One of the closest fought games on the college football schedule on Saturday night ended up in a massive benches-clearing brawl as the final whistle blew.
In the final second as Louisville pulled out a 16-14 victory at North Carolina, both sides became embroiled in a huge melee on the field that saw dozens of players and coaches emerge from their respective sidelines.
College football game ends in massive brawl
Tempers flare between Louisville and North Carolina
Things got chippy after Louisville took a knee to end the game in its 16-14 win against North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/1bmBbxgMII
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 15, 2026
It seemed to start when Louisville quarterback Lincoln Keinholz took a knee to end the game, when Cardinals guard Johnnie Brown III and Tar Heels defensive end Xavier Lewis started pushing and shoving. That turned into an all-out scrum.
Both teams could pay for the fight
The fight could end up costing both teams in terms of punishing suspensions when the ACC goes over the footage this week.
And it could prove more costly for Louisville, which used the victory to win its fifth straight game after a 2-3 start to the season.
The win inches the Cardinals back up the ACC standings, where they sit in third place behind leader Miami and second-place Wake Forest, improving to 7-3 on the year.
North Carolina fell to 2-4 in ACC competition and is 5-5 overall, needing one more victory to simply become bowl eligible.
Louisville, North Carolina played a close game
Tempers likely flared after the game because of how close it was played.
Louisville initially fell behind by a 7-3 count in the first quarter, but went on to score 13 unanswered points into the final minutes of regulation.
North Carolina fought its way back into the matchup and came within two points after Benjamin Hall ran for a touchdown from six yards out with under four minutes left.
Bill Belichick’s team got the ball back with over a minute remaining, but backup quarterback Travis Burgess threw an interception with 58 seconds left on the clock that sealed the game in the Cardinals’ favor.
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