No. 22 Tar Heels survive a bizarre finish against Notre Dame

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

Conspiracy theorists were having a field day. And there were roughly 60,000 of them packed into North Carolina's Kenan Stadium on Saturday evening.

One controversial replay call had already gone Notre Dame's way. Leprechauns, Luck O' the Irish and all that. Now, after North Carolina had seemingly clinched the game a second time, officials were again huddled around

a replay monitor. The longer the review dragged on, the more concerned Tar Heel linebacker Mark Paschal became.

"I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me?'" Paschal said. "This thing is taking this long? It's obviously going to be against us again."

It wasn't. With three seconds left in the game, officials ruled that Notre Dame's Michael Floyd had fumbled, preserving a 29-24 North Carolina win. The No. 22 Tar Heels, who improved to 5-1 for the first time since 1997, went into victory kneel-down mode and then stormed the field in celebration - for a second time.

"I don't know if I have ever been involved in as bizarre a football game as what transpired tonight," coach Butch Davis said.

Davis wasn't the only one letting out a sigh of relief after a game that featured 800 yards of total offense, 48 first downs and the two drawn-out replay reviews.

The first replay call came with just less than two minutes left, when Cameron Sexton rolled out on third down and zipped a pass to Brooks Foster for a 29-yard gain and apparent first down at the Notre Dame 23. Foster appeared to catch the ball and take a couple of steps before falling and losing it out of bounds.

Officials took another look, however. After a lengthy review, they ruled it an incomplete pass.

"My teammates said I had caught it," Foster said. "I thought I caught it. I know it came out but, after looking at the replay, I thought it was a catch."

With boos raining down, the Tar Heels were forced to punt. Notre Dame took over at the North Carolina 18 with 1:47 left. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen (383 passing yards) found Golden Tate for 30 yards on first down.

Eight plays later, Clausen threw a 26-yard strike to Floyd at the North Carolina 7 with three seconds left.

The ball flew loose as Floyd fell, but officials spotted it and Notre Dame hurriedly spiked it to try to set up a final play. Before the Irish could, the clock ran out and the Tar Heels stormed the field.

They were shooed back to the sideline. Officials upstairs had signaled for a review of whether or not Floyd had fumbled.

"Based on the previous experiences during the course of the game, I was not severely, overly optimistic about the potential outcome," Davis said.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said he believed officials had ruled Floyd down before the ball came loose.

"It's a bitter ending, but that is what it is," Weis said. "They called it that way and that's it."

Notre Dame and Clausen dominated the offensive stats early. But the Tar Heels, who led the nation in interceptions, picked off two Clausen passes, including one that Quan Sturdivant returned for a 32-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half.

It was a sign of things to come for the ball-hawking Tar Heels. Later in the third quarter, Aleric Mullins sacked and stripped Clausen for a turnover. Then Deunta Williams picked off Clausen with 4:50 left in the game, killing an Irish drive. Finally, safety Trimane Goddard fell on Floyd's fumble with three seconds left.

"I'm tired," Goddard said just minutes later, when, still dressed in his uniform, he boarded an elevator for the post-game press conference.

He wasn't alone.

Ed Miller, (757) 446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com