What a win for Wake Forest! After a roller coaster in the final minute of the game, the Deacs came out on top and handed SMU their first ever ACC regular season loss. The hero of the game was Connor Calvert,
who made a career long 50-yard field goal as time expired to move Wake to 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in the ACC.
This one was a defensive rock fight, which is a polite way of saying how bad the 2 offenses looked in the game. Between the two teams, Wake and SMU combined for just 25 points, 547 total yards, and 8 turnovers. At the end of the first quarter, Wake had -1 yard and 3 points, while the Mustangs had a whopping 32 yards. That was nothing compared to how the first half ended, as both teams refused to stop turning the ball over.
I cannot think of a better illustration for how bad the 2 offenses were in this game than 4 combined turnovers in the span of 40 seconds. It was truly an ugly, ugly game.
Thankfully, the Wake Forest defense once again kept the Deacs in the game, holding SMU to 246 total yards and just 8 first downs. The defense also more or less handed the offense 10 of their 13 points, giving Wake the ball at the SMU 20 yard line off a bad a punt and the SMU 14 yard line after Jayden Loving forced a fumble from SMU QB Kevin Jennings. That fumble led to Wake’s only touchdown of the game, a 12-yard pass from Robby Ashford to Eni Falayi.
Despite going into the half with the lead and holding SMU to 80 total yards and 2 first downs in the entire 2nd half, the Deacs were incredibly lucky to win this game. Twice, Wake had a chance to score a touchdown in the 4th quarter to retake the lead, and twice Wake fumbled the ball inside the 10 yard line.
With under 2 minutes remaining in the game, the Deacs trailed 12-10 and had the ball at the SMU 6 yard line. All Wake really had to do to win the game was kneel a three times and kick a chip shot field goal—the Deacs chose to do it the hard way instead. Demond Claiborne fumbled the ball on first down, and SMU recovered, seemingly ending Wake’s chances of winning the game.
Once again, the Wake Forest defense bailed out the offense, forcing an SMU 3-and-out that took 1:40 off of the clock. That gave the Deacs got the ball back with 12 seconds left on their own 42 yard line. That was just enough time for Deshawn Purdie to find Kamrean Johnson with a 25-yard pass to set up the game winning field goal. You could not ask for a more exciting ending to the homecoming game.
You won’t see many teams win with just 13 points and 5 turnovers, but the Deacs were somehow able to pull it off today. I cannot say enough about the amazing job the defense did in this game, keeping Wake within striking distance despite all the muffed punts, fumbles, and just overall horrendous offense. Wake’s difficulties on offense, especially when Claiborne doesn’t have a big game, are well documented at this point, but as long as the defense continues their elite play, Wake has a solid shot at winning any game remaining on the schedule. The Deacs only need to win 1 more game to become bowl eligible, but at this point, that goal almost seems too small.
Go Deacs!
