Wake Forest University
Louisville
Late Rally Lifts No. 6 Louisville Over Deacs
11/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
| Final Stats (PDF)
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Wake Forest's upset bid of sixth-ranked Louisville came up short as the Cardinals rallied for a 44-12 victory Saturday night at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The Demon Deacons (6-4, 3-3 ACC) held the lead for most of the evening and as late as 11 minutes to play, but the Cardinals (9-1, 7-1 ACC) scored 34 points in the final quarter to post the come-from-behind win.
The Demon Deacon defense forced three early turnovers to build a 12-point lead in the first half before the Cardinals took control of the game late with 44 unanswered points.
Jessie Bates III had a career-high 13 tackles, including eight solo stops and one forced fumble, to lead the Wake Forest defense that held the high-powered Cardinal offense out of the end zone until the second half. Cade Carney had 50 yards rushing to lead the Wake Forest offense and all 12 Demon Deacon points were scored by Mike Weaver, who connected on all four of his field goal attempts.
The Deacons took an early 3-0 lead after forcing a turnover on the opening play from scrimmage. Brad Watson stripped Jaylen Smith after he made a catch and Wendell Dunn recovered the fumble. That set-up a 37-yard field goal from Weaver to open the scoring. Wake Forest doubled the lead later in the quarter. After forcing a three-and-out, the Deacs drove into field goal range to set-up a 45-yard field goal from Weaver, making the score 6-0. Wake Forest held that advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Louisville drove the ball into the Deacon territory for the first time of the night, but another fumble, this one recovered by Josh Okonye, gave the ball back to Wake Forest. The Deacs took the ensuing drive the down the field to set up Weaver's third field goal of the night, a 33-yarder to extend the lead to 9-0.
Wake Forest forced its third fumble of the night on the next Cardinal drive as Bates stripped Lamar Jackson at the end of a long run and Amari Henderson fell on the ball. The Deacons turned that turnover into Weaver's fourth field goal of the half, a 38-yard make, to extend the lead to 12-0. Louisville's final drive of the half got into the red zone, but the Deacon defense held the Cardinals to a field goal as the teams went to intermission with Wake leading 12-3.
Midway through the third quarter, Louisville scored the first touchdown of the evening as Brandon Radcliff scored on a 55-yard run to cut the Deacon lead to 12-10. The Cardinals had a chance to take their first lead later in the quarter, but a missed field goal after a long Jackson run kept the Deacs ahead as the game moved into the fourth quarter.
Radcliff's second touchdown run of the night, early in the fourth quarter, gave the Cardinals their first lead, but their two-point conversion failed, keeping the score at 16-12. Following a blocked punt by the Cardinals, Radcliff's third touchdown run of the game made the score 23-12. Jackson extended the lead to 30-12 with a touchdown pass to Cole Hikutini. On the ensuing possession, Kyle Kearns took over at quarterback for the Demon Deacons but threw an interception to Ronald Walker, who returned it 31 yards for a Louisville touchdown. In the final minute, Louisville scored their final touchdown on a Malik Williams run to make the final margin 44-12.
With the Loss
- Wake Forest falls to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the ACC
- Dave Clawson's record falls to 12-22 in his third year at Wake Forest and 102-102 in his 17th year overall.
- Wake Forest has lost 16 straight games to ranked opponents, 12 straight to ranked teams on the road and 56 straight to Top 10 opponents.
Demon Deacon Notes
- Mike Weaver made four field goals, the first time Wake Forest had a player kick four field goals since Sam Swank at Florida State in 2008.
- Weaver's four field goals were one shy of the school record of five in a game.
- Wake Forest scored first in a game for just the second time this season.
- Wake Forest held the lead at half over a Top 10 team for the first time since leading No. 7 Miami 14-10 at Miami in 2013.
- TE Cam Serigne had a reception in his 33rd consecutive game.
- With four field goals, Mike Weaver moved into third place in school history in career field goals made with 43. He surpassed Jimmy Newman (2009-12) who had 42.
- All four games in the Wake Forest-Louisville series have been 1-score games in the fourth quarter.
