MINNEAPOLIS — Fireworks surprisingly erupted in the sky above Huntington Bank Stadium just moments after Minnesota kicker Dragan Kesich missed a 47-yard field goal on the final play of the game.

Kesich’s second miss of the night gave North Carolina a 19-17 victory in the first game of the season between two opponents from different power conferences. Perhaps the fireworks served as a ribbon of participation for both teams willing to face a school of similar prominence in Week 1. If anyone should be celebrating late Thursday night — outside of the Tar Heels — it should be ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips.

Both teams have bigger games against bitter rivals and better opponents over the next three months. But as the public battle heats up during the final two weeks of the season with more College Football Playoff at-large bids than ever on the line, North Carolina beating Minnesota will come along in a handful of ways. And you can bet there will be a heated public debate over the final few spots in the new 12-team field.

Let’s say North Carolina (1-0) finishes 7-5 and Minnesota (0-1) finishes the season at 5-7. That narrowest of margins would advance Florida State, which plays the Tar Heels on Nov. 2. Conversely, Minnesota’s loss would hurt Big Ten CFP contenders Michigan, Iowa and Penn State, all of whom play the Gophers this year.

Yes, one kick that lands to the right of the goal post between two mid-tier teams in power conferences can impact the 12-team CFP. Welcome to the new world of college football.

North Carolina coach Mack Brown didn’t spend much time looking at the big picture, focusing instead on what the Tar Heels overcame to beat the Gophers. The game was delayed an hour because of lightning in the Twin Cities. North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson suffered a serious injury to his right leg in the third quarter, which left him airlifted and taken to a local hospital. That North Carolina overcame that setback on the road was a testament to the team’s resilience, Brown said.

“We talked to the guys about sudden changes in their lives and how to deal with everything that comes their way,” Brown said. “We weren’t sure if we were going to break free when we got here, and we all did. And then we played great defense in the first half and the whole game, probably as good as we’ve played since we’ve been here. Great defense, especially against the run. Our kicking game was probably the best we’ve ever had. We made every field goal.”

Minnesota appeared to have a slight kicking edge when Kesich, the reigning Big Ten kicker of the year, entered the game. But in the first quarter, he missed a 27-yard attempt when the ball bounced off the right post. In the final two minutes of the game, Minnesota took the ball from the 25-yard line to North Carolina’s 29. The Gophers strategically positioned themselves in the middle of the field with four seconds left, but Kesich pushed the ball to the right.

Conversely, North Carolina’s Noah Burnette showed why he was worthy of second-team All-ACC honors last season. Burnette held up against a barrage of jeers from Minnesota fans on the sidelines to hit all four of his field goal attempts, including a career-long 52-yarder with 19 seconds left before halftime. He scored twice from 40-plus yards in the fourth quarter, including the 45-yard game-winner with 1:44 left.

“They were in my ear on that last one,” Burnette said of the Minnesota fans. When asked if he had any reaction, Burnette smiled and said, “No comment.”

Brown was generous in his praise for both teams and seemed sincere when he expressed regret that the Gophers fell short in that regard.

“It’s all about winning,” Brown said. “They played as hard as they could. I really admire (Minnesota coach) P.J. Fleck. I feel bad for his team. They didn’t win. I feel bad for the young guy. I think it’s great that our young guy kicked the field goal. I feel bad that their guy missed it. That’s tough on him, and it’s good for us. But I told P.J. after the game, this is what college football should be about. A bunch of great guys playing as hard as they can, playing for three and a half hours, and it comes down to the last kick.”

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Both teams struggled on offense, with neither going over 260 total yards. Both committed turnovers that led to points. Minnesota was missing injured running back Darius Taylor, while North Carolina All-American candidate Omarion Hampton ran for 129 yards on 30 carries. For a while, the matchup fit the stereotype of Big Ten bullyball versus near-SEC speed. But the result came down to toughness, precision and luck.

“This should have been an even game,” Brown said. “It was even, and our guys found a way to win.”

In a sport where sweeping generalizations are as commonplace as they are throwaway, the knee-jerk theme of this result is that the ACC is proving itself to be on par with the Big Ten and worthy of more respect. Perhaps that’s true for individual teams, but college football’s revamped postseason doesn’t make it any easier to lump conferences together based on a single missed kick. The same would have been true had Kesich drilled his final kick.

Either way, this outcome will give Phillips a Gopher pelt on the ACC wall when commissioners begin making decisions for individual teams later this fall. That’s when the real fireworks will break loose — figuratively, of course.

(Photo: Matt Krohn/USA Today)