By the Numbers and Notes: North Carolina

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Wake Forest football team is two days away from visiting North Carolina at the Kenan Stadium.

Before the Deacs travel out of the state of the North Carolina for the first time this season, below are some numbers and notes on the game:

By the Numbers:
23 - Boogie Basham's streak of 23 consecutive games with a tackle for loss came to an end against Syracuse. It was the only double-digit streak.
18 - In the last five games, the Demon Deacons have 18 rushing touchdowns. Wake Forest had 18 rushing touchdowns during the entire 2019 campaign.
11 - The Deacs 11 interceptions this season which leads FBS and leads the ACC by two. Nick Andersen is also tied for the FBS lead as one of just 13 players nationally with three picks.
14 - Wake Forest is the only FBS team with a positive double-digit turnover margin at +14 on the season.
12 - Sam Hartman's streak of 189 passes without an interception ranks 12th in ACC history. He is 13 pass attempts away from breaking into the top 10 on the list.

Notable
WINNINGEST PROGRAM IN NORTH CAROLINA

Wake Forest is coming off its eighth Big 4 Championship in program history after defeating Duke, North Carolina and NC State all at home last season.
Since the turn of the century, the Demon Deacons boast a record of 30-19 against UNC, NC State and Duke. In addition, during that time, Wake Forest is 44-19 against all in-state opponents.
Since the start of the 2017 season, the Deacs are tied for the third most ACC wins in the conference just trailing Clemson.

                                • Miami -- 29
                                • Wake Forest -- 27
                                • Virginia Tech -- 27
                                • NC State -- 26
                                • Virginia -- 25
                                • Boston College -- 25
                                • Pitt -- 24
                                • Duke -- 21
                                • Syracuse -- 20
                                • Louisville -- 20
                                • Florida State -- 19
                                • Georgia Tech -- 17
                                • North Carolina -- 17

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE

One of the points of emphasis for the Wake Forest football team is winning the turnover battle. They have been one of the best teams in the country in that category since the start of the 2016 season.
In three of the last four seasons, the Demon Deacons have finished inside of the top 25 in turnover margin while placing in the top three of ACC in each of those seasons.
Over the past five season combined Wake Forest has a combined +35 turnover margin. Only 2018 saw the Deacs finish with more turnovers lost than gained:

Season TO Gained           TO Lost                 TO Margin
2020       15                           1                              +14
2019       25                           17                           +8
2018       16                           19                           -3*
2017       21                           13                           +8
2016       27                           19                           +8
*Only season in Wake Forest history where the Deacs reached a bowl game with a negative turnover margin.

Winning the turnover battle has been a key to victory for the Demon Deacons since Dave Clawson arrived on campus ahead of the 2014 season:

Turnover Margin              Record When
Even                                      9-10
+1 or better                        27-9
+2 or better                        16-3
+3 or better                        10-0

DEACON WINDICATORS UNDER CLAWSON
• 150 or more rushing yards in a game:
          • Record: 30-10
• Leading at halftime:
          • Record: 27-9
• Turnover Margin +1 or better:
          • Record: 27-9
• Allowing 21 or less points:
          • Record: 26-7
• 400+ yards total offense
          • Record: 24-7

SECURE THE BAG

INTERCEPTING THE OPPOSITION: Last season, the Demon Deacons finished the year with 14 interceptions by 10 different players. Through six games, Wake Forest is on pace to break that mark as nine different players have accounted for the Deacs' 11 total interceptions. After week nine of the FBS season, Wake Forest is the one of just three teams in the country to have three or more interceptions returned for touchdowns. Ja'Sir Taylor and Zion Keith have both returned their interceptions 45 yards for TDs while Gavin Holmes touchdown at Syracuse was from 32 yards out.
STREAKING: Wake Forest has forced a turnover in the last 15 contests. The last time the Demon Deacons failed to force a turnover came against Elon on Sept. 21, 2019.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: Through six games, Wake Forest has only turned the ball over once this season and the Deacs are the only FBS schools who has played more than three games yet to throw an interception this season and the only ACC school who has not thrown an interception this year. The Demon Deacons +14 turnover margin this season ranks first nationally and leads the ACC.

RUNNING INTO THE RECORD BOOK

Kenneth Walker III's 11 rushing touchdowns this season are five away from the program record of 15 in a single season. It is the most by a Wake Forest running back since Josh Adams had 11 touchdowns in 2007. He is the second player in the Dave Clawson era (John Wolford, 10, 2007) with double-digit rushing scores.

Wake Forest Top-Five Single Season Rushing Touchdowns
                1. Brian Piccolo (1964)    15
                     Larry Russell (1971)    15
                3. John Polanski (1939)   13
                4. Ovie Mughelli (2002) 12
                    Chris Barclay (2003)    12

KICK SCIBA

Nick Sciba could not only on his way to becoming the best kicker in program history, but potentially the best kicker in the history of the ACC after a record-breaking 2019 campaign.
Sciba is coming off the Syracuse game where his finished 1-of-1 on field goals. The 33-yard make extended his streak to nine straight field goals made, dating back to the Campbell game (10/2)
In his career, Sciba owns a .885 field goal percentage (54-of-61), which ranks second in ACC history and is a Wake Forest program record.
With 119 points during the 2019 campaign, he set a new program record for points in a single season. Sciba came into this season fourth in program history with 43 career field goals made.
He comes into the week needing just 54 points to break the Wake Forest record for career points currently held by Sam Swank with 337 career points.
Over the course of 2018 and 2019, he combined to make 34 consecutive field goal attempts, setting a new NCAA record.
Sciba was named to three different All-America teams as a sophomore, garnering first team All-America honors by ESPN, second team by Sports Illustrated and third team by the AP. He is the first Wake Forest placekicker to be named an All-American since Sam Swank in 2006.

Wake Forest Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Nick Andersen

Sam Hartman

Gavin Holmes

Zion Keith

Nick Sciba

Ja'Sir Taylor

Kenneth Walker III

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