Cal beats North Carolina 21-18 on late Brent Austin fumble

California defensive back Brent Austin forced a goalline fumble late Friday to preserve a 21-18 victory over North Carolina at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, handing the Tar Heels a second conference loss and denying them what would have been their first ACC win under coach Bill Belichick. The play ended North Carolina’s final threat and left the Tar Heels still searching for offensive consistency in Belichick’s first season.

North Carolina took an early lead on an 18-yard touchdown run by Benjamin Hall and trailed by four at halftime after Cal added a second-quarter touchdown and North Carolina’s Rece Verhoff converted a 41-yard field goal. Cal scored on its first drive of the second half, and late in the game North Carolina turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, including a fumble that rolled out of the back of the end zone. The Tar Heels recovered the ball again with five seconds remaining but were unable to complete a final play sequence.

Belichick praised his players’ effort after the loss. "I thought we played with confidence. We competed and our group showed toughness. Just have to do some things fundamentally better, obviously," he said. Fifth-year...