When UNC and Wake Forest meet on the gridiron this Saturday night at Kenan Stadium an old, tired cliché will ring true. An unstoppable force—the Tar Heel offense—will collide with an immovable object—the Demon Deacon defense.

“They’re gonna fight you all the way to the end,” UNC Head Coach Larry Fedora said about Wake Forest. “There’s no doubt about it. They’re really good on defense. I mean, they’re 15th in the country in total defense right now.”

Allowing just 296 yards per game, the Demon Deacons are 3-3 (1-2 ACC) coming off a grind-it-out 3-0 victory over Boston College last week.

The Tar Heel running backs will have a tougher time finding lanes this week. (UNC Athletics)

The Tar Heel running backs will have a tougher time finding lanes this week. (UNC Athletics)

Compare that to UNC, which has built a record of 4-1 (1-0 ACC)—the best start under head coach Larry Fedora–by scoring an average of 39 points an outing–good enough for the 17th best mark in the country. Given those numbers, a stylistic clash will be on full display Saturday night in primetime.

“Being in a close game doesn’t scare them,” Fedora said. “They don’t care if they win 3-0, or whatever it is. We know it’s gonna be a dang battle.”

The Tar Heels will almost certainly need another dynamite performance from senior quarterback Marquise Williams like the one he put on against Georgia Tech with over 300 yards of total offense and three touchdowns—if they are going to get past the stingy Wake defense.

That gritty performance came directly after his starting job was put in jeopardy, showing his teammates—like senior receiver Quinshad Davis—that he’s the right man to lead this squad into the heart of the season.

“They gonna love us when we’re good, they gonna hate us when we’re down—that’s with anything in life,” Davis said after practice on Tuesday. “So we just tell [Williams], ‘Keep the confidence, don’t worry about the extended family. Worry about our immediate family, and we gonna get the job done on Saturday”

For Williams to provide that kind of production he’ll have to find a way to move the ball efficiently. UNC offensive coordinator Seth Littrell says that his group will need to be patient as they work their way down the field—pointing to one key in particular.

“Once you get the first first down, then you can get into a little bit of rhythm,” Littrell said. “As we go, that’s the most important thing. It’s all about getting that first first down and moving the chains for that first time, because then everything kinda opens up and you can get a defense back on their heels a little bit.”

Kendall Hinton #2 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons drops back to pass against the Indiana Hoosiers at BB&T Field on September 26, 2015 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Indiana defeated Wake Forest 31-24. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

Kendall Hinton #2 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons drops back to pass. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

On the other side of the ball the Tar Heel defense will have to look out for the possibility of two quarterbacks playing for Wake Forest.

Freshman Kendall Hinton, a local product out of Southern Durham High School who wears number two, and sophomore John Wolford, who wears number 10, have traded the job back-and-forth this season—meaning senior linebacker Jeff Schoettmer and the rest of the gang will have to be ready for anything.

“They have some similar schemes as Delaware and South Carolina, so we’re pretty comfortable with that,” Schoettmer said. “Number two [Hinton], the freshman, he’s more of a mobile quarterback—he runs the zone read. Number ten [Wolford] started the last game. He’s more the pocket passer, capable runner, but not as much as [Hinton].

“So we’ll have to prepare for both of them obviously,” he continued. “We don’t know who’s gonna start. Or play more.”

Regardless of which quarterback starts, Schoettmer wants the defense to play at the same level as its counterparts. In a game between two in-state rivals, it could come down to which team puts together the most complete game—offensively and defensively.

“A 3-0 game [last week] shows they have a great defense,” Schoettmer said. “So we’d like to be able to match that ourselves. Anytime a defense can hold a team to zero points that’s saying something huge. Especially an ACC opponent.

“We understand they’re a very capable team, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”