By Doc Kennedy

A championship-winning coaching friend of mine once told me that you can’t get a team up for all 12 games on the schedule; once in a while, you will have to grind one out.

UNC returned to Kenan Stadium for the first time in nearly a month, since the heartbreaking late-game loss to Georgia Tech and the passing of Tylee Craft. During the intervening weeks, Carolina exorcized some demons in Charlottesville to end their four-game losing streak, and followed that up with the Tar Heels’ first win over Florida State in Mack Brown’s tenure. Those wins were the meat in a sandwich of bye weeks. UNC hasn’t been stellar at home this season but was good enough on Saturday night to notch a 31–24 win over Wake Forest.

When the Tar Heels were good, they were very good. On the plus side, Omarion Hampton showed why he belongs in the conversation of the nation’s best running backs (yes, including Boise’s Ashton Jeanty); the defense scored off two Wake turnovers, and the interior defense kept the trademark Deacon slow mesh in check.

However, when Carolina was bad, they were pretty bad. The offense failed to score after a first-and-goal in the first quarter, gave up three second-half touchdown drives to Wake’s backup quarterback, and the offense bogged down for most of the third and fourth quarters before finally scoring enough to put the Deacs away.

While it wasn’t a masterpiece, it was good enough for Carolina’s third straight win, clinching bowl eligibility, which didn’t seem like a given a month ago following the Georgia Tech loss.

While the defense still has issues, they have been much improved with the return of Kaimon Rucker and the emergence of Travis Shaw up front. The offense continues to ride the broad shoulders of Hampton while the passing game remains serviceable. With a defense that doesn’t hurt you and a solid, if not spectacular, offense beyond Hampton, UNC is a decent, competitive team. And really, that’s probably the best-case scenario in the post-Drake Maye era.

With that in mind, here is the Wake Forest version of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:

Good

Omarion Hampton

It seems that each week, Hampton writes his name in the UNC record book. This week, he ran for a career-high 244 yards and a touchdown on a Madden-like play where he jumped over the pile at the line and kept chugging to the end zone. His eight consecutive 100-yard games broke Don McCauley’s school record, and his third career 200-yard game ties the school record with Mike Voight and Amos Lawrence. That is some rare air for a school that has produced some prolific running backs.

Converting turnovers

The game came down to UNC’s ability to turn three Wake turnovers into touchdowns. The first was a pick-six by Power Echols, while the other was a strip sack by Joshua Harris that Travis Shaw recovered inside the Wake 20 to give the Heels a two-score cushion they would need.

Bad

Passing game

While Jacolby Criswell was a respectable 14 of 22 passing, he only threw for 132 yards and a score and, for the most part, looked out of sorts most of the night. He didn’t get much help from his receivers, who accounted for four drops, or his offensive line, who had him scrambling much of the night. Fortunately, Hampton had a monster night; otherwise, it would have been very tough sledding for the offense.

Backup quarterbacks

In a tradition that dates back to Joe Montana coming off the bench for Notre Dame in the 1970s, Carolina has a way of making backup quarterbacks look like Heisman winners. Michael Kern came in for Wake on the second play of the second half after an injury to starter Hank Bachmeier, and immediately went 4 of 4 in leading Wake down the field for a touchdown. While he threw the pick-six and fumbled on the strip sack, he scored 7 of 9 for 80 yards and scored a touchdown on the Deacons’ final drive, leading to UNC having to sweat out an onside kick. 

Ugly

UNC kicking game

Noah Burnette missed a 34-yard field-goal attempt off the goalpost in the first quarter after the Heels had first and goal, and has not seemed to be quite right since returning from his injury earlier in the season. Meanwhile, punter Tom Maginnes had six punts for a measly 38-yard average. Carolina came into the game ranked 128th in net punting, and given the punts he’s had blocked this year, along with those he’s shanked, it’s always an adventure when the Heels kick the ball away. Not being able to flip the field through punting will hurt UNC at some point, and not being able to count on the usually reliable Burnette has to impact the play-calling.

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It may not have been the most scenic route to get there, but Carolina is bowl-eligible for the sixth-straight year, one short of the program record set during Mack Brown 1.0 and the first year of Carl Torbush. Again, this was not a given considering the vibes around the team just a month ago. UNC finishes the season with a pair of toss-up games — at Boston College, who gave league leader SMU all the Mustangs wanted on Saturday, before finishing the year at home with N.C. State, who is suffering a disappointing season that collapsed under the weight of expectations.

Qualifying for a bowl, considering a bevy of injuries and inconsistent play on both sides of the ball, is no small feat; having a chance to win eight or nine games with this team is a minor miracle. There is still a lot of football to be played to determine the ultimate vibes and measure of success that will define this season.

Doc Kennedy is an alum, longtime UNC fan, and former high school and college basketball coach who wrote this report for years on Tar Heel Blog.

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics