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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — In front of a sellout crowd (31,613) and the largest number of students to ever attend a football game (4,233) at Truist Field, No. 13 Wake Forest defeated Duke on Saturday afternoon, 45-7.
In a complete team performance on Saturday, Wake Forest (8-0, 5-0 ACC) totaled 677 yards of total offense on Saturday and limited the Blue Devils (3-5, 0-4 ACC) to just 315 yards of offense. Additionally, the Demon Deacons won the turnover battle and possessed the ball on Saturday for 36:05.
Individually, quarterback Sam Hartman finished the contest 24-of-37 for 402 yards and three touchdowns. Additionally, Hartman added a pair of touchdowns on the ground, setting a new career high. The Charlotte, N.C. native is the first quarterback in Wake Forest history to have four consecutive 300-plus yard passing games and the second quarterback in program history to post back-to-back 400-plus yard passing games.
Hartman, who now ranks fifth in career passing yards and third in career touchdown passes in program history, completed passes to 11 different athletes on Saturday. Wideout A.T. Perry went over 100-yards receiving for the third-straight game and is now just one game away from the program record.
Defensively, Wake Forest tallied seven tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and had one fumble recovery in a dominant performance. Nick Andersen led the Deacons with six tackles and five defenders had five stops each, respectively.
Wake Forest is 8-0 for the first time in program history. Additionally, the Demon Deacons are off to their first 5-0 start in conference play for the first time in program history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wake Forest received the kickoff to begin the game and drove it right down the field to grab an early 7-0 lead.
Over the course of the five-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 1:31 off the clock, the Demon Deacons had four first downs and never had a third down attempt.
Saturday’s opening score came on a 38-yard touchdown catch from Sam Hartman to Jaquarii Roberson.
Wake Forest’s defense forced Duke to punt in their first two possessions to maintain their 7-0 lead to open the game.
The Blue Devils began their second drive at their own 7-yard line after Christian Beal-Smith made a tackle on a 52-yard punt from Ivan Mora.
The Demon Deacon defense forced the punt after a stop on 4th and 4.
After regaining possession, the Deacs extended their lead to 14-0 with 4:03 left in the first quarter with a 9-play, 96-yard drive, capped off by a 26-yard touchdown rush from Hartman.
On the drive, Hartman completed four passes to three different receivers for 69 yards, highlighted by a 37-yard pitch and catch to Ke’Shawn Williams.
The 26-yard touchdown run by Hartman was the longest rush of his career.
After keeping the Blue Devils off the scoreboard for their third-straight drive to open the contest, Hartman found the end zone from four yards out as Wake Forest increased their lead to 21-0.
The 11-play, 87-yard drive began at the Deacs’ own 13-yard line. A 42-yard rush for Hartman put Wake Forest in prime position to find the end zone for the third time in the first half.
Traveon Redd recovered a fumble forced by Galvin Holmes on the third play of Duke’s next drive to give Wake Forest the ball back with 8:45 left in the first half.
Wake Forest’s offense found their end zone for the third-straight drive following the first forced turnover of the game as Hartman connected with Williams for a three-yard touchdown reception.
Donald Stewart pulled down a 33-yard reception from Hartman on 1st and 10 to move the Deacs into Duke territory.
The Demon Deacon defense forced its first three and out of the game, shutting down a trio of Blue Devil rushing attempts as Wake Forest regained possession at their own 26 with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.
Wake Forest went into intermission with a 28-0 advantage after teams traded punts in their final drives of the half.
Following a missed field goal, Wake Forest’s defense forced their second-straight three-and-out to give the offense the ball back with 49 seconds left. Rondell Bothroyd notched a sack for a loss of three yards on the opening play of the drive. Luke Masterson tallied a solo defensive stop on 3rd and 13 to force Duke’s third punt of the first half.
The Blue Devils received the ball back with 23 seconds left after Wake Forest’s first punt of the game and ran the ball once before letting the clock run out.
Both sides of the ball came out strong to open the second half as the Demon Deacon lead increased to 35-0 after a 16-yard touchdown by Christian Beal-Smith and a three-and-out by Duke’s offense.
Caelen Carson and Ryan Smenda Jr. combined for a loss of four yards on a run to force a 3rd and 14.
The Wake Forest offense moved into Blue Devil territory following a 36-yard completion from Hartman to Perry.
Nick Sciba connected on a 26-yard field goal to put Wake Forest up 38-0 at the five-minute mark of the third quarter.
The Deacs began their 10-play, 82-yard drive at their own 11 yard line and moved all the way into Duke territory after Christian Turner broke free for a 48-yard run. Completions of 13 (Banks) and 14 yards (Williams) continued the drive.
A 19-yard touchdown reception to Taylor Morin from Sam Hartman pushed their lead to 45-0 with 5:14 left in the third frame.
Wake Forest regained possession after forcing their second three and out of the quarter,
Duke found the end zone for the first time of the game after a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 7:17 left in regulation to mark the final score of the game with Wake Forest leading 45-7.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Deacon Nation created an incredible atmosphere on Saturday and made a huge difference in today’s Big Four matchup against Duke. Truist Field was sold out for the first time since 2018 as 31,613 fans packed the stands for Wake Forest’s penultimate home game of the 2021 season.
After having the best student crowd since 2006 this season, 4,233 Wake Forest University students were in attendance on Saturday, the largest student crowd ever.
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Wake Forest has now started its season 8-0 for the first time in program history. Additionally, the Demon Deacons are off to their first 5-0 start in conference play for the first time in program history. The Deacons eight-game win streak is the program’s longest in school history.
Offensively, After scoring 45 points today, Wake Forest remains the only team in the nation that has scored at least 35 points in every game this season.
vs. Old Dominion (42-10)
vs. Norfolk State (41-16)
vs. Florida State (35-14)
at Virginia (37-17)
vs. Louisville (37-34)
at Syracuse (40-37 – OT)
at Army (70-56)
vs. Duke (45-7)
FROM COACH CLAWSON
“I want to take a moment to thank our students. We had over 4,200 students in attendance tonight. That is the biggest student crowd in the history of Wake Forest football. The students were loud, active and stayed until the end. Tonight felt like we had a home field advantage.
Our offense continues to play at a high level and I was really proud of our defense. Duke has a very good offense that has averaged 471 yards a game and we played lights out defense in order to slow them down. Tonight was a great bounce-back effort.”
UP NEXT
The Demon Deacons continue their three-game stretch against Big 4 opponents, traveling to North Carolina for a non-conference matchup against the Tar Heels on Nov. 6 The time of the game will be announced later Saturday night or Sunday.
