Lessons Learned from UNC football's impotent loss to Wake Forest

When you can't sack

UNC had piled up 19 sacks in its last three games, including nine against Stanford. Steve Belichick's defense found some fangs and were making game-winning plays. So what do you do against a defense that can hunt down your quarterback like that? Run the ball.

Wake Forest sliced up UNC's defense. The Deacons ran the ball 39 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns by three different players. One of them felt a bit cruel, though. UNC's defense had forced a fumble on Robby Ashford, but the ball found its way into the hands of receiver Carlos Hernandez, who took it 51 yards to the end zone.

That's a killer bounce of the ball, because it puts the team behind seven points that don't feel earned, and the defense knows it will need to play almost perfect ball, because the offense won't be able to keep up. As long as Gio Lopez is under center and Freddie Kitchens is on the headset, UNC's defense will need to keep opponents out of the end zone to have a chance at winning. And if they can't sack the quarterback, that endeavor becomes almost impossible.