GoHeels Exclusive: You Are Who You Are

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For much of Friday night, it seemed improbable that North Carolina would even have a chance to work its late-game magic again.

But with 1:09 left on the BB&T Field clock, there UNC was, down by one possession and with the ball in the hands of Sam Howell, already the author of two fourth-quarter comebacks in his young career. Seventy-five yards stood between him and another. That, however, didn't seem too daunting considering what he'd done against South Carolina and Miami.

Until then, the true freshman had yet to make any mistakes reflective of his age. But in the final minute against Wake Forest, he made his first, catching a deflected pass in the middle of the field despite the Tar Heels lacking any timeouts.

Facing fourth-and-1, Howell couldn't even spike the ball to stop the clock. So, Carolina ran it with Michael Carter, hoping he'd get the first down and get out of bounds with just enough time for a Hail Mary. The junior appeared to accomplish that when he stepped out 13 yards downfield and with :01 remaining. But he was ruled to have gotten out after time expired – the ACC said in a statement Saturday that the replay official "'should have stopped the game for further review,'" which should have resulted in restoring the final second.

Along the UNC sideline, coaches and players held up their index fingers and insisted that one second needed to be put back on the clock. But the officials took off, the Demon Deacons stormed the field and suddenly, the comeback was over.

"I kind of slowed down to try to set the blocks up and if I would have just ran straight out of bounds, we probably would have had like three seconds left," said Carter after the 24-18 loss. "But I thought it was going to be the last play of the game and that was a mental error by me."

Even then, the defeat wasn't as much the result of it as it was a lack of energy and execution in the first half.

In the days between last Saturday's dramatic home win over Miami and Friday's trip to Wake Forest, Mack Brown had stressed to his players the importance of creating an edge and playing with emotion every week, regardless of the opponent or the location. But the Tar Heels (2-1) failed to do that from the moment the game kicked off. Some indicated that was because they didn't take the Demon Deacons (3-0) as seriously as they needed to.

"We thought we had better players," Jeremiah Gemmel said. "We thought we had the better team coming in. I think we came in a little hesitant, not really going all hard."

And it showed.

Of Carolina's nine first-half drives, eight ended with a punt. The only one that didn't concluded with a fumble, which Wake Forest recovered at the UNC 20. Two plays and 28 seconds later, the Demon Deacons scored their first touchdown.

By the time they scored two more, they had nearly as many points (21) as the Tar Heels had total yards (26). Ultimately, Wake Forest outgained Carolina, 304-71, in the first half in taking a 21-0 lead at the break.

"I told the guys at halftime, 'You are who you are,'" Brown said. "'So, if you go out there and lay down in the second half, you're a team that lays down. If you go out there and fight your guts out … then that's who you are.' And that's what they did."

Coming off a strong finish to the first half, the defense forced the Demon Deacons to punt on their first two second-half drives. On the third, Myles Dorn came up with an interception that gave UNC some life and the impressive contingent of Tar Heel fans something to cheer about.

"I knew that a play had to be made," the senior defensive back said. "Just to get the morale up, something had to happen. And I felt the energy switch right then."

The offense promptly drove across midfield for the first time all night. It couldn't come away with a touchdown. But a 49-yard field goal by Noah Ruggles gave the unit some momentum.

Trailing 21-3 entering the final period, Howell ensured Carolina built on that, completing 5 of his next 6 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. He also converted a two-point try, rallying UNC to within a field goal with 6:09 left. Somehow, the true freshman had done it again. But this time, his heroics weren't enough.

Wake Forest burned five minutes during a 12-play, 61-yard drive that concluded with a field goal and forced the Tar Heels to use all three of their timeouts. The game then ended in its bizarre fashion moments later.

In outscoring the Demon Deacons 15-3 in the final period, Carolina extended its fourth-quarter scoring margin to 38-9 on the season. As impressive as that is, opponents have outscored UNC 60-32 in the other three quarters. That's easy to overlook when you're winning. But it was difficult to ignore after Friday's loss.

"This game felt a lot like last year, in terms of we're hanging on late and we're fighting," Aaron Crawford said. "For the last few years, one thing I'll say is we never quit, ever. … I think we're a great fourth-quarter team. But for us to be a great all-around team, we need to do it every down, every snap, every quarter and string it all together."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Michael Carter

Aaron Crawford

Myles Dorn

Jeremiah Gemmel

Noah Ruggles

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