Football Falls at Wake Forest, 28-12

Saturday, November 15

Winston-Salem, N.C. (Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium)

4:30 P.M.

North Carolina

4-6 , 2-4

Wake Forest

7-3 , 4-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Photo by: DALTON T. WAINSCOTT

November 15, 2025 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Justin Wilson

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Despite three trips to the red zone, North Carolina was unable to find the end zone on a frustrating night as the Tar Heels fell to Wake Forest, 28-12, Saturday night at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.

Carolina (4-6, 2-4 ACC) was held to 257 yards offensively, while Wake Forest (7-3, 3-3) tallied 414 yards and scored a touchdown in each quarter to earn its seventh win of the season.

"Just not good enough in any area," said head coach Bill Belichick. "Offense, defense, special teams, coaching, playing — we just didn't have a good night. So, we'll go back to work this week and see if we get back on track. We're a better team than we were tonight, but we just weren't very good."

Both teams had four scoring drives, and UNC held the advantage in the time of possession (30:02 to 29:58), but Wake Forest ended its drives with touchdowns and the Tar Heels were forced to kick field goals.

Kicker Rece Verhoff set the program record with a 57-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. His boot was two yards longer than Dan Orner's 55-yarder against Syracuse in 2002, which stood as the previous best.

The Columbus Grove, Ohio, native tied the school record for field goal attempts in a game with six and matched his career best with four field goals made, connecting from 40, 57, 42 and 47 yards. Verhoff is now 16-for-20 on the year after having a pair of kicks blocked against the Deacs.

Wake Forest's defense, which ranks among the nation's best, limited Carolina's offense to 4.2 yards per play and only three explosive plays of 15+ yards. Quarterback Gio Lopez finished the night 21-for-36 with 201 yards and Demon June was the team's leader rusher with 32 yards on nine attempts.

Khmori House led the defense and tied for a game high with nine tackles, including his first career sack. He had five solo stops and also forced a fumble. D'Antre Robinson and Melkart Abou Jaoude each set career highs with seven tackles in the contest.

Wake Forest grabbed momentum early in the contest, scoring on a wild play in its first drive of the game. Tar Heel defensive back Gavin Gibson forced Demon Deacon quarterback Robby Ashford to fumble after a rush up the middle and a few UNC players were unable to secure it before Carlos Hernandez picked it up and raced 51 yards down the field for a touchdown to give the Deacs a 7-0 lead.

After punting on its first drive of the game, Carolina put together a 13-play, 58-yard drive consuming 7:37 but the Tar Heels were unable to find paydirt. Verhoff put UNC on the board with a 40-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.

The Demon Deacons countered with a long drive of their own, as Demond Claiborne capped a 5:40 drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to put his team ahead by two scores (14-3). A nice drive by Lopez with four consecutive completions helped get Carolina over midfield and into position to kick the long field goal before halftime.

UNC was forced to punt on its first drive of the second half, but House came up big for the Tar Heels with a fourth down stop, sacking Wake Forest's quarterback to give his team the ball back. A few plays later, Verhoff hit his third field goal of the game from 42 yards out to narrow the margin to 14-9.

Each time the Tar Heels tried to regain control of the game, the Demon Deacons answered. A perfectly-executed flea flicker was the longest play of the game for either team, as Ashford hit Hernandez for a 70 yard touchdown pass to put Wake Forest back in the lead and swing the momentum.

Carolina couldn't get it back to a one-score game in the fourth quarter, as Verhoff hit his fourth of the day to make it 21-12 and then Wake Forest put together a touchdown drive to seal the win.

North Carolina returns to action against Duke on Senior Day Saturday at Kenan Stadium. Kickoff time and the television network have not been announced yet.