North Carolina left Pittsburgh with a ranked road win, and now two Tar Heels are bringing home weekly league hardware.
Sophomore defensive lineman Xavier Lewis was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the second time this season, while redshirt junior Tre Miller earned ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday.
Lewis was everywhere in the 21-17 win at No. 25 Pitt on Saturday.
He piled up a career-high 11 tackles and added a half sack, topping his previous best of seven tackles, which came in the season opener against TCU. The Rolesville, North Carolina, native first picked up the award after that TCU game on Aug. 31, and he’s kept stacking big numbers ever since.
Through five games, Lewis has 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. His 1.90 tackles for loss per game rank second nationally and lead the ACC, while his 1.30 sacks per game rank fourth nationally and first in the conference.
Miller’s day was just as impactful, and maybe even a little more complete. He logged four tackles, broke up two passes and grabbed the first interception of his career, returning it 18 yards. Pro Football Focus credited him with allowing only two yards on four targets, and he finished with a 91.0 coverage grade and an 89.4 overall defensive grade, both best among players on either side.
He was on the field for 53 of UNC’s 86 defensive snaps and helped the Tar Heels clamp down late, holding Pitt to 0-for-4 on fourth down in the second half and just 2.4 yards per rush. PFF also named him to its National Team of the Week and ACC Team of the Week.
The Tar Heels’ defense helped deliver the program’s first road win over a ranked opponent since 2020 and its first victory against a ranked opponent since 2023. It also gave Bill Belichick his first win over a ranked opponent at North Carolina.
UNC now turns to Duke on Saturday, Oct. 17, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2 from Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.
In Other News...
UNC Keeps Showing A Toughness Tar Heels Fans Havent Seen Recently
The Tar Heels 21-17 win over Pittsburgh was the kind of result that can start to change the tone around a program, not just because it showed up in the standings, but because of how UNC handled the middle of the game. Under Bill Belichick, this team has begun to look mentally sturdier than the one fans watched a year ago, and that has been a notable shift as the 2026 season has taken shape. Jordan Shipp gave the offense a needed spark, while the secondary kept holding up when the game got tight.
There is still work to do, though, and the remaining questions are the ones that usually separate a promising team from a truly complete one. The running game has not yet become consistent, and Billy Edwards Jr. still has room to settle in as the Tar Heels push deeper into the season. Even so, the emergence of tight ends Jelani Thurman and Shamar Easter is another sign that UNC is finding ways to stay in games and finish them with a toughness that had been missing. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Players Sound Different As Belichick Faces His First Duke Test
Bill Belichick says North Carolina feels like a different program now than it did a year ago, and the Tar Heels have given him some proof lately. A full offseason under the staff, plus the chance to see repeat opponents, has helped sharpen the team's preparation and engagement, while the road win at Pittsburgh gave the group another sign that the work is starting to carry over on Saturdays.
Center Christo Kelly pointed to the growth inside the locker room as much as anything else, noting stronger leadership from players and a level of trust that wasn't as evident before. He also said Belichick has been open to feedback, a notable detail as UNC heads into Duke week with its biggest in-state measuring stick still ahead and the real question being whether all that internal progress shows up when the Tar Heels need it most. [Read more 🡒]
UNCs Biggest ACC Question Did Not Go Away Against Pitt
North Carolinas 21-17 win over No. 25 Pittsburgh gave the Tar Heels something they badly needed: a quality conference victory and proof that the defense and playmakers can hold up in a game with real stakes. At 3-2 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, the Tar Heels have steadied themselves a bit, and the performance against Pitt showed they can win with toughness and timely execution even when the margin for error is slim.
But the bigger issue in Chapel Hill did not disappear just because the record looks better on paper. Sixth-year senior Billy Edwards Jr. has not yet delivered the kind of consistent quarterback play North Carolina needs, and the inconsistency at that spot remains the teams most obvious question as ACC play moves on. If the production does not improve, the coaching staff may have to consider other options, which makes the next stretch feel especially important for a team trying to prove this win was a step forward, not just a one-night rescue. [Read more 🡒]