UNC Football: Tar Heels’ comeback comes up short at Wake Forest

UNC football suffers its first loss of the season, falling to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem

North Carolina scored 18 consecutive points to pull within a field goal of Wake Forest, but fell 24-18 to the Demon Deacons amid a controversial final play. It was the Tar Heels’ first loss of 2019 after back-to-back wins over South Carolina and Miami to open the season.

After being pulled from the game in the first half in favor of backup quarterback Jace Ruder, true freshman signal-caller Sam Howell put together a strong second half that included two touchdown passes — one to Dyami Brown, and the other to Michael Carter. Howell finished the game completing 17-of-28 passes for 182 yards and no interceptions.

Carter was effective on the ground, too, leading the Tar Heels with 13 carries for 96 yards — the team combined for 144 yards on 37 rushes. It was Carter’s final run, though, that the game ended on, despite his foot stepping on the sideline with one second remaining on the clock.

The referee nearest the play signaled for the clock to continue running, thus ending the game. The Tar Heels should have had at least had the opportunity at one more play, however, given that the clock should have stopped when forward progress on a first down run was the call on the field. It comes as a shock to nobody from Chapel Hill, though, that a North Carolina football game would end on a controversial call (see: Clemson, ACC Championship 2015).

The Tar Heels still get through their first three games of the season with two wins, and a date with Appalachian State set for next Saturday. If North Carolina can take care of business against the Mountaineers at home, it’ll still have a 3-1 record when the No. 1-ranked Clemson Tigers come to town on September 28.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for more on the Tar Heels’ controversial loss to Wake Forest, including post game press conference coverage and reactions to the game’s final play.