The Tar Heels couldn’t cash in on several scoring opportunities at Wake Forest Saturday night, and the Demon Deacons made UNC pay in a 28-12 loss.
“Obviously a disappointing game,” said head coach Bill Belichick afterward. “Just not good enough in any area. Offense, defense, special teams. Coaching, playing. We just didn’t have a good night.”
Carolina drove the ball into Wake Forest territory six times on the evening, but UNC had to settle for a Rece Verhoff field goal attempt each time. Of those six kicks, two were blocked. The Tar Heels’ most memorable highlight of the game was a 57-yard boot to end the first half, which set a career record for Verhoff and a program record for UNC.
“Self-inflicted wounds, that’s all it is,” said receiver Jordan Shipp. “And that’s something we’ve got to own up to.”
Wake Forest finished with 414 total yards of offense, 223 of which came on the ground. Two of the Demon Deacons’ touchdowns came on eventful plays. On the first drive of the game, Wake quarterback Robby Ashford rushed for a first down but fumbled the ball after being hit by defensive back Gavin Gibson in the middle of the field. The Tar Heels made an attempt at the recovery, but during the ensuing scrum the ball ricocheted to the Deacons’ Carlos Hernandez, who picked it up and ran it 51 yards for a touchdown.
Hernandez was involved the other long Wake Forest touchdown, catching a flea-flicker pass from Ashford and evading several UNC defenders on a 70-yard catch-and-run. Both plays dwarfed Carolina’s offensive explosiveness – the Tar Heels’ longest play went a mere 26 yards. UNC managed just 257 total yards of offense. Only 56 of those came on the ground, marking the second straight game the Tar Heels have been held under 60 yards rushing.
“We’re a better team than we were tonight,” Belichick said. “We just weren’t very good.”
Saturday’s loss is Carolina’s first against Wake Forest since 2019 and snaps a four-game winning streak against the Demon Deacons.
UNC is now 4-6 overall this season. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they host Duke at Kenan Stadium in the final home game of the season next Saturday. A kickoff time has yet to be announced.
Featured image via UNC Football on Twitter
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