North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton ran for a career-high 244 yards and a touchdown, Power Echols returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown and the Tar Heels made enough big plays to defeat visiting Wake Forest 31-24 on Saturday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Jacolby Criswell ran for a touchdown and threw for a score to help North Carolina (6-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to its third consecutive victory.
Wake Forest (4-6, 2-4) has lost back-to-back games, dropping a road game for the first time in four trips this year despite running back Demond Claiborne running for two touchdowns and 95 yards.
Starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier was replaced in the second half by Michael Kern, but the switch didn’t work out as Kern threw two interceptions and lost a fourth-quarter fumble.
Trailing 24-17, Wake Forest force a punt and took the ball over with 5:40 to play. Two plays later, Joshua Harris’ sack of Kern forced a fumble that was recovered by Travis Shaw at the Demon Deacons’ 18. From there, Hampton carried on five consecutive plays, the final one a 6-yard TD run.
Kern hit Taylor Morin for a 16-yard touchdown play with 1:15 left to make it a one-score game but Wake never got the ball back.
Hampton, who had 35 carries, set a team record with eight consecutive games of 100 or more rushing yards.
Criswell threw 15 yards to JJ Jones in the back of the end zone to snap a 10-10 tie with 9:26 left in the third quarter.
Echols’ momentum-shifting play off Kern’s throw extended North Carolina’s lead to 24-10 before the midway mark of the third.
Claiborne ran for TDs in the third quarter from 2 and 7 yards out.
North Carolina, which had been 0-2 in ACC home games, came up empty in the first quarter even though Hampton reached the 100-yard rushing mark. Noah Burnette clanked a 34-yard field-goal attempt off the upright on the Tar Heels’ second drive. Wake Forest scored first on Matthew Dennis’ 33-yard field goal on the next drive.
The Tar Heels have won four consecutive meetings in the series.
–Field Level Media
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