WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — It was a tale of two halves for the Miami Hurricanes at Wake Forest on Friday night.

Miami could do little wrong in the first half as it built up a big lead. But the Hurricanes struggled in the second half, and Wake Forest nearly got back into the game. The Hurricanes ultimately prevailed 33-20.

Here are five things we learned from a game that was closer than expected:

Offense limps through second half

The Hurricanes put up 24 points in the first half against the Demon Deacons and scored on their first drive of the second half. They looked to be cruising to their third consecutive blowout win.

Miami would not add another point on offense the rest of the night. UM went three-and-out on four drives in a row, gaining 11 total yards on those drives. The next drive had no first downs and resulted in a missed field goal.

“I hated it,” Miami center Ryan Rodriguez said. “I wanted to score every drive, if it was up to me — I’m sure everyone does. We got flat. I don’t know. We got (four) straight three-and-outs. Couldn’t get a first down, and our mantra is try to get two first downs. We couldn’t do it. We just got to be better.”

The offense went completely stagnant in the second half. Miami gained few yards on first and second downs, setting up long third downs that it could not convert. Many of the passes they called were short (Mensah averaged 4.7 yards per throw in the game, according to Pro Football Focus), and the Hurricanes did not get any breakaways for substantial gains.

UM coach Mario Cristobal said execution was an issue in the second half, not necessarily conservative play-calling. Things that worked in the first half did not work in the second.

“They’re the same calls and the same strategic, schematical things that we have designed the entire time,” Cristobal said. “I thought coach (Shannon) Dawson called an awesome first half. When we were rolling, those plays were hitting, and now a block short, a hair too late to get to finish on a block or to get the ball off — whatever may be. We were off; we were out of sync. … He certainly wasn’t turning it down. … He was trying to call the game to continue to score points, to keep a high pace of play.”

Mensah continues to excel

Through three games, Miami quarterback Darian Mensah has more touchdown passes than incompletions. He has completed 71 of his 79 pass attempts and has 11 touchdown passes.

Mensah started the game with 24 consecutive completions, setting an ACC and Miami program record for most consecutive completions in a game. He also set a program and conference record with 35 consecutive completed passes across two games.

“I think it’s just a testament to my O-line,” Mensah said. “I think they played an excellent game up front, but to be honest, I can’t even be that happy about it with how the second half went.”

Defense buckles down

Miami’s defense did not play perfectly in the victory. It allowed Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez to move the ball, and the Demon Deacons got offensive momentum.

But when it mattered most, the Hurricanes hunkered down and kept Wake Forest at bay. Despite making the game feel close, the Demon Deacons never cut the deficit to fewer than 11 points.

After Wake Forest scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, Miami’s defense forced a safety, two turnovers on downs and an interception (the Hurricanes’ first takeaway of the season).

“It’s our mentality,” said cornerback Ethan O’Connor, who had the interception. “Wake Forest is a really good team. They bring a lot of energy. It’s a good atmosphere to play in, as well. They’re really just based on momentum, so we know if we can slow them down, it’s going to be hard for them to keep on going. You know, I know coach (Jake) Dickert. I know a lot of those players on that team. So they’re a good team, and we knew what we had to do and bring the juice.”

Pass rush gets to Lopez

Miami has had a solid pass rush this season, but despite playing a depleted Stanford offensive line and an FCS team to start the year, the Hurricanes had just three sacks through two games.

UM’s pass rush made it into the backfield over and over again on Friday. The Hurricanes had three sacks (one each from Marquise Lightfoot and Damon Wilson II and half a sack each for Ahmad Moten Sr. and Armondo Blount).

Beyond just the sack numbers, the Hurricanes were credited with 44 quarterback pressures in the win, according to Pro Football Focus. The highest number of quarterback pressures they had last year was 38 against Florida State. Lopez was under pressure on 61 percent of his dropbacks, according to PFF.

“A lot of quarterback hits and some wrap-ups that could have resulted in more,” Cristobal said. “And we matched that hand pretty well. I believe we deflected one or two. … There’s a lot of things that are really positive in terms of that.”

‘Better to learn from a win’

After the game, Rodriguez said Miami offensive line coach Alex Mirabal told a group of players, “It’s better to learn from a win than learn from a loss.”

It was not the Hurricanes’ best game, especially in the second half. But they left North Carolina with a victory over a team that looks like it could be solid this season after winning nine games last year.

Although the Hurricanes appear to have a favorable schedule this season, Friday’s game shows they cannot take anyone lightly.

Mensah called the game a “wake-up call,” and UM has to treat it as such. Last season, the Hurricanes dropped two games to opponents they were favored to beat. It almost cost them a spot in the playoffs.

When they’re clicking, the Hurricanes have shown they can be one of the nation’s top teams. They need to make sure they avoid hiccups that could cost them down the road.

“That second half taught us a lot,” Lightfoot said, “and I’m happy it did end out that way. … We still did get the (win), but it’s just a lot to learn from, a lot to build off of.”