On the road again.

Wake Forest’s football team just can’t wait to get on the road again.

The Deacons have lost five straight home games but don’t have a chance to break that streak until the regular-season finale. Wake Forest goes to North Carolina on Saturday night for a chance to score its second Big 4 road victory of the season, having already won at N.C. State last month.

Winning at UNC will require a bounce back of sorts, as the Deacons lost 46-36 to California last week.

“This team has been one of the more resilient teams I’ve ever coached,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said earlier this week. “Part of it is we have six captains and all six captains are playing well. So, I think when your leaders and your best players are still playing well, it has a way of keeping the rest of the team engaged.”

That much is important as Wake’s chances of getting back to a bowl game took a significant hit last week.

The Deacons need two wins in their last three games to reach bowl eligibility. After this weekend, Wake Forest heads down to Miami to face the 9-1 Hurricanes — no longer unbeaten, resting this weekend and still on a path to the College Football Playoff.

The season ends with a home game against a Duke team that’s 7-3, also off this weekend, and can make the point it should be at least 8-2, given its OT loss to SMU, and had an 11-point lead in the second half at Miami.

So, without looking too far ahead — it’s hard to see Wake Forest getting to six wins without winning this weekend in Chapel Hill.

In other words: The Deacons had better be resilient, or it’ll be a second straight season missing out on a bowl berth.

“Our execution isn’t what we need it to be,” Clawson said, “but it’s hard to question how hard our guys play. … We have three games to go, we’ve won two out of our last three. I still think this is an ascending football team.”

Here’s a primer on what you need to know for Saturday night’s game:

Time: 8 p.m.

Location: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill.

TV: ACC Network.

Announcers: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst) and Dana Boyle (sidelines).

Radio link: Listen to the crew that knows Wake Forest best.

Forecast: High-40s, clear, minimal winds at kickoff; low-40s by end of game.

Series; last meeting: UNC leads 72-36-2; UNC won 36-34 in Winston-Salem in 2022 and has won three straight meetings.

Records: WF 4-5, 2-3 ACC; UNC 5-4, 2-3.

Stat to watch: 298.6.

That’s how many passing yards per game Wake Forest allows, which is the worst in the ACC (by a 30-yard margin).

Wake’s pass defense is the third-worst in the country, having allowed over 300 yards in five of nine games. It’s one thing to give up 377 passing yards to Ole Miss and another 343 to Clemson; the Deacons also gave up 357 to Virginia, 314 to N.C. State and a season-worst 385 to California last week.

Maybe it’s good news that UNC’s offensive strength isn’t through the air?

The Tar Heels prefer to let their workhorse running back carry the load — more on him below.

Quote of the week: “When you play with fire, sometimes you’re going to get burnt. And we’ve played with fire too much this year, sometimes we’ve been fortunate to come out with wins, whether it be the Connecticut or the Stanford game, and we weren’t as fortunate (against Cal).” – Clawson

Opposing offensive player to watch: Running back Omarion Hampton (No. 28).

This is probably the easiest answer in this category for any ACC team.

Hampton is the best running back in the ACC. He leads the league with 1,178 rushing yards — nearly 200 yards clear of second place, who is Clemson’s Phil Mafah — and has 13 touchdowns on the ground.

He’s rushed for at least 100 yards in seven straight games, including a 172-yard, four-touchdown performance against Florida State in UNC’s last game.

The 6-foot, 220-pounder is doing that while everybody in the stadium knows he’s getting the ball. UNC’s passing offense isn’t that efficient, completing the second-worst percentage of throws in the ACC (58.2%) and averaging 247.1 yards per game, which is 10th in the league.

And he’s a threat out of the backfield as a receiver. Hampton has caught at least three passes in six straight games, which includes a 93-yard game against FSU a couple of weeks ago.

Opposing defensive player to watch: Defensive end Kaimon Rucker (No. 7).

When things were going sour for UNC in September, they could’ve used a healthy Rucker.

The senior was a second-team All-ACC pick last year and suffered an injury in the season opener at Minnesota. He returned in a limited capacity for a loss against Pittsburgh on Oct. 5 and had four tackles against Georgia Tech in the following weekend.

After an off week, though, Rucker had a combined four sacks (five TFLs) in UNC’s pair of wins at Virginia and FSU. In the last three games, UNC has allowed an average of 42.7 rushing yards and piled up 22 sacks.

Rucker had five tackles and forced a fumble against Wake Forest when the Tar Heels won in Winston-Salem two years ago.

Young Deacon to watch: Nickel Davaughn Patterson (No. 13).

Wake Forest has a budding star on its hands with Patterson. As maligned as Wake’s defense has been, the Deacons produce talented players and the redshirt freshman is in line.

Patterson has 30 tackles, an interception and a fumble forced in Wake’s last four games. It can’t be overstated how impressive it is that he moved down from safety to become this team’s starting nickel; it’ll just have to be tracked going into next season whether he stays at nickel or drops back to safety.

The 6-foot, 215-pounder will be an interesting one to watch in this game because he’s going to be needed. First, he’ll be needed to support the run with how heavy of a diet UNC is going to give Hampton. And second, when UNC throws the ball, Patterson is likely to be matched up against tight end John Copenhaver, who’s tied for the team lead with 26 catches.

What a Wake Forest loss looks like: Maybe not giving up 50-plus points like Wake’s last two trips to Chapel Hill, but if the Deacons’ defense isn’t improved … it might get flattened.

UNC won its last game (at FSU) by putting the ball in Hampton’s hands 35 times, matching a season high. He’s had an off week to recover and with the Tar Heels one win shy of bowl eligibility, it’s a safe bet that Hampton will touch the ball another 30-plus times.

If Wake Forest can’t stop him, it might not matter what the Deacons’ offense is able to do.

What a Wake Forest win looks like: Keeping the same theme, the Deacons can win this game by limiting Hampton’s effectiveness. He was putting 100-yard games during the Tar Heels’ four-game losing streak because opposing defenses were keeping him in check and, when applicable, pressuring quarterback Jacolby Criswell into mistakes.

If Wake’s defense can at least do those things, the pathway to another road win opens up.

And then, Wake’s offense has to stay ahead of the chains. UNC’s defense has generated a ton of pressure over the last month or so, and the Deacons are coming off a game in which they gave up seven sacks to Cal.

Plug those holes and connect on some deep passes against a defense that allows 235.2 passing yards per game — seventh-most in the ACC — and the Deacons can put up a big number on the scoreboard.