Wake Forest Earns Road Victory Over SEC Opponent, 45-25

Courtesy GoDeacs.com

NASHVILLE — Wake Forest’s veterans led the Demon Deacons on Saturday as the 21st-ranked Wake Forest football team handed Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt its first loss of the season, 45-25. Wake Forest has now won six of its last seven road openers, with its lone loss coming during the COVID-2020 season. 

The veterans on the defensive side of the ball set the tone on Saturday. 

Redshirt senior defensive back Coby Davis opened the scoring for the Demon Deacons as he snared his second-career interception in the first quarter and returned it 31 yards for the score. Later in the opening frame, redshirt junior Jacorey Johns forced a fumble that junior Chelen Garnes recovered. Additionally, senior Ryan Smenda, Jr. led the Demon Deacons in tackles with seven and redshirt senior Kobie Turner had a fumble recovery as well off a Vandy miscue. 

Offensively, Wake Forest was led by redshirt junior Sam Hartman as he tallied 300 yards, four passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in his season debut. Hartman’s big-play target on Saturday was redshirt junior A.T. Perry as he hauled in five passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. Additionally, Wake Forest’s two-time captain threw touchdown passes to four different players (Cameron Hite, Christian Turner, Taylor Morin) who are all redshirt sophomores or older. 

With the Deacs now 2-0 to start the season, Wake Forest holds a record of 19-5 (.792) during the month of September since the start of the 2016 season. This includes eight of the nine seasons in the head coach Dave Clawson era with multiple wins in the month.

Additionally with Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt, Coach Clawson remains undefeated against programs from the Southeastern Conference. Prior to Saturday’s win, he led the Deacs past Texas A&M in the 2017 Belk Bowl. 

The Deacs next return to Truist Field for Homecoming against Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. Tickets are available here for just $15 and Wake Forest recently announced that just 2,500 tickets were left.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Demon Deacons won the coin toss and deferred their choice to the second half, Vanderbilt fumbled the ball twice (once on the kickoff and another on a handoff) before Wake Forest forced a punt to open the game. 
• Following a Demon Deacons three-and-out, Vanderbilt opened the scoring on a Joseph Bulovas 35-yard field goal with 8:48 remaining in the opening frame. The drive spanned 36 yards on eight plays. 
• Wake Forest’s Ke’Shawn Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards to the Deacs 46-yard line. The Deacs drove the ball all the way to the Commodores one-yard line but were thwarted on a fourth-down rushing attempt by Justice Ellison. 
  • Sam Hartman made his presence known on the drive with two completions for 21 yards and he forced a Vanderbilt unnecessary roughness penalty when he scampered for three yards headed into the red zone.  
• Undaunted, four plays later Coby Davis snared his second interception of his career and he returned it 31 yards to the endzone to give Wake Forest the lead, 7-3, with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
  • The INT returned for the score was Wake Forest’s longest since Oct. 31, 2020 when Gavin Holmes returned his first-career interception 32 yards to the house.  
• After the Wake Forest defense forced its first three-and-out of the game, Hartman connected with A.T. Perry on a 68-yard touchdown pass to extend the Demon Deacons lead to 14-3 at the end of the first stanza. 
• Redshirt junior Jacorey Johns forced Vanderbilt’s second turnover of the game on the next possession of the game when quarterback Mike Wright fumbled the football and Chelen Garnes recovered it for the Demon Deacons.
  • Sam Hartman closed the first quarter with a 30-yard strike to Donavon Greene and Christian Turner caught his first-career receiving touchdown from Hartman on the first play of the second quarter (14:56) to extend the Wake Forest lead, 21-3. 
• Despite another stop by the Demon Deacons defense, redshirt sophomore Taylor Morin muffed a punt to give Vanderbilt the ball deep inside Wake Forest territory with 13-plus minutes to go in the half. 
  • Vandy scored a touchdown on a Ray Davis five-yard run a few plays later to cut the Deacs lead to 21-10 with 11:06 remaining in the opening half. 
• Wake Forest and Vanderbilt traded punts for the remainder of the half and the Deacs took the 11-point advantage into the locker room at intermission. 
  • Wake Forest limited Vanderbilt to less than 50 yards passing in the opening 30 minutes and the defense forced two Commodore turnovers that helped swing the momentum in the Demon Deacons’ favor.
  • The down the field passing game was working for the Deacs in the first half as Wake Forest averaged 22.3 yards per reception, including the aforementioned 68-yard pass completion from Hartman to Perry.
• The Demon Deacons opened scoring in the second half on their first possession on a seven-play, 75 yard drive in 2:50.
  • The drive was highlighted by a 49-yard completion from Hartman to Perry, and it was capped off by a nine-yard touchdown catch by Taylor Morin.
• With Wake Forest leading 28-10 with 12:10 left in the third quarter, Vanderbilt was forced to punt for the fourth-consecutive drive. 
• Following a 49-yard punt from Ivan Mora with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter, Wake Forest forced its third turnover of the game as Kobie Turner recovered a fumble at the Vanderbilt 18 yard line.
• Hartman capitalized on the Vanderbilt miscue with his fourth touchdown pass of the game when he found tight end Cameron Hite for 17 yards. The Demon Deacons took a 35-10 lead with 4:28 to go in the third quarter.
• The Commodores responded with a touchdown of their own with a 75-yard drive, capped off by a six-yard touchdown pass from Swann to Will Sheppard. 
  • Vandy converted on the two-point conversion to bring the score to 35-18 with 1:53 left in the third quarter.
• Quinton Cooley led an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to extend the lead to 42-18 with 14:28 remaining in the contest.
  • Cooley rushed for 37 yards on three attempts during the drive, including a 24-yard rush to the end zone.
• Following a Kobie Turner sack and another Vanderbilt three-and-out, the Demon Deacons took over at their own 48-yard-line. Kicker Matthew Dennis capped off a 14-play drive with a 21-yard field goal to extend the lead to 45-18 with 4:48 to go.
• Vanderbilt answered with a quick, five-play, 75-yard drive ending with a seven-yard touchdown pass, bringing it to 45-25 with 2:09 left in the game.
• Wake Forest ran the clock out with its final drive to win the contest, 45-25.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Redshirt junior quarterback and two-time captain Sam Hartman made his season debut on Saturday afternoon in Nashville and finished 18-of-27 passing for an even 300 and four passing touchdowns. All four touchdown passes went to different receivers in A.T. Perry, Christian Turner, Taylor Morin and Cameron Hite.

• Sam Hartman Records Watch:

• Sam Hartman has now thrown for 9,566 career passing yards, which ranks second in program history. 
  • 1. Riley Skinner (2006-09), 9,762
  • 2. Sam Hartman (2018-present), 9,566
  • 3. Tanner Price (2010-13), 8,899
  • 4. John Wolford (2014-17), 8,794
  • 5. Brian Kuklick (1994-98), 8,017
• Hartman already holds the program record with 76 career touchdown passes, which he added to with four passing scores on Saturday. With that, Hartman currently sits in a tie for eighth in ACC history in this category.
  • 1. Tajh Boyd, Clemson (2010-13) – 107
  • 2. Philip Rivers, NC State (2000-03) – 95
  • 3. Sam Howell, North Carolina (2019-21) – 92
  • 4. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (2014-16) – 90
  •     Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (2018-20) – 90
  • 6. Kenny Pickett, Pitt (2017-21) – 81
  • 7. Chris Weinke, Florida State (1997-00) – 79
  • 8. Russell Wilson, NC State (2008-10) – 76
  • 9. Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (2018-Present) – 76
• With 76 career passing touchdowns and 17 career rushing scores, Hartman’s 93 total touchdowns is tied for 10th in conference history. 
  • 1. Tajh Boyd, Clemson (2010-13) – 133
  • 2. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (2015-17) – 119
  • 3. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (2014-16) – 116
  • 4. Philip Rivers, NC State (2000-03) – 113
  • 5. Sam Howell, North Carolina (2019-21) – 111
  • 6. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (2018-20) – 108
  • 7. Kenny Pickett, Pitt (2017-21) – 102
  • 8. Malik Cunningham, Louisville (2018-Pres.) – 100
  • 9. Marquise Williams, North Carolina (2012-15) – 99
  • 10. Eric Dungey, Syracuse (2015-18) – 93
  • 10. Russell Wilson, NC State (2008-11) – 93
  • 10. Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (2018-Present) – 93

STAGGERING STATISTICS
After tallying 45 points on Saturday at Vanderbilt, Wake Forest has now scored 35-plus points six times since 2001 in non-conference Power 5 games. 

• Win at Vanderbilt, 45-25 (Sept. 10, 2022)
• Win vs. Rutgers, 38-10 (Dec. 31, 2021 in Gator Bowl)
• Loss at North Carolina, 55-58 (Nov. 6, 2021) 
• Win vs. Texas A&M, 55-52 (Dec. 29, 2017 in Belk Bowl)
• Win at Baylor, 41-13 (August 28, 2008)
• Win vs. Oregon, 38-13 (Dec. 30, 2002 in Seattle Bowl)

After scoring 44 points in Week 1 vs. VMI and 45 points in Week 2 at Vanderbilt, Wake Forest’s 89 total points ranks as the third-highest mark in program history through two games. 

• 2010: 107 Points
• 1940: 91 Points
• 2022: 89 Points
• 2017: 85 Points
• 2021: 83 Points
• 2019: 79 Points
• 2018: 74 Points

FROM COACH CLAWSON
“It was a great team win. Vanderbilt is a really improved football team; they’re further ahead than even they think they are. If you throw in the conditions and the rain, then a lot of times it becomes a game of mistakes. We had one costly turnover, but other than that, we won the turnover battle. 

“It was great to have so many Deacs here. We had well over 1,000 people who traveled. The marching band and cheerleaders brought great energy. We had a really good week of preparation. We felt really good going into the week and had a really good week of practice. We were prepared and if the ball bounced the other way, then so be it, but we felt really good going into it. It’s always hard to win on the road, so anytime you go on the road against a Power Five team, especially an SEC team, it’s a good win. 

The positives were that we won the turnover margin, we were a little better in the red zone and our defense defended the quarterback run well. Mike Wright never really got out and he’s been getting out against everybody. It was great having Sam back, he played really well, had command of the offense and obviously was a big factor of why we won. We’re 1-0 for the week and we’ll enjoy this one, then start getting ready for Liberty tomorrow.”

UP NEXT
The Deacs next return to Truist Field for Homecoming against Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. Tickets are available here for just $15 and Wake Forest recently announced that just 2,500 tickets were left.