Wake Forest Drops Road Battle at Louisville

This was just the third road contest of the season for the Demon Deacons, coming 28 days after playing North Carolina in Chapel Hill Nov. 14 and previously defeating Syracuse in Syracuse Oct. 31

Wake’s defense was able to hold Louisville to just seven total yards of offense and -22 rushing yards in the first quarter and take the early lead.

Grad transfer Miles Fox had a career day on the defensive line, with a career-high four tackles for loss. He also recorded a sack, making his season total 4.5, which is second on the team behind only Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr.

Quarterback Sam Hartman ended his streak of consecutive passes thrown without an interception with 258 passes, dating back to the Syracuse game in 2019.

The streak ranks fifth in ACC history and was just 12 away from fourth. Hartman owns the Wake Forest season record as he broke Tanner Price’s mark (166 in 2012) against North Carolina.

The Cornelius, N.C. native went 219 throws this season without an INT.

Coming into the game, Wake Forest was the only school in the ACC without an interception this season and the only school in the country to play more than three games without an interception.

Christian Beal-Smith led Wake forest in rushing with fourteen carries for 58 yards and a long of 14.

Freshman running back Justice Ellison made just his third appearance of the season for the Demon Deacons, recording 50 yards on just nine carries with a long of 17 and a team-high 5.6 average yards per carry.

Kicker Nick Sciba started the season 2-5 but has since made 12 straight field goals since and was 2-for-2 today.

He came into the game with the third-longest streak in the country.

In his career, Sciba owns a .891 field goal percentage (57-of-64), which ranks second in ACC history and is a Wake Forest program record.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Demon Deacons started the game with two first downs but came out scoreless.
The Wake Forest defense held Louisville, going three-and-out on their first possession. This included a -18 yard loss that brought the ball back to the Louisville one-yard line.
A touchdown on Wake Forest’s second possession gave the Deacs an early 7-0 lead with eight minutes to play in the first quarter.
10-yard reception by Taylor Morin
The Deacs’ defense dominated Louisville in the first quarter, holding them to just seven yards of offense and -22 rushing yards.
Two sacks from Miles Fox and Ja’Cquez Williams
Two explosive plays from Louisville got them to the endzone to tie the game, 7-7, with 6:47 left in the half.
A 45-yard field goal by Nick Sciba put the Deacs back in front but back-to-back touchdowns gave the Cardinals the lead heading into halftime, 21-10.
The Cardinals opened the third quarter with a third consecutive touchdown.
Second field goal from Sciba cut the deficit 28-13 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
A 31-yard yard completion from Sam Hartman to Blake Whiteheart gave the Deacs some offensive momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
A 37-yard touchdown reception by Jaquarii Roberson and a successful two-point conversion by Hartman and Roberson closed the gap to just one score to open the fourth quarter, 21-28.
Louisville responded with two touchdowns in the fourth to seal the win, 44-21.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Defensive lineman Miles Fox continued to be a disruptive force in the backfield with a career performance.

On Saturday, he finished with a career-high four tackles for loss. Fox, who is nominated for the Piccolo Award (ACC Comeback Player of the Year), has had at least one tackle for loss in six of the Deacs eight games this season including the last four games.

His eight tackles for loss on the season are a career high. Fox also recorded a sack in the game and now has 4.5 on the season, which ranks second on the team behind Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr.

STAGGERING STATISTICS
Wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson continued to be a reliable target for quarterback Sam Hartman. He finished the day with a team-high 9 catches for 138 yards.
This marks the fifth consecutive game the redshirt junior has pulled in at least six catches.
This is his third consecutive game with over 100 or more receiving yards, becoming the first Wake Forest player to do so since Chris Givens in 2011.
Sam Hartman’s streak of consecutive passes without an interception, a Wake Forest program record, came to an end on Saturday. He ended the streak with 258 passes without throwing an interception dating back to the Syracuse game in 2019.
The streak ranks fifth in ACC history and was just 12 away from fourth in conference history.
Hartman owns the Wake Forest season record as he broke Tanner Price’s mark (166 in 2012) against North Carolina. The Cornelius, N.C. native went 219 throws this season without an INT.
Coming into the game, Wake Forest was the only school in the ACC without an interception this season and the only school in the country to play more than three games without an interception.

FROM COACH CLAWSON
“I’ll share what I shared with our team: I’m disappointed in the result, but I’m extremely proud of this team. They hung in there; we competed hard. Congratulations to Louisville, they clearly outplayed us. We lost the turnover battle today for the first time all year, and we just never had a rhythm on offense. On offense, we looked like a team that hadn’t played football in a month. Defensively, we were really shorthanded. We got some good young players a lot of playing time, but also it was baptism by fire. We started three true freshmen in the secondary and they learned on the job. Louisville played shorthanded too, and they played better than us. I thought we played hard, I thought we played with effort, but we clearly, I thought, had very little rhythm on either side of the football. We’ve got to get better and I’m confident we will. These guys are hanging in there and continuing to compete, and hopefully we’ve got some more football ahead of us.”

UP NEXT
Wake Forest closes out the regular season on Saturday, Dec. 19 against Florida State at Truist Field for Senior Day. The game time and network will be announced after the conclusion of the games on Saturday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Wake Forest football team played its first game in 28 days and fell on the road to the Louisville Cardinals, 21-45.

This was just the third road contest of the season for the Demon Deacons, coming 28 days after playing North Carolina in Chapel Hill Nov. 14 and previously defeating Syracuse in Syracuse Oct. 31

Wake’s defense was able to hold Louisville to just seven total yards of offense and -22 rushing yards in the first quarter and take the early lead.

Grad transfer Miles Fox had a career day on the defensive line, with a career-high four tackles for loss. He also recorded a sack, making his season total 4.5, which is second on the team behind only Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr.

Quarterback Sam Hartman ended his streak of consecutive passes thrown without an interception with 258 passes, dating back to the Syracuse game in 2019.

The streak ranks fifth in ACC history and was just 12 away from fourth. Hartman owns the Wake Forest season record as he broke Tanner Price’s mark (166 in 2012) against North Carolina.

The Cornelius, N.C. native went 219 throws this season without an INT.

Coming into the game, Wake Forest was the only school in the ACC without an interception this season and the only school in the country to play more than three games without an interception.

Christian Beal-Smith led Wake forest in rushing with fourteen carries for 58 yards and a long of 14.

Freshman running back Justice Ellison made just his third appearance of the season for the Demon Deacons, recording 50 yards on just nine carries with a long of 17 and a team-high 5.6 average yards per carry.

Kicker Nick Sciba started the season 2-5 but has since made 12 straight field goals since and was 2-for-2 today.

He came into the game with the third-longest streak in the country.

In his career, Sciba owns a .891 field goal percentage (57-of-64), which ranks second in ACC history and is a Wake Forest program record.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Demon Deacons started the game with two first downs but came out scoreless.
The Wake Forest defense held Louisville, going three-and-out on their first possession. This included a -18 yard loss that brought the ball back to the Louisville one-yard line.
A touchdown on Wake Forest’s second possession gave the Deacs an early 7-0 lead with eight minutes to play in the first quarter.
10-yard reception by Taylor Morin
The Deacs’ defense dominated Louisville in the first quarter, holding them to just seven yards of offense and -22 rushing yards.
Two sacks from Miles Fox and Ja’Cquez Williams
Two explosive plays from Louisville got them to the endzone to tie the game, 7-7, with 6:47 left in the half.
A 45-yard field goal by Nick Sciba put the Deacs back in front but back-to-back touchdowns gave the Cardinals the lead heading into halftime, 21-10.
The Cardinals opened the third quarter with a third consecutive touchdown.
Second field goal from Sciba cut the deficit 28-13 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
A 31-yard yard completion from Sam Hartman to Blake Whiteheart gave the Deacs some offensive momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
A 37-yard touchdown reception by Jaquarii Roberson and a successful two-point conversion by Hartman and Roberson closed the gap to just one score to open the fourth quarter, 21-28.
Louisville responded with two touchdowns in the fourth to seal the win, 44-21.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Defensive lineman Miles Fox continued to be a disruptive force in the backfield with a career performance.

On Saturday, he finished with a career-high four tackles for loss. Fox, who is nominated for the Piccolo Award (ACC Comeback Player of the Year), has had at least one tackle for loss in six of the Deacs eight games this season including the last four games.

His eight tackles for loss on the season are a career high. Fox also recorded a sack in the game and now has 4.5 on the season, which ranks second on the team behind Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr.

STAGGERING STATISTICS
Wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson continued to be a reliable target for quarterback Sam Hartman. He finished the day with a team-high 9 catches for 138 yards.
This marks the fifth consecutive game the redshirt junior has pulled in at least six catches.
This is his third consecutive game with over 100 or more receiving yards, becoming the first Wake Forest player to do so since Chris Givens in 2011.
Sam Hartman’s streak of consecutive passes without an interception, a Wake Forest program record, came to an end on Saturday. He ended the streak with 258 passes without throwing an interception dating back to the Syracuse game in 2019.
The streak ranks fifth in ACC history and was just 12 away from fourth in conference history.
Hartman owns the Wake Forest season record as he broke Tanner Price’s mark (166 in 2012) against North Carolina. The Cornelius, N.C. native went 219 throws this season without an INT.
Coming into the game, Wake Forest was the only school in the ACC without an interception this season and the only school in the country to play more than three games without an interception.

FROM COACH CLAWSON
“I’ll share what I shared with our team: I’m disappointed in the result, but I’m extremely proud of this team. They hung in there; we competed hard. Congratulations to Louisville, they clearly outplayed us. We lost the turnover battle today for the first time all year, and we just never had a rhythm on offense. On offense, we looked like a team that hadn’t played football in a month. Defensively, we were really shorthanded. We got some good young players a lot of playing time, but also it was baptism by fire. We started three true freshmen in the secondary and they learned on the job. Louisville played shorthanded too, and they played better than us. I thought we played hard, I thought we played with effort, but we clearly, I thought, had very little rhythm on either side of the football. We’ve got to get better and I’m confident we will. These guys are hanging in there and continuing to compete, and hopefully we’ve got some more football ahead of us.”

UP NEXT
Wake Forest closes out the regular season on Saturday, Dec. 19 against Florida State at Truist Field for Senior Day. The game time and network will be announced after the conclusion of the games on Saturday.