North Carolina Tar Heels beat Wake Forest Demon Deacons, clinch ACC Coastal Division
Coverage from the game
- For Mack Brown and UNC, the time is now to fulfill a long-held vision and promise
- Tar Heels clinch ACC Coastal with another close road game. UNC beats Wake Forest 36-34
Coverage during the game
No. 15 North Carolina clinched the ACC Coastal Division crown and a spot in the conference championship game.
UNC coach Mack Brown has long said he wants the Tar Heels to earn their place. A win at Wake Forest tonight would do just that. The game figures to be a quarterback duel between Carolina’s Drake Maye and Wake’s Sam Hartman. In the past two meetings, the scores were in the 50s and decided by less than a touchdown.
News & Observer reporters C.L. Brown and Andrew Carter, along with photographer Robert Willett are at Truist Field. Check back for their updates from all the action.
Burnette FG: UNC 36, Wake 34. 4Q
Noah Burnette kicked a 34-yard field goal to put the Heels ahead with 2:12 left in the game. The drive was set up by Cam Kelly’s interception of a Sam Hartman pass.
Greene TD catch: Wake 34, UNC 33. 3Q
Donovan Greene burned UNC cornerback Storm Duck for a 60-yard scoring catch. Duck got a bit of redemption on Wake’s two-point conversion attempt, knocking it away incomplete.
Maye TD run: UNC 33, Wake 28. 3Q
Drake Maye ran for a 5-yard score, but the two-point conversion attempt failed. The bad news for Carolina was receiver Josh Downs was injured on the drive. He left the field for the locker room holding his lower back, but he was able to jog off on his own power.
Perry TD catch: Wake 28, UNC 27. 3Q
Wake gambled -- and succeeded -- on a fourth-and-1 from its own 36. It kept the drive going for A.T. Perry to give the Deacons their first lead of the game with a 32-yard scoring catch.
Green out
UNC senior receiver Antoine Green is out the remainder of the game with an upper body injury.
Downs TD catch: UNC 27, Wake 21. 2Q
Josh Downs caught his third touchdown of the game, a 20-yarder with 2:22 left in the first half. But Carolina may have lost receiver Antoine Green on the drive. He stayed on the field when Wake’s A.J. Williams made a hit that was called for targeting on they play.
Greene TD catch: Wake 21, UNC 21. 2Q
The Deacons scored on a short field after a 14-yard punt return coupled with a 15-yard facemask penalty, set them up at the UNC 36. Wake converted a fourth-and-3, then Hartman found Donovan Greene for a 7-yard scoring reception.
Turner TD run: Wake 14, UNC 21. 2Q
Sam Hartman threw a short pass to KeShawn Williams that he took for a 40-yard gain. The play set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Christian Turner on fourth down and goal.
Downs TD catch: UNC 21, Wake 7. 2Q
Josh Downs caught his second touchdown pass in the game, a 7-yard score, and the Heels remain perfect on three possessions. The drive was set up by a 36 yard kickoff return by freshman Will Hardy.
Morin TD catch: Wake 7, UNC 14. 1Q
Wake Forest marched 78 yards in 11 plays for its first score. Taylor Morin caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Sam Hartman.
Green TD run: UNC 14, Wake 0. 1Q
Elijah Green had a 5-yard touchdown run set up by a 45-yard catch by Antoine Green, no relation, to give Carolina two scores on its first two drives. Wake made the mistake of declining a holding penalty on second and 15 and it led to Green’s catch.
Downs TD catch: UNC 7, Wake 0. 1Q
Carolina takes its opening drive 91 yards for a score capped off by a 12-yard touchdown catch by Josh Downs. The key play on the drive came when quarterback Drake Maye also hit Downs for a 25-yard strike.
Pregame reading
How UNC RB Elijah Green went from fifth on the depth chart to starting for Tar Heels
Heisman Trophy watch: How does UNC QB Drake Maye stack up? Latest odds, stats, more
UNC vs Wake Forest: History suggests high-scoring game as Heels try to clinch Coastal
Sam Hartman is nation’s most overlooked quarterback — and perhaps its most resilient
A win away from clinching Coastal, here’s what we learned from UNC’s win at Virginia
- UNC’s receiving tandem, one of the ACC’s best, is causing chaos for opposing defenses
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 7:32 PM.
