UNC Football vs. Wake Forest: Preview, info, prediction and more

The UNC Football program enters the final four games of the season needing two wins to become bowl eligible. It was a season in which the Tar Heels had high expectations but after a loss to Notre Dame last week, they sit at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

And next up? No. 9 Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons invade Chapel Hill for the second-straight year but this time it’s a non-conference game. The two teams are playing the second of two home-and-home non-conference games they set a few years ago due to the ACC matrix. Either way, this is a HUGE game for UNC and Wake in terms of bowl games.

Led by Sam Hartman, Wake is unbeaten this year but haven’t been tested much. Their No. 9 ranking is fair and they have the inside track to reaching the ACC Championship Game this year and potentially do more damage as well.

But Wake Forest hasn’t been challenged a lot this year and UNC is a team that can put up a lot of points. So can Wake Forest, and we saw that in a thriller last season in Chapel Hill with UNC winning 59-53.

For UNC, the key here will be defensively. Can they stop Sam Hartman and the Wake offense from reaching that 50-mark this year? Both defenses appear vulnerable going into this one and it could come down to that side of the ball.

Let’s get into our keys:

Key to Victory for UNC

Score. Score. Score. Wake enters the game averaging 43.4 points per game including putting up over 40 in each of their three previous games including 70 against Army. Led by Hartman, Wake’s offense can hit a big play at any time and the quarterback does a good job of spreading the ball around.

But UNC has a good quarterback of their own in Howell. UNC is only averaging 36.5 points per game this year and at times has struggled with drives stalling. However, if Howell can get going with Josh Downs and another receiver, they could hit that 40 mark as well.

This one feels like it could be a track meet again, so UNC is going to need to capitalize on their drives and not fall behind too early.

Something to watch

Who will step up on UNC’s offense? You know what you’re going to get from Howell and Downs, likely Ty Chandler too. But who else will step up in this one? If Wake takes Downs out of the game and makes another receiver beat them, someone is going to have to step up big time to get the production needed.

The only problem is not many receivers have shown they can do that. The Tar Heels haven’t had the production they’ve wanted at the receiver position and have seen Khafre Brown and Emery Simmons enter the transfer portal. Last week, Antoine Green had 5 receptions for 83 yards but after him and Downs, only one other receiver had a reception and it was freshman J.J. Jones.

Let’s see if Jones and Green can step up again this week.

What You Need To Know

WHAT? Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-0, 5-0 in ACC) AT North Carolina Tar Heels (4-4, 3-3 in ACC)
WHEN? Saturday,  November 6 at NOON
WHERE? Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV? ABC
RADIO? Tar Heels Sports Network
WEATHER? Partly cloudy with a high of 55 degrees
LINE? UNC -2.5
LAST MEETING? 2020. UNC 59, Wake Forest 53
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads 70-36-2
PREDICTION? Wake 45, UNC 38

For more on this game, please check back with Keeping It Heel.