Wake Forest’s road win over Louisville came with a different kind of script for Gio Lopez and the Demon Deacons offense. For the first time all season, the ground game showed up early, and that changed everything. Once the run started working, Wake Forest opened the door for the deeper parts of the playbook and gave Lopez the kind of structure that lets a quarterback settle in.
Louisville spent much of the game in Cover 3, and Lopez handled it cleanly. He worked through his reads without hesitation, took what the Cardinals offered, and let the offense build from there. A lot of the early damage came in the safer stuff - throws to the flats and runs between the tackles - but that approach helped set up the bigger plays later.
The best example came on the deep seam to Carlos Hernandez. Wake Forest had lulled the Cardinals into biting down, and when the moment opened up, Hernandez attacked the seam behind the coverage. With Lopez standing tall in a clean pocket, he delivered a sharp ball straight to the receiver for a big connection.
The box score won’t tell the whole story, either. Lopez finished with his lowest completions total of the season, but the performance was about much more than that.
He climbed the pocket, bought time for routes to develop, and fit throws into tight windows even with pressure around him. With the run game helping hold defenses in place, Lopez looked even more dangerous when plays extended.
Wake Forest now gets another chance to keep its ACC momentum going. After facing the two best ACC teams, the Demon Deacons return to Allegacy Stadium to meet Stanford.
A win there would strengthen Wake Forest’s case as an ACC contender, and Lopez will be central to that push. All eyes will be on the Wake Forest quarterback again on Saturday.
In Other News...
Wake Forest Fans Finally Get A First Look At This New Roster
Wake Forest fans will get their first chance to see the new mens basketball roster in action on Sunday, when the Demon Deacons host Georgetown in an exhibition game at LJVM Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m., and the afternoon is being set up as an easy entry point for supporters to get a look at the team before the games begin to matter.
The exhibition will not count toward official records, but it does bring a little extra intrigue to the building since the two programs have not met since 1997. Tickets are priced at $10 for general admission, children 12 and under are free with a family-friendly plan in place, and it should give Wake Forest an early read on what this group looks like in a game setting. [Read more 🡒]
Davis Warren Is Rising Fast As Stanford Faces A Real Week 5 Test
Through four weeks of the 2026 season, the ACC quarterback picture has already started to sort itself out, and that matters for Wake Forest as it keeps an eye on how the league stack-ups are forming around it. The latest review of the conferences passers leaned on recent game performances, individual production, and where each team stands heading into a busy Week 5 slate, giving a clearer sense of which quarterbacks are moving the needle and which matchups could reshape the conversation.
The upcoming schedule brings several tests that should tell us even more about the leagues pecking order, with quarterback play again set to drive the biggest outcomes. For Wake Forest, the value is in tracking not just who is rising right now, but who might keep building momentum when the pressure gets heavier next week. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Let Another Winnable ACC Game Slip Away Late
Wake Forest walked away from Louisville with another ACC win in hand after a tense 30-27 finish that swung on the kind of late-game execution the Demon Deacons have been building toward. Ty Clark III powered the offense with two rushing touchdowns, Carlos Hernandez stretched the field for 194 receiving yards and a score, and the defense delivered when it mattered most with a blocked field goal by Gabe Kirschke to seal it.
The result pushed Wake Forest to 3-1 and gave the program a confidence-building road victory in a conference game that stayed tight throughout. It was the kind of performance that showed both sides of the ball can carry the load, and for a team trying to establish itself early in the season, getting a win like this can matter as much for momentum as for the standings. [Read more 🡒]