PITTSBURGH
This was the kind of game, on the kind of stage, that had doomed North Carolina more than once before in recent years: against a ranked opponent, playing on a Thursday night on national television.
The kind of game in which programs make statements, one in which victories are magnified as much as defeats are scrutinized. So many times before the Tar Heels had failed to take advantage of an opportunity. But not this Thursday.
And not this time. Not after a 26-19 victory against No. 23 Pittsburgh that just might be the most important victory of coach Larry Fedora’s tenure.