Oh my, Omarion!: Three takeaways from UNC football’s ACC home win over Wake Forest
North Carolina’s late-season football resurgence continues.
The Tar Heels made it three straight wins Saturday by turning back Wake Forest 31-24 at Kenan Stadium behind 244 rushing yards from Omarion Hampton and a defense that gave up a few big plays, but made the ones that counted.
With the victory, the Tar Heels (6-4, 3-3 ACC) became bowl eligible for the sixth time in Mack Brown’s second run as UNC coach.
Hampton, fresh and quick after the Tar Heels’ second bye week of the season, rambled and rumbled for his 244 yards on 35 carries, both career highs. It was the junior’s eighth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, setting a school record, his third career 200-yard game and topped his previous high of 234 rushing yards, set last season against Appalachian State.
The UNC defense came up with a pair of interceptions, including a 42-yard pick-six by linebacker Power Echols in the third quarter that gave the Heels a 24-10 lead. Cornerback Marcus Allen also had a pickoff later in the third — both off Wake Forest’s Michael Kern, who replaced injured quarterback Hank Bachmeier early in the third quarter.
UNC forced a fumble in the fourth quarter that soon had Hampton bulling into the end zone for a clinching 6-yard score.
UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell ran for one touchdown and passed for a second but was not as sharp as he was in wins over Virginia and Florida State. Criswell’s fumble inside the UNC 10 in the third quarter set up a Wake Forest touchdown run by Demond Claiborne, and he had a few other errant throws.
Kern teamed up with Taylor Morin on a TD throw late in regulation but the Deacons’ line-drive onside kick was recovered by UNC’s Kaimon Rucker.
Three takeaways from the ACC game:
Big game from Big O
Hampton just keeps on coming.
At this point in the season, there’s not a lot more that can be said about the 6-foot, 220-pound junior from Clayton. UNC has had a long line of productive running backs through the years, several recruited and brought to Chapel Hill by Mack Brown, but Hampton ranks among the elite.
Hampton had 100 yards on 10 carries Saturday — in the first quarter. In a 75-yard TD drive by UNC in the first half, he carried nine times.
Hampton now has rushed for 100 or more yards in eight consecutive games. That set the official school record — former All-America Don McCauley had eight in a row, but one was in a bowl game, which then was not included in season statistics.
Hampton became the third UNC back to have three career 200-yard rushing games, joining Mike Voight and Amos Lawrence, famous names in UNC’s football lore.
Deacons rallied behind Kern
It was not what Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson wanted to see — starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier, on the ground, hurt, unable to continue.
The Deacons, trailing 10-3 at halftime, received the second-half kickoff, only to have Bachmeier go down on a short run on the first play of the third quarter. The Deacs turned to Michael Kern, a redshirt senior from Orlando, and immediately put together a touchdown drive for a 10-10 tie.
Kern did have some big mistakes that became turnovers. His short pass over the middle was picked off by UNC linebacker Power Echols and returned 42 yards for a TD and 24-10 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Kern was hit in the pocket by Josh Harris and fumbled, Travis Shaw recovering for UNC at the Wake Forest 14. Kern later led a nine-play, 75-yard drive and had a late TD throw to Taylor Morin.
Kern had thrown 19 passes this season, with nine competitions. It was his team in the second half.
UNC defense good enough
The UNC defense has been pretty salty in the past three games, but the Wake Forest game was more of a play-to-play grind than some kind of game-long sack party.
The Heels entered the game fourth in the country in sacks with 32, piling up 10 against Virginia and then seven against Florida State. Kaimon Rucker picked up a first-half sack Saturday, and Josh Harris had another in the fourth quarter that was timely for UNC, causing a fumble that Travis Shaw recovered at the Wake 14.
Another defensive trend did continue: stopping the running game. The Deacons finished with 114 yards after neither Virginia nor FSU could top 100.
The Wake Forest “slow mesh” offense offers a different kind of challenge and requires defensive discipline, and the Tar Heels were up for the challenge.
This story was originally published November 16, 2024 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Oh my, Omarion!: Three takeaways from UNC football’s ACC home win over Wake Forest."
