Wake Forest University
4-4 , 1-3
Louisville
2-6 , 0-5
Deacs Down Louisville Behind Career Day from Colburn
10/27/2018 3:46:00 PM | Football
Wake Forest posts 56-35 victory over the Cardinals
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
LOUISVILLE, Ky.- The Wake Forest offense erupted for a season-high 591 total yards and seven touchdowns as the Demon Deacons routed Louisville 56-35 at Cardinal Stadium on Saturday. The Deacs (4-4, 1-3 ACC) picked up their first ACC win of the season as they evened their overall record.
The 591 yards of total offense is tied for the sixth most in Wake Forest history. Of the 11 highest total offense performances in program history, six have come over the last two seasons.
Senior running back Matt Colburn II registered a career day with three touchdowns behind 243 rushing yards on 20 carries. It was the first three rushing touchdown game for a Deacon since Cade Carney completed the feat at Duke in 2016. Colburn's 12.2 yards-per-carry average is the highest in school history for a running back on at least 20 carries and sixth-best overall.
Freshman quarterback Sam Hartman threw two touchdown passes and went 16-of-24 through the air. On the ground, the Deacs posted 368 yards and five touchdowns. Greg Dortch led the receiving corps with eight carries for 135 yards. Jack Freudenthal, Scotty Washington, Carney and Hartman all also found the end zone in the win for the Deacons.
Cameron Glenn and Justin Strnad led the Deacon defense with 13 tackles, including nine solo stops each. Strnad's 13 stops and nine solo tackles are both career highs, while Glenn tied his career mark. The defense also collected two sacks and seven TFL's, paced by Willie Yarbary and Carlos Basham, Jr. with 1.5 a piece.
Louisville (2-6, 0-5 ACC) came out of the gates strong with a touchdown in its opening drive on a 52-yard rush from Trey Smith, but Wake Forest quickly answered back as Dortch made a one-handed 35-yard grab and Hartman connected with Freudenthal to cap the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to even the game at 7-7.
The Deacons kept the momentum rolling and jumped out to a 14-7 lead with an eight play, 80-yard sequence. Hartman completed a 32-yard pass to Dortch and Carney put the Deacons in the red zone with a 16-yard run. Hartman finished the drive with a 12-yard rush into the end zone, his first rushing touchdown since Towson on Sept. 8.
The offense continued to explode in the first quarter with a 63-yard drive finished off by Hartman, who spotted Washington on the goal line and made the nine-yard completion. The score was Washington's first touchdown since the 2017 Belk Bowl as the Deacons extended their lead 21-7 in the first quarter.
Wake Forest punted the ball for the first time early in the second quarter and the Cardinals took advantage. Louisville cut the deficit to 21-14 as Smith eventually found the end zone for the second time of the game from just one-yard out.
The Deacs quickly extended the lead to three touchdowns. On the first play of the next drive, Colburn sprinted for a 74-yard touchdown run, his longest rush of the season. As the Cardinals got the ball back, Basham danced into the end zone just seconds later after recovering a fumble at the Louisville 23-yard line as Wake Forest took a 35-14 lead. The Cards tacked on one more touchdown in the half, but Wake Forest remained in command with a 35-21 lead at the break.
Out of the locker room, Colburn broke away on a 56-yard touchdown run on the Deacons' opening possession in the second half. He notched his third touchdown of the day later in the quarter on a 12-yard rush, but not before Carney got in on the touchdown action with a one-yard run up the middle.
Smith continued to find the gaps for the Cardinals answering Carney's on-yard rush with a touchdown from just two-yards out, his third of the game, but the Deacons maintained a 56-35 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Despite the offensive fireworks over the first three quarters, the teams played a scoreless fourth quarter as the Demon Deacons sealed the victory.
The Deacons will return to BB&T Field on Saturday, Nov. 3, as they welcome Syracuse for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for noon.
Team Stats
WF 0, LOU 7
LOU - Smith, Trey 52 yd run (Creque, Bla. kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:21
WF 7, LOU 7
WF - Freudenthal, J 28 yd pass from Hartman, S (Sciba, N kick) 6 plays, 81 yards, TOP 1:38
WF 14, LOU 7
WF - Hartman, S 12 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:07
WF 21, LOU 7
WF - Washington, S 9 yd pass from Hartman, S (Sciba, N kick) 7 plays, 63 yards, TOP 1:47
WF 21, LOU 14
LOU - Smith, Trey 1 yd run (Creque, Bla. kick), 9 plays, 44 yards, TOP 3:35
WF 28, LOU 14
WF - Colburn, M 74 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 1 plays, 74 yards, TOP 0:16
WF 35, LOU 14
WF - Basham, C 23 yd fumble recovery (Sciba, N kick)
WF 35, LOU 21
LOU - Dawkins, Set. 19 yd pass from Pass, Jaw. (Creque, Bla. kick) 7 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:50
WF 42, LOU 21
WF - Colburn, M 56 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:11
WF 42, LOU 28
LOU - Hall, Has. 12 yd run (Creque, Bla. kick), 10 plays, 89 yards, TOP 3:59
WF 49, LOU 28
WF - Carney, C 1 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:10
WF 56, LOU 28
WF - Colburn, M 12 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 7 plays, 48 yards, TOP 2:01
WF 56, LOU 35
LOU - Smith, Trey 2 yd run (Creque, Bla. kick), 3 plays, 40 yards, TOP 1:04
