The UNC defense had no answer for NC State in the first half Saturday night, as the Wolfpack scored on all four of their first-half possessions on their way to a 42-19 win in Raleigh. It’s NC State’s fifth consecutive win in the series, which is tied for its longest in program history.

“It was a disappointing game for us,” said head coach Bill Belichick afterward. “But give State credit. They played well. They were certainly the better team tonight. Coached, played, offense, defense, special teams. They were the better team. They deserved to win.”

Will Wilson, NC State’s specialist quarterback, ran for four touchdowns on 13 carries. Wilson came in exclusively for short yardage situations and never threw a pass, but the Carolina defense was unable to stop him.

“He ran hard,” linebacker Khmori House said of Wilson. “It’s a good play. Short yardage, 4th-and-1, those are hard plays to stop.”

On the other side, UNC as a team rushed 24 times for 70 yards. The Tar Heels’ lone touchdown of the first half came on a Gio Lopez 20-yard pass to receiver Jordan Shipp in the second quarter.

While Shipp was a bright spot with eight receptions for 90 yards and the touchdown, Lopez’s night ended early after he was injured on a sack in the third quarter. He went immediately to the locker room without putting weight on his left leg. Max Johnson relieved the injured Lopez and finished 8-15 for 54 yards and a lost fumble. Freshman Au’Tori Newkirk came in for Johnson after the fumble and completed three passes for 23 yards, including the first touchdown of his collegiate career in the final minutes.

As they did against Duke last weekend, penalties continued to hurt the Tar Heels. UNC was flagged 11 times for 129 yards, marking the second consecutive game in which Carolina cracked the century mark in an ignominious manner. To compare, UNC’s offense only managed 265 total yards against the worst pass defense in the nation.

UNC finishes 4-8 in Belichick’s first season in charge. This is the first time since 1989, when the Tar Heels finished 1-10, that Carolina lost to Duke, Wake Forest and NC State all in the same season.

 

Featured image via UNC Football on Twitter

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