UNC went to Wake Forest hoping to reach .500 both for the season and in conference play. Wake Forest on paper awaited with the best defense UNC faces this year but one of the worst offenses. “Worst offense”
isn’t allowed because Syracuse tried a walk-on, true freshman lacrosse player at QB, and nothing can really top that. Still, WFU’s offense statistically was the mirror image of UNC’s in its inability to move the ball or score points.
So, of course, the UNC offense did what it needed to do to win the game, but special teams and defense blew it. What did we learn along the way?
The offense was once again inept, but this one can’t be blamed on Gio Lopez
Which is worse: Mack Brown’s 2022 defense under Gene Chizik or Bill Belichick’s 2025 offense under Freddie Kitchens? Feel free to opine in the comments below.
However, this one wasn’t Gio’s fault, as Lopez played his best game of the season against a P4 defense. In fact, advanced metrics have WFU’s defense rank as high as 5th in the country and no lower than 24th, which makes WFU’s defense the toughest one we’ll face this season. The game plan relied on Gio’s accuracy and his ability to make quick decisions, two things he’s struggled with all season. Somehow, against that defense, it worked better than anything else the Tar Heels tried, whether offense, defense, or special teams.
To the extent UNC moved the ball, it came in the passing game, with Lopez spreading the ball to eight different receivers. The offensive line couldn’t create any room at all in the running game, which averaged less than three yards per tote. 10 of UNC’s 16 first downs came from the passing game. That was good enough for six field goal attempts, and 18 points would have been more than enough to beat Wake Forest its last three games.
Gio Lopez played a clean game against a difficult defense, with a game plan that put a lot on his plate. If Gio can build on this effort heading into games against far weaker defenses — both Duke’s and State’s — our prospects in those contests seem brighter than they did before this game. Yes, Gio missed some important passes. His offensive line isn’t scaring anyone. Defenses never seem unsure of what’s coming next. It’s a poorly constructed, poorly coached offense. Blaming Gio for that lets Bill Belichick off the hook for it.
The UNC defense in fact has not been magically reworked into a dominant unit by Belichick’s “genius”
UNC’s D came into the Wake Forest game having allowed 63 points over its prior four games. The front seven racked up 19 sacks and four turnovers forced in its past three games. They’ve looked great.
Wake Forest’s O came into the game ranked below UNC’s. WFU scored 28 points total in its last three conference games, and 7 of those came from a punt return. Total offense for the Deac’s in those games averaged 250 yards. They’ve been awful.
Every path to a UNC win in this game involved the UNC defense dominating a horrible Wake Forest offense. Instead, WFU piled up over 400 yards. 220 of that came on the ground, and while 50 of that was a fluky fumble recovery and scamper, 170 yards rushing was double what WFU managed against either FSU or SMU. 190 passing yards allowed was three times what Virginia allowed to WFU last week. The defense did force two fumbles, but one of them turned into that aforementioned 50 yard touchdown for Wake.
The defensive needed to control the line of scrimmage, which was the key to wins over Cal, Syracuse, and Stanford, as well as the near miss against Virginia. That didn’t happen. 170 yards rushing came courtesy of Wake’s offensive line controlling the line scrimmage. The front seven generated only two tackles for loss. Chris Hernandez got loose for a 70 yards touchdown on a flea flicker, made possible in part by a secondary having to run support.
Duke and State have far more lethal offenses. The defense needs to get back to the form it’s displayed over the past month.
Being hired in December shouldn’t doom a team to a bad season
Belichick apologists love to cite Bill’s 12/11/2024 hire date as some sort of insurmountable obstacle. Belichick has now faced two coaches who were hired at the same time as him: Scott Frost of UCF (12/8/24) and Jake Dickert of Wake Forest (12/18/24). Belichick lost both games by a combined score of 62-21.
Dickert with this win moves to 7-3 and 4-3 in conference. Preseason, Wake Forest was picked to finish 16th out of 17 teams in the ACC. The man will be getting a lot of votes for ACC Coach of the Year, and deservedly so. UNC was picked 8th, largely on the strength of the reputation of its new coach. Feel free to go back and review the headlines Belichick, Lombardi, and Jordon Hudson were making last summer and into the fall. Meanwhile…
via ESPN: “It’s like the late rounds of the draft,” Dickert said. “We found guys that love football, fit our culture and have a great energy and passion for what they’re doing. I said when I was hired, this is not a throwaway year. The best program builders in the country maximize the moment.” Jake Dickert, WF HC, hired a week after BB
UNC falls to 4-6 on the season, 0-2 against coaches hired at the same time as Bill Belichick.
