The good news for Wake Forest is its loss to North Carolina came in a non-conference game despite being between ACC foes.
The bad news is the Tar Heels’ 58-55 victory over the Demon Deacons on Saturday ends Wake Forest’s dream for a perfect campaign.
The game saw 113 points scored in the Battle of the Sams. Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman accounted for 7 touchdowns — 5 passing, 2 rushing — and still came up short against the Tar Heels’ Sam Howell.
Here are Wake Forest's second-half leads the last two years against North Carolina:
2020: 45-24
2021: 45-27It lost both games.
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) November 6, 2021
Ty Chandler scored four rushing TDs for the Tar Heels while rushing for 213 yards.
Ty Chandler breaks a few tackles on his way to his 4th rushing TD. North Carolina has just sealed this game.
WAKE FOREST 48
NORTH CAROLINA 58— CFB Blitz (@BlitzCfb) November 6, 2021
Howell threw for 216 yards and rushed for 104. His counterpart, Hartman, rushed for 78 and threw for 398 in the loss.
As for why it is a non-conference game?
In 2015, both schools agreed to a future two-game, non-conference series during the 2019 and 2021 seasons that would be played outside of the ACC scope, a way to get around the league’s scheduling limitations as in-state rivals. Long-standing, traditional rivalries are no longer played as often as they used to be with the ACC’s eight-game slate and this was a was to ensure the Demon Deacons and Tar Heels would meet regardless of the league office’s schedules.