WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Despite a valiant effort to comeback from a 15-point third quarter deficit, Wake Forest football (4-5, 2-3 ACC) dropped a competitive 46-36 contest against California (5-4, 1-4 ACC) on Friday evening inside Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
Specifically, Friday’s game featured junior running back Demond Claiborne recording 172 (133 rushing, 51 receiving, eight return) yards of total offense while registering a rushing and receiving touchdown. It was the fourth time this season that Claiborne has recorded multiple touchdowns in a contest.
Individually, redshirt senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier connected on 19 attempts for 274 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. His primary target on the evening was redshirt senior wide receiver Taylor Morin, who hauled in nine receptions for 110 yards. It marked Morin’s third 100-yard performance of the season. The redshirt junior wideout also extended his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 30-straight.
Defensively, the Deacs were led by junior defensive back Nick Andersen’s 12 tackles and an interception, while senior linebacker Branson Combs collected 11 stops. As a team, they tallied eight tackles-for-loss, including three sacks.
Next up, the Deacs hit the road a week from Saturday (Nov. 16) for a primetime (8 p.m.) kickoff on ACC Network at North Carolina for the first contest of a two-game road swing.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wake Forest won the opening coin toss but deferred to the second half.
On its opening drive, Cal would drive down inside the Wake Forest five-yard line but the Deacs held strong in the shadow of its own end zone to force a 35-yard field goal.
The Golden Bears took a 10-0 lead on the next play, recovering a Wake Forest fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
Junior defensive back Nick Andersen jumpstarted the second Wake Forest offensive possession of the evening, as he intercepted the Bears at the Demon Deacon 40-yard line and returned it to the Cal 30.
Wake Forest would take advantage of the pick by driving 30 yards in just five plays, punctuated by a one-yard touchdown run from junior running back Demond Claiborne.
The Demon Deacons gained 19 yards on the first play of the drive, as redshirt senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier connected with redshirt senior wide receiver Taylor Morin.
Cal regained a 10-point lead, 17-7, more than a minute into the second quarter, punctuating a seven-play, 59-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass.
A 38-yard field goal converted extended the Cal lead to 20-7 with 9:21 remaining in the first half.
The Wake Forest defense stopped Cal on a 4th-and-2 passing attempt inside Demon Deacon territory, as redshirt sophomore defensive back Zamari Stevenson jumped the route to knock down the pass.
Trickery caught the Cal defense off-guard for the first Wake Forest touchdown of the evening, as Claiborne took a direct snap and reversed it to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Horatio Fields who then reversed it to Bachmeier who found Claiborne alone for a 44-yard touchdown.
The play completed a five-yard, 68-yard touchdown drive as Wake Forest cut into the Cal lead, 20-14.
Cal would take a 26-14 lead shortly after the two-minute timeout, punctuating a 65-yard march with a two-yard touchdown pass.
The Golden Bears took a 29-14 lead into halftime, making a 54-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
Wake Forest cut into the Cal lead with a 45-yard touchdown with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter, as Bachmeier found redshirt junior Donavon Greene at the sideline before the wide receiver acrobatically toe the line and sprinted into the end zone.
One play before, Morin high pointed the ball and came down for a 23-yard catch.
On Cal’s follow-up drive, Wake Forest forced a three-and-out as redshirt senior defensive tackle Justin Cody logged a third down sack.
Cal’s lead would move to 36-21 late into the third quarter, as the Golden Bears capitalized on a blocked field goal.
Wake Forest once again got within one score, as an 11-play drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes was capped by a four-yard touchdown scamper by Bachmeier.
On the drive, Wake Forest registered four plays that gained more than 10 yards including 18- and 16-yard runs from Claiborne.
The Deacs converted on a two-point try, making it a 36-27 scoreline with 11:46 remaining in regulation.
Cal went back up by 10, making a 54-yard field goal with 6:39 left.
Wake Forest, however, once again returned the deficit to just three, constructing a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with just 3:57 remaining.
On the drive, Bachmeier completed three passes as redshirt sophomore Tate Carney sealed the drive with a two-yard score.
Cal forced a Wake Forest interception out of the two-minute timeout, getting the ball in Wake Forest territory before closing out the game with a 46-36 result.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Through six games this fall, Wake Forest University & Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium hosted 183,380 fans and a cumulative total of 23,025 students following another great crowd for Friday’s ACC battle against California.
Both of those tally have surpassed the 2023 season totals of 181,074 total fans and 21,066 students when the Deacs only had six home games for the season.
The average of 30,563 fans per game through six contests surpasses last year’s mark of 30,179 and is the highest average attendance since 2011 (31,967).
Additionally, Wake’s cumulative students total is now the highest since the seven-game home schedule in 2022 when Allegacy Stadium hosted a school-record 23,643 Screamin’ Demons.
Also, Allegacy Stadium brought together a program-record average of 3,511 students per game in 2023. In 2024, that tally is now 3,837.
Wake Forest surpassed 4,000 students in attendance at three home games this fall, including a school-record total 4,701 when the Deacs hosted No. 5 Ole Miss on Sept. 14, 2024. The student tally passed the Nov. 13, 2021 game against NC State when Allegacy Stadium hosted 4,584 Screamin’ Demons.
Overall since 2021, Wake Forest Football has had 11 sellouts.
2024:
Sept. 13 vs. Ole Miss – 32,849
Oct. 12 vs. Clemson – 31,553
2023:
Aug. 31 vs. Elon – 30,028
Sept. 9 vs. Vanderbilt – 28,363
Sept. 23 vs. Georgia Tech – 31,865
Oct. 28 vs. FSU – 31,288
2022:
Sept. 17 vs. Liberty – 32,891
Sept. 24, vs. Clemson, 32,699
Oct. 8 vs. Army – 32,524
2021:
Oct. 30 vs. Duke – 31,613
Nov. 13 vs. NC State – 34,503
STAGGERING STATISTIC Junior safety
Nick Andersen recorded the eighth interception of his career and second in the 2024 season in the first quarter. He now ranks just outside the top-10 in program history and has the most in the Dave Clawson era.
FROM COACH CLAWSON “Credit to Cal and Coach Justin Wilcox – they outplayed us. We had a chance to win that game at the end, but we got beat. They were the more physical team on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Their defensive line really kind of got the best of our offensive line. We did not take care of the football. The sequence of the blocked field goal that led to the touchdown was really costly. Their kicker hit a 54-yarder, and we didn’t; we got completely outplayed.
“You know, we never got in a rhythm on offense until the end. But still, you have four turnovers, you don’t deserve to win. We didn’t have any offensive balance. Our special teams today were awful. We didn’t punt the ball, we didn’t kick the ball, we didn’t return the ball. They completely outplayed us on special teams. And, on defense we didn’t cover. They had almost 300 yards of passing in the first half. Again, credit them. They did a better job with their bye week, even though they had to fly 3,000 miles across the country to play us.
“I’m proud of how we respond, and I’m proud that we fight. But, nine games into this, that’s not enough. It was just really, really sloppy football, and I’m really disappointed because we’re better than that, but obviously we didn’t play better than that. We got what we deserved, which is a loss.
“I want to thank the fans who came out, especially everyone who stayed until the end, especially the students that came to the end. We get good early student crowds, and there’s a couple of die-hards that stay until the end, and we really appreciate them. And I wish we had played better.”
UP NEXT The Demon Deacons take their unblemished 3-0 record on the road next week as Wake travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. for a Big Four rivalry matchup at North Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 16. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.
Wake Forest is back at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 30 for another Big Four showdown against Duke on Seniors & Graduates day. Tickets for the matchup with the Blue Devils can be purchased by clicking HERE. For questions or assistance, please contact the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 ext. 1 or [email protected]. Regular office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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