Wake Forest didn’t just beat Akron on Thursday night - it spent most of the evening making the Zips look like they were playing a different sport.
The 38-16 final tells the story only if you stop reading too soon. Wake Forest had already stretched the lead to 38-3 in the fourth quarter before Akron tacked on two late touchdowns against the reserves, padding the box score more than the tension.
Compared with last year’s opener, a nervy one-point escape against Kennesaw State, this was a far cleaner start to the 2026 season. Still, the opponent matters here: Akron has not had a winning season in a decade and was starting a redshirt freshman at quarterback.
Even with that caveat, there was plenty for Wake Forest to like, starting with Gio Lopez. The UNC transfer looked sharp from the jump and finished 21-32 for 350 yards and 3 touchdowns.
He topped his previous game highs in both passing yards and touchdown passes before the first half was over. That matters because the big question around Lopez was whether last season’s dip in production was about the UNC staff or the ACC competition.
After he put up more yards and touchdowns in the first half against Akron than he did in his first 3 FBS games as a Tar Heel combined - TCU, Charlotte, UCF - it’s fair to say the answer is leaning hard in one direction.
Lopez wasn’t doing it alone, either. Wake Forest’s receiving group looked dangerous, and Carlos Hernandez was the headline act.
He caught 5 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, all before halftime. His best moment came on a 5 yard hitch that he turned into a 78-yard score, a burst that pushed the Deacs to a 28-0 lead.
Louisville transfer Antonio Meeks and Arkansas transfer Kam Shanks also made their mark: Meeks had 93 yards and a 72 yard touchdown catch, while Shanks finished with 5 catches for 55 yards and the first touchdown of the season.
The protection up front was just as impressive. Wake Forest’s offensive line kept Lopez comfortable all night, and neither Lopez nor Steele Pizzella was sacked once. That won’t always hold up once the competition gets tougher, but it’s a welcome change from last season’s opener, when Wake was taken down four times.
Defensively, the Deacs smothered Akron for most of the game. Through three quarters, the Zips had only 3 points and 196 total yards.
Dayton transfer Vincent Firenze stood out after shifting from safety to linebacker in the offseason, posting 9 tackles, 1 TFL, and a forced fumble. Frank Cusano added 9 tackles, and Braylon Johnson chipped in 7.
Akron never really threatened downfield, and not many of its runs got beyond the second level, so there wasn’t much for the secondary to chase.
Special teams offered another bright spot. Punter Ethan Hyams, who finished dead last in yards per punt a season ago, is now 2nd in the nation at 49 yards per punt. He only had to punt twice, but that’s still a strong sign.
There were some concerns, though, and depth is the first one. Wake Forest put up 31 first-half points, then lost Carlos Hernandez to injury at halftime and the offense slowed down.
The rest of the receiving group outside Hernandez, Shanks, and Meeks combined for just 4 catches and 25 yards. Wake also leaned more on the run and bled clock, so that drop-off isn’t a major alarm yet.
On defense, the backups allowed 109 yards and 13 points to Akron’s reserves in the fourth quarter, which doesn’t change the result but does leave something to watch.
The run game also looked better in the numbers than it did in the flow of the game. Wake finished with 203 rushing yards and a touchdown, but Ty Clark III’s 3 carries for 78 yards - with 57 of those coming on one third-quarter play - boosted the total.
In the first half, Wake ran it 16 times for 79 yards, which came out to 4.9 yards per carry. That wasn’t a disaster, especially with the passing game rolling, but it’s something to keep in mind before Purdue.
Penalties remain another issue. Wake Forest was flagged 11 times for 115 yards against Akron, a number that won’t be nearly as easy to shrug off against better opponents. Last season, the Deacs were one of the most penalized teams in the country at 7.4 penalties for 69.5 yards per game, so there’s still work to do there.
And then there was the band situation, which had nothing to do with the score but still managed to stand out. SOTOGAB’s numbers have been shrinking for years, and now there are barely enough members to cover the midfield logo.
Getting WSSU to bring its band helps hide the issue, but an ACC school that says it takes football seriously shouldn’t need another school’s band to fill out halftime. It feels like something the Admissions Office could fix in about 5 minutes, which makes the whole thing harder to ignore.
Wake Forest is 1-0, Lopez looks like the answer at quarterback, and the defense doesn’t appear to have taken a step back. But this was Akron. Next Saturday’s road game at Purdue should tell a lot more about what this team really is.
In Other News...
Wake Forest Mourns A Program Legend Whose Impact Went Beyond Records
Wake Forest lost one of the defining players in its football modern history with the death of Alphonso Smith on Sept. 2, 2026. Smith was more than a memorable name in the record book, although that part mattered plenty too, as the cornerback still owns the ACC career interceptions record and helped fuel the 2006 team that brought home an ACC championship.
His place in Wake Forest lore was already secure before his induction into the 2025 Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, and his football path carried him from Winston-Salem to the NFL after the Denver Broncos drafted him in 2009. Smith later played for the Detroit Lions, but for Wake Forest fans, his legacy will always be tied to a program-changing era and the standard he set on and off the field. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest Opens With One Big Test For Its Rebuilt Roster
Wake Forests offseason reset has been dramatic, even by modern college football standards. After losing 24 players to the transfer portal following the 2025 season, the Demon Deacons are set to bring in 18 new transfers as they try to rebuild quickly around a reshaped roster. The headliners are quarterback Gio Lopez and wide receivers Carlos Hernandez and Kam Shanks, additions that should give the offense a different look as the program tries to stabilize in a hurry.
The early test is interesting because the Deacons are also leaning on what remained intact. Running back Ty Clark III, along with defensive leaders Langston Hardy and Aiden Hall, gives Wake Forest some established pieces to anchor all the change. Akron arrives with its own problems, including quarterback eligibility concerns and the loss of key players on both sides of the ball, which makes this matchup a revealing first look at how much the Demon Deacons can trust their new mix right away. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest's New-Look Offense Took Over Fast Against Akron
Wake Forest wasted little time showing what its revamped offense can look like, jumping on Akron early and turning the afternoon into a showcase for explosive plays. Gio Lopez settled in quickly, the Demon Deacons stacked up points through the air and the defense added its own pressure with sacks and a turnover, helping build a commanding 28-3 halftime lead.
The big-play burst was the clearest sign that this group may have a different ceiling if the passing game keeps stretching the field like this. Akron did manage a late touchdown before the break, but Wake Forest had already separated itself and left plenty of room for the larger question now: how often can this offense sustain that kind of pace once the competition stiffens? [Read more 🡒]