Sam Howell Has Something In Common With Lamar Jackson

Sam Howell put on a show against Wake Forest on Saturday. The North Carolina quarterback put up 571 total yards of offense and seven touchdowns. That performance helped the Tar Heels make a 21-point comeback to win 59-53.

It also did something else.

According to ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter, Howell became the second player in ACC history to throw for six touchdowns and rush for another in a single game. The first quarterback to do it? Former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.

The sophomore signal caller also broke the single-game passing record for North Carolina as well. Quite the day for Howell, but we shouldn't ignore why the Tar Heels were in a position where they needed their quarterback to have that sort of performance.

Yet again, North Carolina disappointed to start the game.

They got down big against a good -- not great -- Wake Forest squad. Included in that was 429-yard, five-touchdown performance for Demon Decon quarterback Sam Hartman. After throwing four touchdowns through the first six games, Hartman's four passing scores doubled his season total.

Yes, the Tar Heels posted 742 yards of offense. But the defense also allowed 606 while also allowing Wake Forest to convert on 50 percent of the third-down attempts (9-of-18).

Considering all the hype coming into this season, this 6-2 team led by Mack Brown is falling short of expectations -- even with a victory on Saturday.

But at least Howell is getting back to being the elite quarterback we saw in 2019. In his last three games, he's thrown 13 touchdowns with only two interceptions while adding two more scores on the ground.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.