University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Set to Host Deacons at Noon
November 7, 2003 | Football
Nov. 8, 2003
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2003
Time: Noon
TV: JP Sports (Steve Martin, play-by-play; Doc Walker, analyst; Mike Hogewood, sideline)
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C., Kenan Stadium (60,000, grass)
Series Record: Carolina leads 65-32-2
Last Meeting: Wake Forest 31, Carolina 0 on October 26, 2002, in Winston-Salem
Rankings: Neither team is ranked
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Radio Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Woody Durham (play-by-play) and Mick Mixon (color) provide the call. A live broadcast also is available on the University of North Carolina's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
Websites: North Carolina (TarHeelBlue.com); Wake Forest (wakeforestsports.com)
North Carolina returns home to face Wake Forest on Saturday, November 8 in the 100th renewal of one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's oldest rivalries. The game will kickoff at 12:08 p.m. and will be televised by JP Sports. This is Carolina's third-consecutive game on the ACC's television network.
The Tar Heels (1-8, 0-5) are coming off a 59-21 loss at Maryland last Saturday in which they allowed 612 yards of offense and an ACC-record 39 second-quarter points. The Tar Heels are searching for their first conference victory of the season and first win at home since 2001. Wake Forest, meanwhile, needs just one win to become bowl eligible. The Deacons sport a 5-4 overall record and a 3-3 league mark after last Saturday's convincing 45-17 win over Clemson in Winston-Salem.
Carolina has lost two straight to the Deacons, including a 31-0 shutout in Winston-Salem last season and a devastating one-point loss in Chapel Hill in 2001. The Tar Heels have not dropped three straight to Wake Forest since 1987-89.
This week's game will be quite a challenge for Carolina's rush defense, which ranks last in the ACC, allowing 213.4 yards per game. Wake Forest leads the ACC with 193.0 rushing yards per game and is coming off its best rushing game this season. Last week, Wake rushed for 321 yards on 60 carries against Clemson.
Carolina has been able to run the ball with some success this season, despite being forced to abandon a steady running game after falling behind. In fact, the Tar Heels lead the ACC with an average of 4.3 yards per carry. However, Carolina's 288 carries are the fewest in the league, and are 140 less than Wake Forest's league-high 428 attempts. North Carolina ranks fourth in the league with 137.1 yards rushing and has rushed for over 160 yards in three of the last four games.
Wake Forest and North Carolina are ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in the ACC in total defense. The Tar Heels are averaging 391.3 yards per game of total offense, their highest average since the 1995 season (396.5).
