Tar Heels rally to upset Wake Forest
For the second straight year, Wake Forest couldn't protect a big second-half lead at North Carolina. This time, though, it likely cost the 10th-ranked Demon Deacons any chance of playing their way deeper into the College Football Playoff race.
Ty Chandler ran for career highs of 213 yards and four touchdowns and North Carolina overcame an 18-point deficit to beat Wake Forest 58-55 on Saturday, handing the Demon Deacons their first loss in a nonconference matchup of Atlantic Coast Conference teams.
It ended with the unusual sight of Tar Heels fans storming the field to celebrate a win against their instate foe, though not one that will count toward the league standings.
“I’ve told them: Every Saturday you build memories,” Tar Heels coach Mack Brown said. “That’s what you do. And this is a game that they will remember for the rest of their lives. And I’m really, really proud that my name is associated with them.”
Chandler's big day included a 50-yard breakaway run with 1:12 left to make it 58-48. That was the final blow for the Tar Heels (5-4) in rallying from a huge third-quarter deficit to beat the Demon Deacons (8-1, No. 9 CFP) for the second straight year, following a 21-point comeback last year by erasing a 45-27 deficit with 7:38 left in the third.
“It just felt like a rerun of last year's game,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said.
“Pretty similar,” quarterback Sam Hartman echoed.
The Tar Heels felt it too, even down big.
“What we were saying on the sidelines is: we've been here before,” UNC quarterback Sam Howell said.
The loss doesn’t impact the Demon Deacons’ pursuit of their first ACC title since 2006 since it was part of a home-and-home nonconference series announced in 2015 with the schools not meeting as often amid the expanded ACC’s scheduling model. But the goal Clawson mentioned after last week's rout of Duke — being in the playoff discussion — is likely gone.
“We just, we weren't sharp,” Clawson said. “You say that and we scored 50-something points. But we weren't as sharp as we needed to be. We certainly played well on offense and scored a lot of points, but with as well as North Carolina played, we had to be a little bit better. And we weren't.”
Hartman threw for 398 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 78 yards and two more scores for Wake Forest. A.T. Perry and Jaquarii Roberson each hauled in a pair of touchdown grabs to lead a 615yard effort from the offense.
A No. 1 Georgia 43, Missouri 6: Stetson Bennett passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to former starter JT Daniels, leading the host Bulldogs past the Tigers.
The game opened new questions for Georgia at quarterback while affirming the Bulldogs’ seasonlong defensive dominance. Missouri was held to 273 yards of total offense in Georgia’s seventh game of the season allowing no more than 10 points.
Georgia (9-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) scored 40 straight points after Missouri (4-5, 1-4) took a 3-0 lead.
Missouri’s Tyler Badie, the SEC’s leading rusher, was held to 41 yards.
A No. 2 Cincinnati 28, Tulsa 20: Desmond Ridder threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns and the host Bearcats held off the Golden Hurricane.
Alec Peirce had five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown to help the Bearcats (9-0, 5-0 American Athletic) extend the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 25 games. Shamari Brooks rushed for 132 yards for Tulsa (3-6, 2-3), and Anthony Watkins ran for 105.
A No. 6 Ohio St. 26, Nebraska 17: C.J. Stroud threw for 405 yards and two touchdowns and the Buckeyes’ defense came up with a pair of stops after the host Cornhuskers pulled within six points.
Ohio State (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten) won its 24th straight game against a conference opponent. The Huskers (3-7, 1-6) dropped their fourth straight game and are assured of a fourth consecutive losing season under Scott Frost and a fifth in a row overall.
A No. 8 Notre Dame 34, Navy 6: Jack Coan threw for 269 yards and a touchdown, Kyren Williams ran for two scores and the host fighting Irish (8-1, No. 10 CFP) shut down the Midshipmen’s (2-7) tripleoption attack.
A No. 11 Oklahoma St. 24, West Virginia 3: Spencer Sanders threw two touchdown passes, the visiting Cowboys had eight sacks to beat the Mountaineers. Oklahoma State (8-1, 5-1 Big 12, No. 11
CFP) has won seven straight over the Mountaineers (4-5, 2-4).
A No. 13 Texas A&M 20, No. 12 Auburn 3: Micheal Clemons scored the game’s only touchdown on a 24-yard fumble return early in the fourth quarter, and the host Aggies (7-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) beat the Tigers (6-3, 3-2).
Clemons’ scoop-andscore came after defensive tackle Jayden Peevy poked the ball away from scrambling Auburn quarterback Bo Nix. Clemons, a 6foot-5, 270-pound defensive end, picked up the ball and sprinted to the end zone, diving to the ground after he crossed the goal line.
The Aggies’ Zach Calzada finished 15 of 29 for 192 yards.
A TCU 30, No. 14 Baylor 28: Chandler Morris threw for 461 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for TCU and the host Horned Frogs (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) edged the Bears (7-2, 4-2) in their first game without Gary Patterson on the sideline since 1997.
A No. 15 Mississippi 27, Liberty 14: Matt Corral threw for 324 yards and a touchdown to lead the host Rebels (7-2) over Liberty (7-3) and former Rebels coach Hugh Freeze.
A No. 17 BYU 59, Idaho St.14: Jaren Hall threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half, and the host Cougars (8-2) demolished the Bengals (1-8).
A No. 22 Penn St. 31, Maryland 14: Jahan Dotson caught 11 passes for a school-record 242 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over the host Terrapins (5-4, 2-4).
A Memphis 28, No. 23 SMU 25: Seth Henigan returned to throw for 392 yards and two touchdowns as the host Tigers (5-4, 2-3 American Athletic Conference) upset the Mustangs (7-2, 3-2).