WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Sometimes, a lesson learned is more important than a particular outcome.

Lessons last longer. Over time, they can become foundational.

North Carolina got a serious dose Friday night. The self-perceived nouveau riche program of the ACC, with the Jordan Brand, interlocking “NC” and signature baby blue threads to go with it, thought it could waltz into little ole BB&T Field and take care of college football afterthought Wake Forest.

Only that Wake Forest is a better team and is no longer insignificant in the minds of the 72 Tar Heels that dressed for the occasion. The Demon Deacons made that abundantly clear with a thoroughly dominant first-half performance building a three-touchdown lead of their 24-18 victory over Carolina, a game the Heels darn near stole.

Had they done so, however, it’s possible they would have learned very little. A pair of come-from-behind victories over South Carolina and Miami to open the season had the not-long-ago floundering Heels feeling quite good about themselves. Talk about national rankings and a possible marquee matchup with Clemson visiting among the pines in a couple of weeks had them seemingly focused on everything but the Demon Deacons.

This isn’t a reach, it’s taking the Tar Heels’ words from their very own mouths.

“We thought we had better players, we thought we were the better team coming in,” sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said. “I think we came in a little hesitant, not really going all hard.”

A better team?

This is the same North Carolina program that entered the season having won just six of its previous 27 games with only three of the wins coming over FBS teams: Pittsburgh twice and at Old Dominion, which was transitioning from FCS at the time.

Two comeback wins and suddenly they’re overlooking an opponent that has won bowl games in each of the last three seasons when UNC’s recent history indicates the Tar Heels have not even played in a bowl game in 838 days, haven’t won one in 1,933 days and have just three bowl victories this century?

Not that the current Heels had much or anything to do with most of that misery, but they clearly judged Wake on its perceived pedigree while forgetting their own. Basic intuition suggests Mack Brown may have seen this coming from a mile away.

“I didn’t do a good enough job of getting them through the first two games and getting over the Miami game preparing well for this one emotionally,” UNC's coach said, as only he can.

The truth is, this is a very different program with Brown at the helm and so much is clearly headed in the right direction. But no matter how much the Hall of Fame coach and his staff preached all week the need to cut the cord to the first two thrilling wins and get ready for Wake, the team had to find out for itself.

Perhaps that's happened.

“I think we needed it,” Gemmel said, never once pausing. “We beat South Carolina, we beat Miami, both are really good. I feel like Miami and South Carolina are (two of) the more talented teams we’re going to face this year and then come over here and face Wake Forest and we thought we were going to have an easy one.”

It wasn’t easy by any stretch, and that goes for the remainder of the schedule sans FCS member Mercer in November. But again, more evidence the Tar Heels got the message loud and clear Friday night?

“I think we’re a good team right now, this doesn’t change that,” senior defensive tackle Aaron Crawford said. “We’ve done some great things over the last few weeks and that’s something we can hang our hat on, but it’s not something we can look back on to propel us for the rest of the year.

“It needs to be week-by-week, game-by-game.”

And it needs to be with a healthier understanding of who they are.