By R.L. Bynum
WINSTON-SALEM — When your offense can’t find the end zone, kicking field goals can only get you so far, even if that includes a school record.
Wake Forest made enough big plays and every promising UNC drive sputtered as the Demon Deacons ended a four-game losing streak against the Tar Heels with a 28–12 win Saturday night at Allegacy Stadium.
Rece Verhoff did everything he could to save the struggling Carolina offense, with four field goals, including a school-record 57-yard boot. But he had two other attempts blocked on a night when the Deacons’ defense threw up roadblocks in the red zone all night.
“Obviously [a] disappointing game,” UNC coach Bill Belichick said. “Just not good enough in any area, offense, defense, special teams, coaching, playing, we just didn’t have a good night.”
If those four field goals had been touchdowns, it would have been a big UNC win, but instead it was another frustrating loss.
“We need to finish those drives. They got the ball down there and so forth,” said Belichick, acknowledging the red-zone issues. “Several drives, a lot of different plays. But, in the end, we didn’t get it done, so it’s not good enough.”
When it looked like Wake Forest (7–3, 4–3 ACC) was going to run out the clock at the end, Carolina called a curious time out. The Deacs then decided to score, with quarterback Robbie Ashford running two yards for a touchdown.
“I was just trying to keep the game alive,” Belichick said, explaining the timeout. “I didn’t know what they were going to do. We’re trying to stop them. The game wasn’t over.”
UNC (4–6, 2–4 ACC) now needs wins against two rivals that got blown out Saturday in the next two games: Duke next weekend, which lost 34–17 to No. 20 Virginia, and N.C. State the weekend after that, which lost 41–7 to No. 16 Miami.
Quarterback Gio Lopez was 21 of 36 for 201 yards and a 105.2 passer rating, connecting with tight end Jake Johnson on five passes for 54 yards. The Tar Heels could only muster 56 rushing yards, led by 32 from Demon June.
Belichick defended Lopez.
“Just his preparation, his play. I thought he did a pretty good job tonight,” Belichick said. “He’s under a lot of pressure. He hung in there, made some good throws.”
A Wake Forest team that had struggled offensively before Saturday rolled up 414 yards. Ashford completed 15 of 25 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown while Demond Claiborne ran for 98 yards and a touchdown.
The Carolina defense that has played so well in recent weeks faltered, giving up 414 total yards.
“We’re a better team than we were tonight, but we just weren’t very good,” Belichick said.
Wake Forest’s first touchdown, on the game’s first drive, was bizarre.
Ashford rushed for 12 yards before UNC’s Gavin Gibson forced a fumble, but let the ball slip out of his hands. The Deacs’ Carlos Hernandez came out of the scrum with the ball and ran 50 yards for the touchdown.
UNC drove 58 yards in 13 plays over 7½ minutes on its first drive before it stalled. The Tar Heels settled on a 40-yard Verhoff field goal with 12:54 left in the first half.
A hit from Khmori House, who led UNC with nine tackles, forced a Claiborne fumble that Gibson recovered at the Wake Forest 31, but the Tar Heels could get only one first down.
Wake Forest’s Nick Andersen jumped over UNC long snapper Spencer Triplett and blocked Verhoff’s 39-yard field goal attempt, the first of two kicks that the Deacons blocked.
“One [was because of] a lot of penetration,” Belichick said. “The other one, I would say, the time and execution of the kick is obviously bad on our part.”
With five seconds left in the third quarter, Wake Forest’s Mateen Ibirogba blocked a 45-yard Verhoff field-goal attempt that the Tar Heels rushed to get off before the teams had to change sides of the field.
“I thought the wind was definitely a little bit of a factor,” Belichick said. “So, kicking it with the wind, trying to get that field goal with the wind at the end of the third quarter.”
After getting a favorable spot on a fourth-and-one, Claiborne ran down the middle on a 12-yard touchdown run to end a 13-play, 79-yard drive.
Verhoff broke a 23-year-old school record with his 57-yard boot as the first-half time expired, with the kick just clearing the crossbar.
UNC made a huge fourth-and-one stop at the Carolina 24 when Andrew Simpson first got to Ashford before House sacked him to force the turnover on downs.
Carolina got going with a 26-yard reception to June and a 15-yard Benjamin Hall. But UNC settled on a 42-yard Verhoff field goal after the drive stalled, cutting the Deacs’ lead to five with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
Wake Forest responded less than a minute later on a flea-flicker. Ashford hit Hernandez on a 70-yard touchdown play to shove the Deacs’ lead to 21–9 with 5:54 left in the third quarter.
Verhoff added a 47-yard field goal with 11:03 left in the game to cut the Deacs’ lead to nine.
Notes
— Carolina plays its final home game of the season Saturday, playing host to Duke (3:30 p..m., ACC Network).
— Verhoff’s record boot broke the mark Dan Orner set against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome with a 55-yard field goal in 2002. It was Verhoff’s sixth game with at least a 40-yard field goal.
— UNC wore 1990s-era throwback uniforms with white jerseys, light blue pants and navy blue stripes.
— It was the first fumble recovery of Gibson’s career.
— Wake Forest recognized first baseman Nick Kurtz, the AL Rookie of the Year outfielder and former Deacon, before the game.
— UNC right guard Daniel King started after missing some of the Stanford game. Defensive backs Kaleb Cost and Thad Dixon missed the game.
— UNC still leads the series 73–37–2, including 31–18 at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest 28, UNC 12
| 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 |
Photo via @UNCFootball
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