Miami snatches defeat from the jaws of overtime, loses 45-42 to North Carolina

If you want a visual representation of how the first half of the Miami Hurricanes’ 2021 season has gone, here ya go.

On 3rd and 4 with 15 seconds remaining in Saturday’s contest at North Carolina, the Canes had an opportunity to either a. win the game with a go-ahead touchdown or b. send the game to overtime with a field goal.

Instead, Option C reared its ugly head....

C-A-N-E-S CANES!

An absolutely brutal way to lose for a Miami team that actually showed fight and resiliency down the stretch. Down 31-17 at the half, the Hurricanes clawed their way back into this one by posting 17 points in the third quarter. Running back Jaylan Knighton stepped up on offense with two key touchdowns late that kept the UM afloat in this ACC matchup.

Things could get ugly for head coach Manny Diaz quickly, as they’re faced with matchups against sudden conference title contenders in NC State and Pitt over the next two weeks. We’ll see if he’ll make it to the end of the month still as the head man in Coral Gables.