By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — From the abyss after a four-game losing streak, Omarion Hampton has run North Carolina back to bowl eligibility.

With the help of some big defensive plays, the Tar Heels beat Wake Forest for the fourth consecutive time, holding on for a 31–24 win on a cool night at Kenan Stadium to earn their sixth consecutive bowl trip for the first time since the 1990s.

UNC (6–4, 3–3 ACC) takes a three-game win streak to Boston College next Saturday.

“Proud of our guys and proud of Omarion,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “Defensively, we did so many things. They were the difference in the ball game by forcing turnovers.”

Big O was big-time, with 244 rushing on 35 carries, both career-highs, 260 total yards and the game-clinching six-yard touchdown run with 2:26 left. He ran for at least 100 yards for a school-record eighth consecutive game and joined Amos Lawrence and Mike Voight as the only Tar Heels with three 200-yard rushing games.

“I am really close with the O-line,” Hampton said. “We go out to eat all the time, we watch film together and do stuff together like that. So I feel for us, having that relationship with each other, it builds more on the field. So I feel it’s super-good to have a close relationship with them.”

Linebacker Power Echols’ 42-yard third-quarter interception return, one of two UNC interceptions, helped UNC take control, and Travis Shaw’s fumble recovery with 5:40 left set up Hampton’s touchdown.

“Power has done so much for this program,” Brown said, “and this year, his name hadn’t been talked about as much so for him to intercept the ball, and I was so proud that not only did he intercept it, but he ended up running it back for the touchdown.”

Quarterback Jacolby Criswell didn’t have to be spectacular and didn’t have his best game but complented 14 of 22 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target was Hampton, who caught all six passes that came his way, although J.J. Jones led UNC with 33 reception yards and a touchdown.

“For this team to be in such a hole, few teams — in my estimation — could have come out of this,” Brown said. “That means they’ve got great character.”

Alijah Hussie led UNC with six tackles, with Echols and Stick Lane adding four.

“We’ve been a great defensive team now for three weeks,” Brown said. “They’ve stopped the run. They’ve disrupted the quarterback. We had two turnovers last [game], and we had four tonight.”

Carolina drove 80 yards to a first-and-goal at the Wake Forest 3 in the first quarter. But the fourth sack of the drive forced a 34-yard Noah Burnette field-goal attempt that dinked off the left upright. Wake Forest took advantage of two pass-interference penalties — the second one a bad call — to drive 65 yards for a 33-yard Matthew Dennis field goal.

Hampton rushed nine times for 59 yards on an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Criswell scrambled, darted through the line and leaped into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown run with 12:26 left in the first half.

With the offensive line giving Criswell excellent protection, he drove UNC 56 yards in seven plays for a 24-yard Burnette field goal with one second left to give UNC a 10–3 halftime lead.

Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier got hurt on the second play of the second half, but backup Michael Kern completed a 29-yard pass on the next play that led to the Deacs’ first touchdown drive. He threw for 43 yards on a 7-play, 75-yard drive, with running back Demond Claiborne getting a 2-yard touchdown run to tie it at 10 with 12:20 left in the third quarter.

Carolina quickly responded as Hampton rushed for 38 of his 53 rushing yards on an amazing run during a 75-yard scoring drive. Criswell scrambled and found J.J. Jones in the back of the end zone. Jones just barely got one foot inbounds on the 15-yard touchdown pass play to give UNC the lead.

Echols stretched the lead to 14 points 81 seconds later by jumping to intercept a Kern pass and returning it down the right sideline for a touchdown. It was his fourth career interception.

It’s the first season since 2013 that UNC has had three pick-sixes in a season after Kaleb Cost did it against Pittsburgh and Jahvaree Ritzie against Virginia.

Criswell gifted points to Wake Forest (4–6, 2–4) with a fumble at the UNC 7. Claiborne scored on an option pitch from there on the next play to slice Carolina’s lead to 24–17.

Two UNC three-and-outs sandwiched Desmond Evans’ second career interception.

Wake Forest drove for an inconsequential touchdown after Hampton’s score, a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kern to Taylor Morin with 1:15 left, to cut the lead to eight.

It was victory formation for UNC after Kaimon Rucker recovered the onside kick.

NOTES — UNC plays its final road game of the season at 12:10 p.m. Saturday against Boston College. The Eagles (5–5, 2–4) lost 38–28 at No. 14 SMU on Saturday. … It’s UNC’s longest bowl streak since making bowls seven seasons in a row from 1992 to 1998. … Hampton’s 244-yard performance is tied for 11th all-time in UNC history (with Ronnie McGill, who had 244 against Wake Forest in 2003), and is the most rushing yards in a game since Michael Carter had 308 rushing yards at Miami in 2020. … Hampton passed Don McCauley and Kelvin Bryant for fifth on UNC’s all-time rushing list. … Although Hampton’s eight straight 100-yard rushing games is a school record, McCauley had a seven-game streak in 1970 and would have had eight if the Peach Bowl statistics had counted. … Hampton’s 35 carries are the most since Ryan Houston had 37 against Duke in 2009. … Hampton has 38 career touchdowns, which is tied for fourth all-time at UNC with Kelvin Bryant and Marquise Williams. … Rucker’s sack in the second quarter was the 22nd of his career, putting sixth all-time at UNC, passing Lawrence Taylor, who finished with 21. … Burnette moved to third all-time on the UNC scoring list. … Chris Culliver was the UNC wide receiver wearing Tylee Craft’s No. 13 jersey. The field featured two Tylee Strong logos at the 25-yard lines. His mom was in the dressing room after the game. … Carolina linebacker Caleb LaVallee missed the game with a lower-body injury. … ACC commissioner Jim Phillips was at the game. … The “blue out” game was a bust because most fans wore coats in the cold temperatures and few had light-blue coats. … UNC has a four-game win streak against Wake Forest and leads the series 73–36–2.

UNC 31, Wake Forest 24

Team	ACC	All
No. 16 Virginia	7–1	10–2
No. 12 Miami	6–2	10–2
No. 25 SMU	6–2	8–4
No. 24 Georgia Tech	6–2	9–3
Pittsburgh	6–2	8–4
Duke	6–2	7–5
Louisville	4–4	8–4
Wake Forest	4–4	8–4
California	4–4	7–5
Clemson	4–4	7–5
N.C. State	4–4	7–5
Stanford	3–5	4–8
Florida State	2–6	5–7
North Carolina	2–6	4–8
Virginia Tech	2–6	3–9
Syracuse	1–7	3–9
Boston College	1–7	2–10

Friday’s result
No. 4 Georgia 16, No. 24 Georgia Tech 9
Saturday’s results
N.C. State 42, North Carolina 19
No. 12 Miami 38, Pittsburgh 7
Louisville 41, Kentucky 0
Clemson 28, South Carolina 14
Boston College 34, Syracuse 12
Duke 49, Wake Forest 32
Florida 40, Florida State 21
No. 16 Virginia 27, Virginia Tech 7
California 38, No. 25 SMU 35
No. 9 Notre Dame 49, Stanford 20
Saturday’s ACC championship game
No. 16 Virginia vs. Duke in Charlotte, 8 p.m., ABC

Month/ date	Score/ time	Opponent	Record/ TV
September
1	L, 48–14	vs. TCU	0–1
6	W, 20–3	at Charlotte	1–1
13	W, 41–6	vs. Richmond	2–1
20	L, 34–9	at UCF	2–2
October
4	L, 38–10	vs. Clemson	2–3, 0–1 ACC
17 (Fri.)	L, 21–18	at California	2–4, 0–2
25	L, 17–16, OT	vs. No. 16 Virginia	2–5, 0–3
31 (Fri.)	W, 27–10	at Syracuse	3–5, 1–3
November
8	W, 20–15	vs. Stanford	4–5, 2–3
15	L, 28–12	at Wake Forest	4–6, 2–4
22	L, 32–25	vs. Duke	4–7, 2–5
29	L, 42–19	at N.C. State	4–8, 2–6