In one of the weirdest football games of this (or any) season, Carolina was out-coached, out-played and out-smarted in the dreadful 28-12 loss at Wake Forest.
Let’s start at the end.
The now 7-3 Deacons had the game wrapped up with a 9-point lead late in the fourth quarter when they got the ball back at midfield. Star running back Demond Claiborne picked up a couple of first downs into the red zone before quarterback Robby Ashford, an Auburn transfer, scored one last touchdown and did not take a knee to let the clock run out.
Generally, as a courtesy, the losing coach shakes the winning coach’s hand after the game and says at least “congratulations.” Bill Belichick blew past the almost half-his-age Jake Dickert — he sort of slapped the Wake coach’s hand and kept walking. Maybe there was only enough time for a swift congratulations but not “good game, coach”? Or perhaps Belichick was pissed over the last TD.
When a TV reporter interviewed and asked the 42-year-old Dickert what he thought of his team’s performance, he pointed to the Wake Forest field house and said, “See that big WF? We want to build some respect in this state.”
An assistant coaching vagabond (at his alma mater Wisconsin-Stevens, North Dakota State, South Dakota, Southeast Missouri State, Augustana, Minnesota State, South Dakota State and Wyoming) Dickert was elevated to head coach after one season at Washington State and led the Cougars to two bowls in three years. He arrived in Winston-Salem to a glorified high school stadium and decent facilities, and after nine games became the second coach in Wake Forest history (after former UNC’s three-time ACC champion Bill Dooley) to win seven games in his first season.
Popular predecessor Dave Clawson didn’t do that. Cal Stoll didn’t do that. Wake’s all-time winning coach Jim Grobe didn’t do that, Al Groh didn’t do that, John Mackovic didn’t do that. Heck, even Hall of Famer Peahead Walker didn’t do that.
Though not in the Triangle but part of the famed Big Four, Dickert had learned how much attention Duke with former Miami coach Manny Diaz, N.C. State with 13-year veteran Dave Doeren and especially Carolina get from the local, regional and national media. With UNC — especially due to eight-time Super Bowl champ Belichick’s unusual first season — the coverage isn’t even remotely close.
Yet, the Deacons are going to a bowl, having already clinched eligibility before Saturday’s game. Dickert, his wife and three young children have moved eight times in the last 12 years. Compared to where he coached before, and with his success so far, they may never leave Wake Forest.
Duke and State (both 5-5) just need another win to go bowling themselves, while the Tar Heels (4-6) must win both of their remaining games. Mack Brown took Carolina to six straight bowls during his second head coaching stint in Chapel Hill before his firing and Belichick’s surprise hire.
After winning hundreds of NFL games, the curmudgeonly Hoodie has taken his six losses pretty hard, especially this one. His team managed just four field goals and no touchdowns and was out-gained 414 to 257 total yards by the Deacs and their new offense.
The Tar Heels seemingly ran up and down the field between the 30-yard lines, but the most successful drives ended in six field goal attempts by Rece Verhoff — who broke personal and UNC records with a 57-yarder just before halftime that ended 14-6. But Verhoff also had two field goals blocked, the second of which sent Belichick into a mini-fizzy on the sideline. On Verhoff’s makes in the third and fourth quarters, the game was sort of even with eight scores each….except Carolina had the same number of field goals as Wake’s touchdowns.
Kicker Rece Verhoff’s 57-yard field goal in the first half felt like it could give UNC football some momentum. Instead, he was the Tar Heels’ offense’s best weapon on Saturday. (Image via UNC Football on X.)
Certainly, Carolina had some bad breaks trying to get into the end zone. Quarterback Gio Lopez’s perfect pass to the 20-yard line was caught by running back Jaylen McGill, who let the ball slip snugly between his knees, but the officials deemed it an incompletion. Another long pass to the endzone was caught out of bounds.
No touchdowns later, the Heels lost what was called the “easiest” game of their last three. Saturday’s underwhelming performance followed two straight wins that had brought some hope after two prior oh-so-close losses. But Syracuse and Stanford were both playing second-string quarterbacks who didn’t compare to Ashford, who was rated just ahead of Lopez in the ACC stats. The Heels QB out-passed Ashford by a few yards, but could not get the ball across the goal line. Carolina’s last-gasp drive in the fourth quarter picked up a crucial first down before it was nullified by a holding penalty, one of five flags that all seemed to come at the wrong time.
Though Caliborne had more yards rushing (98) than UNC’s top three, the real star for Wake Forest was receiver Carlos Hernandez, who scooped up a teammate’s fumble and ran it 51 yards to the end zone and later took Ashford’s short pass and raced down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown to help snap WF’s four-game losing streak to the Tar Heels dating back to 2021.
There was some good news in two other games on ESPN’s channels.
Duke’s third loss in the last four games was not as close at the 34-17 final score against Virginia looked, as Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris threw a late pick-six. The performance wiped out the Blue Devils’ chance of making the ACC Championship game and now they must win either at Kenan Stadium this Saturday or beat Wake Forest at home the following week to be bowl eligible for the second straight year under Diaz.
N.C. State also must come out of the funk of losing three of its last four games to beat either FSU or UNC at home in the next two weeks to get back to another bowl game. And best believe the Wolfpack will be trying to beat its football archrival for the fifth straight time on Nov. 29, which Doeren won’t let his alumni and fans forget.
Belichick, whose mood had lightened considerably after the last two wins, will surely be as dour as he was with the sun setting Saturday. He barked at the officials and gave his losing “back to work” speech after the game. Not even the improving defense of defensive coordinator and son Steve looked good after a solid month of progress. While time of possession was close between the two teams, the Heels’ “D” was clearly gassed by the fourth quarter and perhaps disheartened by the lack of help from their offensive teammates.
Carolina is 2-4 in the ACC and has the same number of wins overall as Belichick had in each of his last two seasons in the NFL. After Saturday’s performance, it feels like the Heels are in trouble if they want to get two more and go bowling.
Featured photo via AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
