Wake Forest keeps turning conference Saturdays into routs, and Virginia was the latest team to get flattened.
The Deacs rolled to a 51-7 win over the Cavaliers, making it four straight blowouts and another game that was essentially over before it had a chance to breathe. Virginia opened by gaining just 7 yards on its first possession before punting, and Wake answered almost immediately. A 33-yard pass to Carlos Hernandez set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Ty Clark III, and the Deacs had the kind of early punch that changes the entire feel of a game.
From there, Wake never let up. The decisive stretch came at the end of the first half, when defensive tackle Zach Lohavichan stuffed a 4th and 1 attempt at the Wake 6-yard line to keep Virginia off the board.
The Deacs then marched 87 yards and added a field goal with 10 seconds left in the half to make it 20-0. They weren’t done there, either.
Wake poured in 24 more points in the third quarter and pushed the margin to 44-0 before Virginia finally got on the board.
Carlos Hernandez was once again a major problem for the defense, finishing with 8 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. Gio Lopez kept the offense humming with 293 total yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers. Lopez did leave with an apparent knee injury after a late hit in the third quarter, though he was walking relatively fine afterward and seemed to be in good spirits after the game.
The ground game was just as overwhelming. Wake ran the ball 51 times for 309 yards and 5 touchdowns, with six different players each topping 20 rushing yards in a true by-committee effort. That was Wake’s highest rushing total since it went for 334 yards against Duke in 2019.
The defense did its part, too, holding Virginia to 16 rushing yards and limiting the Cavaliers to 1 conversion on 12 third-down tries. That kind of control has become the story of Wake’s month.
October 2026 may end up standing alone in program history. Wake Forest won four straight ACC games by a combined score of 187-31, outgained those opponents by an average of 489 yards to 263, and allowed just 155 total rushing yards across the month. Over those four conference games, the Deacs gave up only 1.58 yards per carry.
For fans, it meant a full month without much fourth-quarter stress. The closest any opponent got to Wake at the start of a fourth quarter in October was NC State, which trailed 31-17 before Wake stretched the lead to 21 points just four minutes into the final period.
Now at 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the ACC, Wake sits alone in second place in the league after SMU’s loss to Syracuse. That puts the Deacs in strong position for a potential trip to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game, and if this kind of dominance keeps rolling, the ceiling could be even higher. There’s a long way to go, but Wake Forest has put itself in the middle of a season that already looks special.
In Other News...
Wake Forest Has Virginia Reeling In A Statement First Half
Wake Forest spent the first half putting Virginia on the back foot with a balanced, efficient attack that piled up more than 250 yards and turned possessions into points. The Deacons mixed two touchdown drives with two field goals, and Gio Lopez helped keep the offense moving while Ty Clark III gave the ground game a finishing touch.
The bigger edge came from the other side of the ball, where Wake Forest kept Virginia from finding any rhythm on key downs. The Cavaliers converted just two of four fourth-down tries, and the Deacons added an interception along with a crucial stop near the goal line to keep the pressure squarely on Virginia as the half wore on. [Read more 🡒]