quarter.
But Hampton didn’t make it. Not all the way. Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins, in pursuit, was able to knock the ball out of Hampton’s just a step short of the goal line.
No touchdown, only a touchback, after the ball bounced out the side of the end zone. It was Clemson’s ball and as it turned out, it would be Clemson’s ball game as the Tigers took a 31-20 victory over the No. 22 Tar Heels.
Just one play. But for Tar Heels, it epitomized both the way the day would unfold and how the season has unfolded - something close to being special that ultimately wasn’t.
“First quarter, we had a chance to get a jump on them and we just hurt ourselves, shot ourselves in the foot,” UNC quarterback Drake Maye said. “Big O, he hadn’t fumbled all season. It was just one of those things. It was a good hustle play (by Wiggins). I think he was out of bounds, not sure of that. But it’s a game of inches and it showed.
“It’s a bummer. At the half, rather than being down 14-7, I think we should have had 21. … But at the end of the day, they were the better team.”
The Heels (8-3, 4-3 ACC) will not play for an ACC championship. That was settled earlier Saturday when Louisville held off Miami to clinch a spot in the title game against Florida State, officially ending UNC’s slim hopes.
“It’s definitely devastating,” Maye said. “We still had a chance going into today but we still had to do our part. That’s what we worked for, what we’ve been grinding for all season. To have that go out of sight is a bummer.”
Senior linebacker Cedric Gray spurned a shot at the NFL to return this season and said it was to take care of “unfinished business.” But that business will remain unsettled for the Heels, who will go to Raleigh – and into another frenzied setting – to face old rival N.C. State.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” said Gray, who was poked in the left eye during the game. “One of the reasons I came back here was to get back to the ACC championship (game). Obviously that won’t be happening.”
Clemson (7-4, 4-4 ACC) stood in the way of UNC last year in the title game in Charlotte, winning by a 39-10 margin. A win over Clemson on Saturday, at the Tigers’ place, on their Senior Day, could have eased at least a little of that sting.
“This was a different type of game,” Gray said. “Last year, to be frank, they whipped our (butts), plain and simple. Today was more of a dogfight.
“I’m proud of our guys. We fought, we tried. We really did.”
Hampton had 178 yards rushing and scored twice, breaking off a 55-yard score in the third quarter. UNC’s defense recovered two Clemson fumbles and twice stopped the Tigers on fourth down, once thwarting a faked punt.
Maye did not have one of his better games but the Tigers made that happen. They challenged UNC’s receivers man-to-man and blanketed them well. They sacked Maye four times and limited him to a 16-of-36, 209-yard passing game.
“I need to make better throws, have better ball placement, make a few better decisions,” Maye said.
Only time will tell if Maye will be playing his last game for UNC at N.C. State. Maye is expected to enter the 2024 NFL draft and the redshirt sophomore should be a high first-round pick. It’s also possible he could sit out a bowl game, as many NFL hopefuls have chosen to do.
If the State game is his last game, Maye wants to make it special. The Wolfpack has won the last two in rivalry, beating the Heels in double overtime last year at Kenan Stadium with a fourth-string quarterback, Ben Finley.
If it was loud Saturday, and it was, it will be more of the same at Carter-Finley Stadium.
“We’ve got a chance to end our regular season on a high note,” Maye said. “It will be the same type atmosphere over in Raleigh. They’ve got great fans and I look forward to getting one back at them.
“If you come to Carolina, you want to beat State. At the same time, we’re 8-3 and have a chance to be 9-3 and end off on a good note.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2023 at 7:00 AM with the headline "After loss at Clemson, UNC seeks to end regular season on a ‘high note’ at rival NC State."
