WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Despite a trio of rushing touchdowns from redshirt sophomore running back Tate Carney and more than 400 yards of offense, Wake Forest football (1-3, 0-1 ACC) dropped a hard-fought 41-38 contest to Louisiana (2-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Saturday afternoon inside Allegacy Stadium.
Saturday’s game inside Allegacy Stadium served as the centerpiece of Wake Forest University’s Family Weekend as the gathering of undergraduate students and their loved ones brought together a crowd of 31,061 fans.
Saturday’s game against Louisiana, which was presented by Lowes Foods, featured five Demon Deacon touchdowns on offense, as individually Carney recorded the first multi-touchdown performance of his career, carrying the ball eight times for 65 yards and the three aforementioned scores. Junior tailback Demond Claiborne also recorded the longest run of his career – a 60-yard third quarter touchdown. Redshirt senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier connected on 29-of-35 attempts for 254 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Deacs were led by defensive back Nick Andersen’s 13 tackles (five solo). As a team, they tallied two tackles for loss.
The Demon Deacons hit the road next week for the first time this season, heading to Raleigh for a Big Four matchup at NC State (Oct. 5) that will kickoff at 12 p.m. on The CW. Wake Forest’s next home game will be on Saturday, Oct. 12 against No. 17 / 15 Clemson.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wake Forest received the opening kickoff on Saturday afternoon.
After Louisiana forced a three-and-out on Wake’s first possession, the Ragin’ Cajuns matriculated the ball down the field on a 10-play, 70-yard scoring drive that resulted in a two-yard passing touchdown.
Wake Forest would respond, however, with a 39-yard field goal from redshirt junior Matthew Dennis.
The drive was extended on a 4th-and-4 completion inside Louisiana territory before Dennis got the Deacs on the board.
Junior running back Demond Claiborne accounted for 36 yards on the scoring drive (24 rushing, 12 receiving).
Louisiana extended its lead to 14-3 with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter, as the Ragin Cajuns’ 75-yard touchdown drive was fueled by a 60-yard rush.
Wake Forest thwarted a seven-play Louisiana drive early in the second quarter, stopping the Ragin’ Cajuns on a 4th down attempt, as redshirt senior cornerback Capone Blue broke up a pass attempt.
The Deacs would score their first touchdown of the afternoon with 4:28 remaining in the first half, as Wake Forest drove 65 yards on 10 plays punctuated by a one-yard touchdown plunge from redshirt sophomore running back Tate Carney.
On the drive, redshirt senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier was 5-for-5 for 36 yards, completing passes to four different targets.
While Louisiana would take a 21-10 lead with 1:18 left in the second quarter, Wake Forest quickly responded with an efficient six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in just 57 seconds before the break to cut the deficit to 21-17.
The drive was completed by a three-yard touchdown completion from Bachmeier to redshirt freshman wide receiver Deuce Alexander, as the quarterback rolled out to find Alexander in space for the score.
Wake Forest was successful in stalling out a Louisiana drive past midfield to start the third quarter before the Ragin’ Cajuns hit on a 50-yard field goal to take a 24-17 lead.
The Deacs would tie the game at 24 apiece as Claiborne scampered for a 60-yard touchdown.
The run – which was on 4th-and-1 – was the longest of his career, surpassing a 48-yard attempt against North Carolina A&T on Opening Night.
The visitors would take back the lead on the ensuing drive, completing a four-play drive with a 48-yard touchdown pass.
Wake Forest would once again tie up the contest with 39 seconds left in the third frame, marching 75 yards over a six-minute drive with Carney punching in his second touchdown of the game from one yard out.
It marked the first multi-touchdown performance of his Wake Forest career.
Following an interception, Louisiana would go up 38-31 with 8:07 remaining in regulation.
Carney would add to his touchdown total with 1:55 remaining, as the Davie County, N.C., native completed a 13-play Wake Forest scoring drive to once again even the game at 38 apiece.
Louisiana went back in front, 41-38, converting on a 31-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining.
Wake Forest had a chance to tie the game on the final play, but missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired.
Wake Forest fell in regulation, 41-38.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Redshirt sophomore tailback Tate Carney had a career afternoon on Saturday inside Allegacy Stadium as he carried the ball 17 times for 59 yards and had three rushing touchdowns. He became the first Demon Deacon to rush for three scores since Kenneth Walker III accomplished this feat at Syracuse on Oct. 31, 2020.
STAGGERING STATISTICS Senior captain Jasheen Davis returned to Wake Forest’s defensive front for the first time since Opening Night after dealing with an injury over the last two games. He ultimately tallied four tackles, including a half-tackle for loss.
With that, Davis has now recorded at least 0.5 tackles-for-loss in 22 of his last 23 games. Over his last 19 games dating back to last season, Davis has collected 31 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.
Additionally, Davis has 40 tackles for loss and moved into eighth in program history in the statistical category:
With 14.0 tackle for loss again in back-to-back seasons and now 1.5 in 2024, Davis is in the top 10 in program history for a single season and ranked third in the Clawson era:
Tackles for Loss Since 2014 1 Marquel Lee (2016) – 20.0 2 Boogie Basham (2019) – 18.0 T3 Jasheen Davis (2023) – 17.0 T3 Duke Ejiofor (2016) – 17.0 5 Duke Ejiofor (2017) – 16.5 6 Rondell Bothroyd (2021) – 16.5 7 Jasheen Davis (2022) – 14.0
FROM COACH CLAWSON
“First of all, credit to Louisiana. We knew all week they’d be a big, good, physical football team and they ran the ball really well. They’ve got a big O-line, they’ve got good backs and they took advantage of our mistakes. So again, we had a couple of coverage busts again that cost us probably two touchdowns. We had a chance to take the lead and we threw a pick in the fourth quarter. We just didn’t play well enough across the board. We got off to a slow start on offense and defensively – they just had us on our heels the whole game. So again, we’re proud of the effort. We’re struggling right now and like I told the team, when you’re in this position all you can do is go back to work.”
UP NEXT The Demon Deacons hit the road the next week for the first time this season as Wake heads to Raleigh for a Big Four matchup at NC State (Oct. 5) that will kickoff at 12 p.m. on The CW.
