North Carolina will win or lose on the back of Omarion Hampton
With all due respect to Jacolby Criswell, who has performed admirably since returning to UNC from Arkansas, he is not at the level of Sam Howell and Drake Maye. Mack Brown 2.0 has been marked by elite quarterback play with a sustained level of vertical attacking threat over the last five years that isn't really here anymore.
But that doesn't seem to matter because of what Omarion Hampton has become. Hampton is so productive, explosive, and durable, that the offense is centered around his production. To wit:
Wake entered tonight allowing 298.6 passing yards per game, worst in the ACC in pass defense and two spots from the bottom nationally. And through four possessions, UNC’s Jacolby Criswell is 3-of-7 passing for 17 yards.
— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) November 17, 2024
Wake Forest was the No. 82-ranked run defense in FBS compared to #No. 129 in pass defense. North Carolina did not seek to exploit this documented weakness, passing just 22 times compared to 53 combined rushes.
Why change who you are when you've been so successful? Omarion Hampton ran for a career-high 244 yards, and in the first half, he was regularly running up the middle for huge chunks of yardage, and punishing hits to defenders in the second level.
Wake Forest made adjustments in the second half and was slightly more successful in managing Hampton's gallups, but it was like trying to stop the flow of a river. Eventually, the water gets through, and so too did Hampton get into the end zone, with a brilliant leap and smash job:
😱MARION HAMPTON@UNCFootball pic.twitter.com/97FDUTcn4G
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 17, 2024