Louisville beats North Carolina 16-14 as Belichick helps break up brawl

Louisville beat North Carolina 16-14 Saturday night to remain in the Atlantic Coast Conference title race, but the game ended in a brawl that Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick helped break up.

The fight began in Chapel Hill after Louisville took a knee to exhaust the final seconds, with North Carolina defensive tackle Xavier Lewis and Louisville offensive lineman Johnnie Brown III continuing to jostle, The Associated Press reported. The AP said other players joined in as exchanges of words gave way to shoving, pileups and flailing arms, with possible punches thrown.

Both benches emptied during the fight, and one tussle separated from the main group, producing another pileup in an end zone. WRAL TV of Raleigh video showed Belichick briefly shaking hands with Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz before pulling his players away.

"You play the game between the whistles, that's not what we're here for," Belichick said.

"We got out there and got everybody out as quickly as possible," he said. Asked about potential punishment, Belichick said he had been "standing on the sideline" and "didn't see what happened," according to Inside Carolina's account published by Yahoo Sports.

Louisville coach Jeff Brohm called the fight "obviously unfortunate." "You try to get things broken up as fast as you can. It didn't get broken up too fast. But you never want to see that happen," Brohm said. He said he needed to see how the fight started and hoped Louisville could correct it.

No penalties were enforced because the game ended while the altercation was still in its early stages, NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk reported.

North Carolina linebacker Derek McDonald said the incident "just got out of hand." "None of that needs to happen. Unnecessary," he said. McDonald added, "We should've won between the whistles."

Receiver Jordan Shipp said he was on the sideline, still thinking about his unsuccessful fourth-down catch, when the fight began, and he did not know what happened. If a North Carolina player started it, Shipp said, "we just want to make sure that doesn't happen again regardless of where emotions are."

Whether either team or the ACC will impose discipline is unclear. Sports Illustrated reported that players from both teams could face suspensions and that the conference would review the footage this week.

Late interception seals win

Benjamin Hall scored his second rushing touchdown from 6 yards out, cutting Louisville's lead to 16-14 with 3:43 remaining. North Carolina then forced a punt and regained possession with 1:41 left, giving it a chance to drive for a winning field goal.

Backup quarterback Travis Burgess had replaced starter Billy Edwards Jr., who left in the second half after taking a hit on a sack. With 58 seconds remaining, Louisville's Jabari Mack intercepted Burgess on fourth-and-12 after the pass bounced off Shipp.

Mack ran the interception back 32 yards and slid to end the play, allowing Louisville to kneel out the victory. North Carolina committed two turnovers, while Louisville had none.

"In the end, we just couldn't get enough done," Belichick said.

Louisville earned its fifth straight win, improving to 7-3 and 6-2 in the ACC. Had North Carolina won, No. 5 Miami would have secured a place in next month's ACC championship game in Charlotte.

North Carolina dropped to 5-5, including a 2-4 conference record.

Louisville hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday. North Carolina visits Virginia that day and needs one more win to become bowl-eligible.