Down by 21 points midway through the third quarter on Saturday against Wake Forest, it appeared as if the UNC football team was well on its way to another disappointing loss marred by poor defense.
Sophomore quarterback Sam Howell had other ideas, however, engineering the largest home comeback in school history on the way to a 59-53 Tar Heel victory.
Howell tied the ACC record with six touchdown passes in the game, while also setting a new UNC program record with 550 yards through the air. He also ran for a critical first down late in the fourth quarter, then carried the ball again four plays later for a 20-yard touchdown that gave the Tar Heels (6-2) the lead for good.
That run represented Howell’s seventh touchdown of the game, the most any player has ever accounted for at Kenan Stadium.
On a day where defense seemed optional for much of the first three quarters, Howell’s heroics allowed head coach Mack Brown’s team to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat
“Sam and I have talked a lot about a legacy for a guy like him,” Brown said. “His legacy will be how many games he wins. That’s what quarterbacks are remembered for. How many games did you win? Especially how many quarterbacks can be down 21 and lead their team back to win, and keep their confidence?”
The teams traded big plays throughout much of the first half, until Wake Forest (4-3) finally strung together a few stops on defense.
UNC, on the other hand, struggled to find answers for the Demon Deacons’ offense—which allowed Wake Forest to build the three-touchdown lead.
The Tar Heels made adjustments in the secondary down the stretch, with true freshmen Tony Grimes and Ja’Qurious Conley filling in nicely in the most crucial portion of the game.
Senior linebacker Chazz Surratt also sacked Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman on fourth down near the Tar Heel endzone in the final minutes, which led to Javonte Williams adding an insurance touchdown on the ground.
Although there weren’t too many positives for UNC on defense early on, Howell would have never had a chance to bring the team back without the young Tar Heels stringing together a handful of critical stops down the stretch.
“I caught myself, I looked out there when the game was on the line and I see five or six freshmen out there and I’m about to get on the phone and say, ‘Take them out man, take them out, this is a critical time in the game, get those young ones off the field,” Brown said. “And then I didn’t.”
The win snaps Wake Forest’s four-game winning streak and moves the Tar Heels to 3-0 this season against the other three ACC teams from North Carolina–clinching the mythical state championship that Brown feels is so important to building the program.
It also marks the first time UNC has gotten over the hump this season in three games it has trailed by at least 21 points, having come close in each of the team’s two losses before ultimately coming up just short.
Record-breaking performances won’t always be necessary every week, but the end result is all that matters.
“This is a huge step forward for us,” Brown said. “We can play a game where we didn’t play well on defense in the first half. Made some adjustments, came back out and played much better in the second half. And had one of the best offensive performances I’ve ever been around. We get mad at them now when there is a stop. That’s how good they’ve been.”
Up Next:
UNC has next weekend off, giving extra time to prepare for the showdown at Kenan Stadium against No. 2 Notre Dame on Friday, Nov. 24. That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m.
Game Notes:
- UNC’s 742 total yards of offense were the most in program history.
- Howell is the first player to ever account for seven touchdowns in an ACC game, and just the second ACC player to ever do so against any opponent joining 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.
- Receivers Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown also had big days, with Newsome catching 10 passes for a career-high 189 yards and two touchdowns and Brown adding eight catches for 163 yards and two scores.
- This was the highest-scoring game ever played between UNC and Wake Forest.
Cover photo via ACC Media
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