Bernard Leads Tar Heels to 49-24 Win Over Wake Forest

Saturday, October 29

Chapel Hill, N.C.

3:30 PM

North Carolina

Wake Forest

October 29, 2011 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Oct. 29, 2011

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Redshirt freshman Giovani Bernard scored three touchdowns and had his sixth 100-yard rushing performance to help North Carolina beat Wake Forest 49-24 on Saturday, making the Tar Heels bowl eligible for the fourth straight season.

Bernard ran for a pair of touchdowns and had a 7-yard scoring catch in the first quarter, while North Carolina (6-3, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) took advantage of a line of mistakes from the Demon Deacons (5-3, 4-2). Wake Forest had five turnovers - three on interceptions thrown by Tanner Price - after committing just five all season coming into Saturday, and the Tar Heels converted four of those into touchdowns.

It all led to a huge day for the UNC offense, which had a season-high 562 total yards and its best scoring output in seven years. It was also North Carolina's most points in an ACC game in a decade.

Bernard ran for 154 yards on 27 carries, while his short TD catch in the opening quarter was his first career scoring reception. He reached the 100-yard mark on a 4-yard carry early in the fourth, then broke off a 54-yard run late to finish 1 yard shy of matching his season-high. He also moved within 35 yards of becoming the first Tar Heel to run for 1,000 yards in a season since Jonathan Linton did it in Mack Brown's final season in 1997.

Bryn Renner completed 21 of 28 passes for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns, while top receiver Dwight Jones had six catches for 138 yards. Fellow wideout Erik Highsmith added his first two-TD performance, scoring on a 4-yard catch in the opening quarter and on a diving 38-yard grab early in the fourth that blew the game open.

UNC forced turnovers on Wake Forest's first two possessions and jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Tar Heels led 21-17 late in the third before turning it into a rout, getting a short touchdown run from Ryan Houston and Bernard's second 4-yard scoring run to push the lead to 35-17 less than a minute into the fourth.

The 49 points against the Demon Deacons were the most by the Tar Heels since scoring 49 against William & Mary to open the 2004 season and the most by UNC in an ACC game since scoring 52 against Duke in 2001.