North Carolina had a 27-21 lead with seven minutes to go but the new no-huddle hurry-up offense took virtually no time off the clock as the team hurried to the line, runners ran out of bounds and passes fell incomplete. As a result, Wake Forest drove the length of the field and scored with about two minutes left to give Wake a 28-27 win.
The game was delayed for 75 minutes due to lightning during a storm that rolled in about 30 minutes before kickoff. The game was slowed down by several injuries and a bevy of incomplete passes. A game that was supposed to start at 3 p.m. ended past 7:30 p.m.
The Tar Heels played without star running back Giovani Bernard, who was sidelined with an injured knee. Twice in the second half, the Tar Heels got the ball deep in Wake territory only to settle for field goals.
“We score a touchdown, then we’re all sitting here and I have a smile on my face. But that’s the way the game’s played. That’s why you have to go do it. Just because you get the ball down there, doesn’t mean it’s going to go in. You have to make it go in.”
– Larry Fedora, UNC head football coach
“(Tanner) Price scored the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak with 2:09 left, and ended up running for a career-high two touchdowns and throwing for a career-high 327 yards, finding many holes in a North Carolina secondary that showed some signs of weakness. (Michael) Campanaro was his No. 1 target, and for good reason. He showed why he is one of the best receivers in the ACC, with 13 catches for 164 yards — both are career highs.”
– Andrea Adelson, ESPN.com
“This is as good as it gets. I’m just really proud of the way our guys hung in there. They had a lot of opportunities to hang their heads, especially with some of the injuries we had tonight, and they just didn’t do it. They just kept working and finding a way to win.”
– Jim Grobe, Wake Forest head coach
“Too many mistakes tonight on our part. Too many penalties. You get down in the score zone and you have to kick field goals instead of touchdowns, and you turn the ball over on your own end and it’s hard to win.”
– Larry Fedora, UNC head football coach
“I can’t really describe it. It’s an unreal feeling and it’s so great to get a win like that against a rival team at home — especially after a game like we had last week when people were kind of questioning our team. It was a great win.”
– Tanner Price, Wake Forest quarterback
“The exhilaration of a 62-point win is followed by the disappointment of a heartbreaking one-point loss. Carolina is no longer undefeated in the Larry Fedora era, and the message hit home that there is still work to do. With a trip to Louisville next weekend, the road only gets tougher.”
– Turner Walston, GoHeels.com