I don’t know what anyone realistically expected on Saturday night. Wake Forest was coming into the game against UNC with the high of upsetting title-contending Virginia, while Carolina had tried to build
momentum by playing against two of the worst offenses in the ACC. The Tar Heels also happen to be one of the worst offenses in the ACC, and it showed against a Wake defense that kept the ball out of the end zone.
Carolina is 0-1 so far in their Big Four run, and there wasn’t a lot that we saw Saturday that would lead you to believe they’ll be able to pick up a win against the other two. With that, let’s go ahead and cut straight to the winners, losers, and honorable mentions in the 28-12 loss to the Deamon Deacons, where really the Deacons were the winners.
Winners
Rece Verhoff: Look, it’s not his fault the rest of the offense couldn’t produce anything. Yes, he had two kicks blocked, but he was the only offense Carolina had all night. All of his kicks were good from outside of 40 yards, and he nailed a 57-yarder that showed why Carolina grabbed him from Marshall. He’s probably put enough on tape this year to earn a chance at an NFL spot. He’s possibly the only one.
Carlos Hernandez: Everyone knew what sort of game it was going to be when the receiver for Wake picked up a teammate’s fumble and trucked it into the end zone to give Wake the early 7-0 lead. It technically goes down as a rush without an attempt, and then — to add to that — he went ahead and collected 100 yards in the air, including what became the dagger in the game with a 70 yard touchdown caught from quarterback Robby Ashford. It was the type of day an opposing offensive player hadn’t had on the Carolina defense in a couple of weeks, and it may have helped show just how much of the last few weeks were a mirage.
Wake Forest Rushers: Primarily Demond Claiborne and Robby Ashford, who combined for 33 attempts and 161 yards, plus two touchdowns. They controlled the game and never really allowed Carolina to breathe. You know that Duke and NC State took note of just how well Wake was able to shove the ball down Carolina’s throat. It’s absolutely something that Steve Belichick is going to have to look at shoring up if the Heels want to win enough to go to a bowl game.
Losers
UNC Offense: There are just too many holes here to give it to one person. Gio Lopez showed off his limtations by only passing it for 201 yards, with the longest being 26. Carolina’s rushers had one of their worst days, only netting a total of 56 yards and averaging a paltry 2.3 yards per carry. It was just a putrid day all around and everyone knew it. How bad did everyone know it? Down 21-9 early in the fourth, the Tar Heels kicked a field goal instead of taking a gamble. They went from down two scores to only…two scores down. It’s probably too late to expect anything good out of this group, and the word is out to just stuff the run and force Lopez to make plays — which he clearly can’t.
Gavin Gibson: When you force a fumble, you shouldn’t be in this section, but the problem is he forced it and essentially pushed it directly to Hernandez, leading to the score from the alert receiver. You can’t just make the play, you have to finish the play. That lack of finishing defined Carolina for the rest of the game, and while you could argue the score was a bit of a fluke, there’s no doubt that the score gave Wake the momentum they needed as the Tar Heels had to play from behind the rest of the day.
Bill Belichick: He got one week off this list because it did seem like a reach to name him after two wins in a row, but he’s back on it with a vengeance this week. His statement on Friday that he wasn’t going to pursue the New York Giants job was undercut Saturday with reports that the Giants basically laughed at this, saying he wasn’t even thought about. Then the game he called on Saturday was just more of the same putrid affair that we have gotten this entire season: not taking any chances to get a touchdown and lend any kind of shine to a season that is rapidly deteriorating. Then at the end of the game with Wake Forest having the game sealed up and coach Jake Dickert looking to be honorable and just take a knee, Belichick wasted everyone’s time by calling a timeout. There was no chance Carolina would get the ball back. There was no chance they could come back to win it. So Dickert basically said “fine” and ran it in for the touchdown. You can look up his post game press conference defending his decisions, but they don’t help. You wonder if a team that had been held together and not given up so far finally was pushed to their breaking point and are set for a couple of ugly losses to teams with really good offenses. Either way, with Belichick’s statement Friday, any faint hope fans had that Carolina would be able to reset this situation next year is gone. Now UNC wants fans to pay thousands of dollars to see this squad perform in Ireland to open next year? Good luck with that.
Honorable Mentions
Khomri House had an outstanding game with nine total tackles, five of them solo, a forced fumble, and a sack. It’s a shame it came in a loss but he was all over the place on Saturday…despite only gaining 201 yards in the air, seven different players were credited with making a catch on Saturday, showing they at least want to try to get more players involved in the offense. The question ultimately is — will it matter?
Next up for the Tar Heels is a date with the Devils, as Duke comes into Chapel Hill for Senior Day at Kenan Stadium. The start time was announced as 3:30 on ACC Network, and we should know later today when the season finale in Raleigh will kickoff.
