Wake Forest walked into Louisville as an underdog and walked out with a statement win.
The Demon Deacons knocked off No. 16 Louisville 30-27 on Saturday afternoon to move to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in ACC play.
For a team that had already pushed then-No. 5 Miami to the brink a week earlier, this was another reminder that Wake Forest is not backing down from anyone in the league.
Gio Lopez and Carlos Hernandez did the heavy lifting on offense. Lopez finished 12-for-19 for 225 yards and a touchdown, while Hernandez turned nine catches into 194 yards and a score.
His biggest strike came on a 77-yard touchdown in the first half. Ty Clark III also delivered a strong day on the ground, piling up 91 yards on 21 carries and scoring twice.
The numbers told the story of a game that stayed tight from start to finish. Wake Forest finished with 402 total yards, just ahead of Louisville’s 399. Each team lost one turnover, and both also spent plenty of time dealing with penalties, finishing with more than 85 penalty yards apiece.
The Deacons also got a huge assist from special teams when it mattered most. Louisville lined up for a 57-yard field goal with time winding down and a chance to force overtime, but Gabe Kirshke got a hand on it and shut the door. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Louisville had already missed a field goal wide left.
That block capped a win that gives Jake Dickert another road victory over a ranked opponent since arriving in Winston-Salem last year. His first came last season in Charlottesville, when Wake Forest beat then-No.
12 Virginia 16-9 on November 8, 2025. Another shot at a ranked team could be waiting in November, when the Deacons travel to SMU.
The Mustangs are ranked No. 22 even after losing to Louisville last week.
For Wake Forest, the bigger picture is hard to ignore. A 3-1 start feels a lot different than 2-2, and with eight games left, the Deacons need just three more wins to get back to a bowl game. Stanford, NC State, Cal, Merrimack, and Georgia Tech are all still on the schedule, which makes the conversation around this team pretty simple now: how high can it climb?
Wake Forest now turns its attention to Stanford, which comes to Winston-Salem on Saturday, October 3 at 12 p.m. ET at Allegacy Financial Stadium. The game will be shown on the ACC Network.
In Other News...
Louisville Fans Have Every Right To Question This Jeff Brohm Loss
Louisvilles 30-27 loss to Wake Forest left plenty for fans to sort through, especially after the Cardinals had held a lead and still found a way to let the game slip away. The performance was marked by the kind of discipline issues that have a way of turning a close game into a frustrating one, with penalties and missed chances stacking up at the wrong times.
Jeff Brohms late-game management only added to the unease. After a game defined by Louisvilles inability to cash in on key opportunities, the decision-making around the final stretch became part of the larger conversation, and it is the sort of detail that can linger with a fan base already wondering how a winnable game got away. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Faces Early ACC Test With Two Huge Game-Day Concerns
Louisville heads into its ACC opener against Wake Forest with some momentum, riding a chance to win a third straight game and move to 3-1. The Cardinals have looked sharp on offense through the first three games, but the challenge gets more serious now that conference play is starting and every margin tends to tighten up.
The defense, meanwhile, has taken a hit with former All-ACC linebacker Antonio Watts out for the rest of the season because of injury, a blow that changes the look of the unit before a key early test. And on the other side, Wake Forest is trending toward having starting quarterback Gio Lopez available after a recent injury, which only adds to the intrigue of a game that already feels like an early measuring stick for Louisville. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Faces One Big Second-Half Test After Wild Start
The first half at L&N Stadium has been a little bit of everything for No. 16 Louisville, which heads to the break trailing Wake Forest 24-21 after a fast, back-and-forth opening. Lincoln Kienholz has done plenty to keep the Cardinals afloat, completing 14 of 17 passes for 185 yards while accounting for three touchdowns overall, including two on the ground, but the pace has also left Louisville with little margin for error against a Wake Forest offense that has found plenty of room.
Carlos Hernandez has been the biggest problem for the Cardinals so far, piling up six catches for 170 yards and a touchdown for the Demon Deacons. Louisville still has time to settle in and control the game, but the second half now feels like a test of whether the Cardinals can clean up the mistakes, slow down Wake Forests passing attack and turn a shootout into something more manageable. [Read more 🡒]