WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.. — The Wake Forest football team earned its fourth-consecutive home victory on Saturday afternoon as the Demon Deacons took down Louisville at Truist Field, 37-34.
A field goal by the most accurate kicker in NCAA history, Nick Sciba, in the final minute of the game pushed the Deacons (5-0, 3-0 ACC) past the Cardinals (3-2, 1-1 ACC).
Offensively, Wake Forest logged 324 yards in the air and 177 yards on the ground. Quarterback Sam Hartman threw for a season-high 324 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, kicker Nick Sciba continued to shatter records as he tallied 13 points with three field goals and four extra points on Saturday to move into 13th place on the ACC all-time scoring list.
After scoring 37 points on Saturday, Wake Forest has now tallied 192 combined points this season which is the most in school history through the first five games.
Saturday marked the ninth meeting between both programs and the Deacons snapped the Cardinals two-game winning streak. Also from an offensive standpoint, Wake Forest has scored 30-plus points in four out of their last five wins against Louisville.
Defensively, Wake Forest forced a pair of fumbles, tallied two sacks and only allowed the Cardinals to convert four of their 12 third downs.
Wake Forest moved to 5-0 to open the season for the third time this century (2019, 2006) and have won their first three Atlantic Coast Conference games for just the second time in program history (2011 season).
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Louisville won the coin toss and deferred their decision to the second half, Wake Forest opened the game on an eight-play, 61 yard drive that ended in a 33-yard field goal by Nick Sciba.
The Demon Deacons largest play of the drive came on a 43-yard completion by QB Sam Hartman to WR Jaquarii Roberson.
The Cardinals answered on their opening possession of the game by converting on three third downs and capped off a 13-play, 75 yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run by QB Malik Cunningham.
With the Demon Deacons trailing 7-3 with 6:45 remaining in the opening frame, the Deacs regained the lead (10-7) as Hartman powered his way into the end zone from one yard out.
On the 9-play, 75 yard drive, Hartman accounted for 53 yards of offense (40 passing and 13 rushing).
Hartman caught a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and advanced the ball three yards on the play prior to Wake Forest’s first touchdown of the game.
The Cardinals tied the game at 10 with 12 seconds remaining in the first period with a 42-yard field goal.
On third down, Jasheen Davis and Kevin Pointer registered Wake Forest’s first sack of the game for a loss of five yards to force the field goal attempt.
Louisville regained the lead (17-10) with 8:52 remaining in the first half with a 11-play, 90 yard drive that took 5:34 of game action.
After Wake Forest’s defense forced a three-and-out, the Deacs tied the game at 17 with just under four minutes left in the half with a 42-yard pitch and catch from Hartman to Taylor Morin.
Christian Turner led Wake Forest on the ground during the scoring drive, tallying five carries for 24 yards.
The game remained locked at 17 as Louisville pushed a 50-yard field goal wide left with just under four minutes remaining in the second period.
Wake Forest took a 20-17 lead into intermission as Nick Sciba kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
The Demon Deacons received possession of the ball after Louisville muffed a punt return at its own 20-yard line.
On the first play of the final offensive possession, Hartman connected with Roberson on a 12-yard completion to move the ball inside the Cardinals’ 10-yard line.
The Deacs were able to bring the field goal unit to the field as Wake Forest called a timeout with one second remaining in the half.
The Demon Deacons increased their lead to double digits (27-17) after Justice Ellison’s seven-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Wake Forest’s defense forced Louisville to punt on their first three offensive possessions in the third quarter.
Luiji Vilain registered Wake Forest’s second sack of the game for a loss of six yards on the Cardinals’ second offensive drive.
Louisville cut Wake Forest’s lead to three (27-24) with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 11:25 left in regulation.
After the Cardinals tallied the first interception of the game and returned it 29 yards, Louisville tied the game at 27 with a 46-yard field goal with 7:48 remaining.
Wake Forest responded on their ensuing offensive drive as Hartman found A.T. Perry in the back of the endzone for a seven-yard touchdown.
The Deacs embarked on a 11-play, 75 yard drive to break the tie.
The game was once again tied (34-34) after Louisville scored on a 75-yard touchdown pass on the second play of its drive.
With just under three minutes remaining (2:54), Wake Forest went on a 11-play, 60-yard drive that featured seven carries for 41 yards from Justice Ellison. Nick Sciba capped off the drive when he hit the eventual game-winning 29 yard field goal that made it 37-34 with 22 seconds left in the contest.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Sam Hartman threw for 324 yards on Saturday, his first 300-yard passing game of the season and the seventh of his career. Additionally, Hartman tossed two touchdown passes and is now tied for the fifth all-time in Wake Forest history with 44 career TD passes.
Hartman has completed 97-of-151 passes to open the season for a completion percentage of 64.3 percent. Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer Riley Skinner holds the Demon Deacons and ACC record after completing 236-of-326 (72.4%) over 11 games in 2007.
Hartman engineered a 11-play, 60 yard game-winning drive to lead Wake Forest to its third conference victory of the season.
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Wake Forest has now started its season 5-0 for the third-time this century (2019 and 2006) and the second time in the Dave Clawson era. Additionally, the Demon Deacons are off to a 3-0 start in ACC play for the first time since the 2011 campaign.
Sam Hartman threw for 324 yards on Saturday, his first 300-yard passing game of the season and the seventh of his career. Additionally, Hartman threw two touchdown passes and is now tied for the fifth all-time in Wake Forest history with 44 career TD passes
Nick Sciba could not only be on his way to becoming the best kicker in program history, but potentially the best kicker in the history of the ACC and NCAA. After connecting on all three field goal attempts on Saturday afternoon, Nick Sciba owns a .905 career field goal percentage (67-of-74), the highest in NCAA history.
FROM COACH CLAWSON – “I am really proud of our football team. That was a hard-fought, competitive game that went down to the last play. Louisville played well. I have a lot of respect for Coach Satterfield and his team.
“This game felt like a heavyweight fight and whoever could survive the last punch would win. We played hard for 60 minutes and we never stopped competing. I am proud of Sam (Hartman) and our offense and the way they responded in the fourth quarter. Again, a really good win. Thank you to our fans and students for showing out. It was great to have a home-crowd advantage”.
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons will travel to Syracuse for the third-consecutive season next Saturday with kickoff scheduled for either 3:00 or 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, or ACC Network.
