Howell was 5-8 for 91 yards in the third quarter as Miami continued to cut into the North Carolina lead. The Tar Heels took a 20-19 after three quarters. Miami battled all the way back and took a 25-20 lead with 4:38 remaining the game.
A failed two-point conversion failed to push the Hurricanes lead to seven after a Will Mallory TD reception gave them the lead. Howell led North Carolina on an epic drive to regain the lead with 1:01 remaining in the game.
UNC moved the ball 26 yards on the first two plays of the drive before back to back sacks by senior linebacker Shaq Quarterman and Rousseau put the Tar Heels into a fourth and 17. Howell pass completed a pass to Rontavius Groves for 20 yards to the Miami 40 yardline to keep the Tar Heels drive alive.
Five plays later Howell completed a 10 yard TD pass to Dazz Newsome for the game-winning score. Miami got the ball back and drove to the UNC 32-yardline to set up a potential game-tying 49-yard field goal. Bubba Baxa missed for the second time in the game to go with a missed extra point and seal Miami’s second straight loss.