Bill Belichick has earned a penchant throughout his Hall of Fame career for ensuring that his teams aced their preparation and were prepared to win games on the margins.
That, of course, was for the majority of his career at the professional level. In his first year at the college level, his North Carolina Tar Heels team has been very up-and-down all year long, finding new and improved ways to lose close games.
Whether it was a fumble at the goal line against Cal, or getting stopped on the half-yard line in overtime against Virginia, the Tar Heels haven't been able to successfully close tight games all year long.
Add Saturday's loss to Duke to the list. With the Tar Heels leading 25-24 with 2:28 remaining, the Blue Devils ran a fake field goal on a pitch play to kicker Todd Pelino, who instead of attempting a 44-yard field goal, took off down the sideline instead. By the time he was corralled, the Blue Devils had goal-to-go at the one-yard line.
Duke scored on the very next play, converted the two-point conversion, and ultimately won the rivalry game in Chapel Hill by a final score of 32-25.
Belichick's Tar Heels fell to 4-7 on the season, and will not be heading to a bowl game in year one.
