Week 9: North Carolina at Wake Forest

After starting the season 0-2, Wake Forest has recaptured the form it showed en route to winning the 2006 ACC championship. The Demon Deacons, who are coming off a 44-24 victory at Navy last week, welcome to Winston-Salem a North Carolina team that had the week off.

First-year UNC coach Butch Davis hasn’t been in the ACC long, but he has seen enough of Wake Forest to know what to expect in this game.

“They don’t beat themselves,” Davis said. “If you’re going to win the game against Wake Forest, you’re going to have to earn it. They’re not going to give it to you. They’re not going to have four, five or six turnovers and eight, 10 or 12 penalties.”

The Demon Deacons wait for their opponents to make those kinds of mistakes, and then they take advantage of the opportunities that result. That’s how Wake Forest has won eight of nine games decided by seven points or fewer over the last two seasons, including a 24-17 victory at UNC last season.

The Tar Heels led that game 17-14 in the fourth quarter, but they made too many mistakes to win. UNC allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown and finished with three turnovers, including one in the Wake Forest end zone on the final play of the game, and the Demon Deacons finished the game with no turnovers.

Davis is trying to get his young team to play with a Wake-style efficiency that leads to victories in close games. The Tar Heels haven’t been able to do it yet — they are 1-4 this season in contests decided by seven points or fewer — but the fact that they have been competitive enough to play close games is a positive sign for their program.

In its last two games, UNC has beaten Miami 33-27 and lost to South Carolina (ranked No. 7 at the time) 21-15.

“The thing that’s impressed me is how hard they play and how they’ve improved every week,” Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. “Typically with young guys, when they’re not having a lot of success, it’s hard to keep guys focused. But they’re doing a really good job with that every week.”

Focus will be extra important for the Tar Heels in this game. There’s Wake Forest’s opportunistic nature to deal with — the Demon Deacons already have scored seven non-offensive touchdowns this season — but there’s also a potential distraction. Davis issued indefinite suspensions earlier this week to two players — starting cornerback Jermaine Strong and backup offensive tackle Andre Barbour — and Strong’s absence could be a big blow.

Wake Forest senior wide receiver Kenny Moore, who caught a 39-yard touchdown pass against the Tar Heels last season for the game-winning points, leads the ACC in receptions (8.0 per game). Moore burned Navy for 15 catches, 181 yards and two touchdowns last week, and he will get a chance to work against a number of freshman defensive backs in this game.

“Kenny is just so special,” said Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner, who is completing 72 percent of his passes this season. “He makes things happen when he gets the ball. When you have a player like that, you want to get him the ball as much as you can.”

That doesn’t bode well for a UNC defense that ranks 11th in the ACC in opponents’ pass efficiency (130.2) and completion percentage (.621).

Offensively, the Tar Heels have found more balance in recent weeks thanks to the emergence of tailbacks Anthony Elzy and Ryan Houston. But UNC likely needs a big game from quarterback T.J. Yates, who enters this game 20 completions and 172 passing yards shy of Darian Durant’s UNC freshman records.

If Yates can keep the ball away from Wake Forest’s defenders — he has canceled out his 10 touchdown passes this season with 10 interceptions — the Tar Heels can stay competitive in this game. Plus, UNC has won seven of the last eight meetings in Winston-Salem.

But this Wake Forest program isn’t the same one that teams used to beat up on in the past. The Demon Deacons, who are seeking their first six-game winning streak since 1992 and have put together five-game winning streaks in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history, likely will find a way to win.

Wake Forest by 7