Wake Forest Falls at North Carolina, 31-24

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Despite the defense tallying 11 tackles-for-loss, including five sacks, and forcing one turnover, the Wake Forest football (4-6, 2-4 ACC) dropped a hard-fought 31-24 contest at North Carolina (6-4, 3-3 ACC) on Saturday evening inside Kenan Memorial Stadium.

Specifically, senior defensive end Jasheen Davis had his best game of the 2024 season as he recorded seven tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks. Additionally, senior linebacker Branson Combs had a game-high 14 tackles for the Demon Deacons defense.

With his performance tonight, Davis now has 48 career TFLs and is one away from second in program history (Nikita Whitlock, 49) and six short of Calvin Pace's Wake Forest record of 54 tackles-for-loss.
Meanwhile on offense, redshirt senior quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Michael Kern combined to throw for 240 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt senior wideout Taylor Morin had four catches for 70 yards and he is now 55 yards away from setting the Demon Deacons record for career receiving yards (Ricky Proehl - 1986-89, 2,949 yards).

Overall, Saturday's game was a back-and-forth affair and it marked Wake Forest's sixth one-score game of the season.

Wake Forest is back in action next week in their final road game of the regular season at No. 9 Miami. Kickoff from Hard Rock Stadium is scheduled for 12p.m. on ESPN.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wake Forest won the coin toss and deferred its choice to the second half.
- Caleb Carlson sent the opening kickoff into the endzone and UNC started the game on its own 25-yard line.
The game started with two-straight punts and the Tar Heels marched the ball down the field and made it inside the Demon Deacons five-yard line.
- Undaunted, Dylan Hazen and Jasheen Davis recorded back-to-back sacks on second-and-third-and-goal to force UNC into a 34-yard field goal attempt that hit the upright and missed.
Using the momentum from the defensive stop, Wake Forest marched 65 yards over nine plays, as kicker Matthew Dennis connected on a 33-yard field goal to give the Deacs a 3-0 advantage with 3:21 left in the opening quarter.
North Carolina answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead with 12:26 remaining before the half.
Redshirt junior BJ Williams put the Tar Heels off schedule by collecting his first full tackle for loss of his career, forcing UNC into a punt on their fourth drive of the contest.
The Tar Heels added a 24-yard field goal right before the half to go into the locker room ahead, 10-3.
Wake Forest tied the game with an emphatic seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive coming out of the half, sparked by redshirt senior quarterback Michael Kern, who entered for an injured Bachmeier.
- Kern connected with wideout Donavon Greene on the second play of the drive for a 28-yard completion to move the ball to the North Carolina 47-yard line.
- After a pair of completions, Claiborne punched it in from the two-yard line to make it 10-10 with 12:20 left in the third quarter.
North Carolina answered with a six-play, 75-yard drive to retake a 17-10 lead with 9:26 remaining in the third.
An interception returned for a touchdown extended the Tar Heels lead to 24-10.
After punter Ivan Mora pinned UNC inside their own 20, the Wake Forest defense came up with a huge turnover, as Williams fell on the football to set up the Demon Deacons on the North Carolina seven-yard line.
- Claiborne punched it in on a toss to the left on the next play to trim the deficit to 24-17 with 5:14 left to go in the third quarter.
Wake's defense continued to answer the bell with a pair of three-and-outs, forcing North Carolina backwards on both drives.
The Demon Deacons trailed by a touchdown entering the final quarter of play.
North Carolina pushed their lead to 31-17 with a touchdown off another Wake Forest turnover.
Kern connected with Taylor Morin for Morin's 21st career touchdown to trim the deficit to 31-24 with 1:15 left in the contest.
Wake Forest fell to North Carolina, 31-24.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

With 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on Saturday night, Jasheen Davis now ranks in the top three in program history in both tackles for loss and sacks. He also is now the Clawson era leader in both categories.
Davis has recorded at least 0.5 tackles-for-loss in 28 of his last 31 games.
- Additionally, over his last 31 games dating back to the 2022 season, Davis has collected 39.5 tackles for loss and 19.0 sacks.
- Davis has tallied 24.5 sacks in his career and that ranks third in program history.

Wake Forest Career Sacks

Rank	Player	Career Sacks
1.	Mike McCrary (1989-92)	30.0
2.	Calvin Pace (1999-02)	29.0
3.	Jasheen Davis (2020-Pres.)	24.5
4.	Duke Ejiofor (2014-17)	23.5
5.	Carlos Basham, Jr. (2017-20)	20.5

Additionally, Davis now has 48 tackles for loss for his career and moved to third in program history, which ranks as the most in the Clawson era:

Wake Forest Career Tackles for Loss

Rank	Player	Career TFLs
1.	Calvin Pace (1999-02)	54
2.	Nikita Whitlock (2010-13)	49
3.	Jasheen Davis (2019-Pres.)	48
4.	Mike McCrary (1989-92)	46
5.	Aaron Curry (2005-08)	45.5
6.	Fred Robbins (1996-98)	44
7.	Duke Ejiofor (2014-17)	43
8.	Marquel Lee (2013-16)	42
9.	Nate Bolling (1998-01)	40
10.	Bryan Ray (1997-00)	39

STAGGERING STATISTIC

With another strong game at receiver that included five receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown, redshirt senior wide receiver Taylor Morin continues to move up the career rankings in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
He is now one reception away from second place in program history:

Rank	Player	Career Receptions
1.	Michael Campanaro (2011-14)	229
2.	Desmond Clark (1995-98)	216
3.	Taylor Morin (2019-Pres.)	215
4.	Ricky Proehl (1986-89)	188
5.	Jammie Deese (1996-99)	184
6.	Cam Serigne (2014-17)	174
7.	A.T. Perry (2018-22)	171
8.	Chris Givens (2009-11)	163
9.	Thabiti Davis (1994-97)	161
10.	James Brim (1983-86)	153

Morin moved second place in receiving yard on Saturday, passing Wake Forest Hall of Famer and NFL veteran Desmond Clark:

CAREER RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS

Rank	Player	Receiving Yards
1.	Ricky Proehl (1986-89)	2,949
2.	Taylor Morin (2019-Pres.)	2,894
3.	Desmond Clark (1995-98)	2,834
4.	A.T. Perry (2018-22)	2,662
5.	Michael Campanaro (2010-13)	2,506
6.	Chris Givens (2009-11)	2,473
7.	Wayne Baumgardner (1978-81)	2,431
8.	Jammie Deese (1996-99)	2,348
9.	Todd Dixon (1990-93)	2,300
10.	Jaquarii Roberson (2017-21)	2,158

After pulling in a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Morin now ranks fourth in program history with 21 receiving touchdowns and is now just one shy of the top three:

Rank	Player	Career Receiving TDs
1.	A.T. Perry (2018-22)	28
2.	Ricky Proehl (1986-89)	25
3.	Todd Dixon (1990-93)	22
T4.	Taylor Morin (2019-Pres.)	21
T4.	Cam Serigne (2014-17)	21
T4.	Red O'Quinn (1946-49)	21
T4.	Chris Givens (2009-11)	21
T7.	Desmond Clark (1995-98)	20
9.	Kenny Duckett (1978-81)	19

Additionally, Morin ranks in the top three on the ACC Career Active Leader in receiving touchdowns, receptions and receiving yards.

ACC CAREER ACTIVE RECEIVING TOUCHDOWN

Rank	Player	Touchdowns
1.	Taylor Morin (Wake Forest)	21
T2.	Ali Jennings (Virginia Tech)	20
T2.	Xavier Restrepo (Miami)	20

ACC CAREER ACTIVE RECEPTION LEADERS

Rank	Player	Receptions
1.	Caullin Lacy (Louisville)	222
2.	Taylor Morin	215
3.	Konata Mumpfield (Pitt)	205

ACC CAREER ACTIVE RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS

Rank	Player	Yards
1.	Taylor Morin (Wake Forest)	2,894
2.	Caullin Lacy (Louisville)	2,696
3.	Xavier Restrepo (Miami)	2,651

FROM COACH CLAWSON
"Credit to North Carolina, Mack Brown and their football team. They're a physical team. We knew going into the game that [Omarion] Hampton was a heck of a back, and he had about 250 yards against us. In the first half, we did a decent job, even though he had 130 yards. We came back in the second half and we took that first drive and went all the way down the field. We've had opportunities this year where we have momentum, and we just let it go. For example, we score to make it 10-10, and then we miss two tackles for 60 some yards. Then we get back in the game, and then throw a pick right away. It's a one-score game. We get the ball back and we throw a pick and then we throw another pick. The three turnovers were absolutely killers, that's seven turnovers in two weeks. These were two weeks in a row that we beat ourselves. We got into the red zone, we had false starts, then the center flinched, we took a sack and we had a holding call. They're a good football team, but when you do things like that you're beating yourselves. It's disappointing we haven't done that here and the last two years we have. Obviously, I've got to try to get it fixed and we'll try to do that. A lot of one score games, and we came up short again."

UP NEXT
The Deacs close a two-game road swing at No. 9 Miami on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff from Hard Rock Stadium is scheduled for 12p.m. on ESPN.

With that, fans are encouraged to make their plans now to join Wake Forest football on Rivalry Weekend inside Allegacy Stadium for the final home game of the 2024 football season on Saturday, Nov. 30 when Coach Clawson's squad takes on Big Four rival Duke. In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, Wake Forest Athletics is proud to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina as we have a unique ticket deal where $15 from every promotional ticket sold will go directly to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund. Additionally, this game will serve as Wake Forest's Fan Appreciation Day game with a myriad of fun promotions for Deacon Nation.

Next Event

Team Stats

Michael Kern

Hank Bachmeier

Players Mentioned

Hank Bachmeier

Caleb Carlson

Branson Combs

Jasheen Davis

Matthew Dennis

Donavon Greene

Dylan Hazen

Michael Kern

Ivan Mora

Taylor Morin

BJ Williams

Wake Forest Athletics