Saturday, November 24
Durham, N.C.
12:30 PM
Wake Forest University
6-6 , 3-5
59
at
7
Duke
7-5 , 3-5
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Wake Forest
21
10
14
14
59
Duke
0
7
0
0
7
Deacs Trounce Duke 59-7 to Become Bowl Eligible
11/24/2018 4:09:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Wake Forest clinched bowl eligibility with an emphatic 59-7 victory over Duke Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Demon Deacons (6-6, 3-5 ACC) posted their most-lopsided victory of the ACC era and the largest overall since 1945. The loss was the Blue Devils' (7-5, 3-5) most lopsided defeat since 1990. With the victory, Wake Forest clinched bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season.
The Deacs scored 59 points, their seventh 50-point game of the past two seasons, while accumulating 517 yards of total offense. Jamie Newman threw for 177 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers, while Cade Carney set career highs of 31 carries and 223 yards rushing.
Greg Dortch had 10 catches for 124 yards, becoming the fifth Wake Forest receiver to have a 1,000 yard season. His 1,078 yards on the season rank second in school history, behind Chris Givens' school-record 1,330 yard campaign in 2011.
The Wake Forest defense forced a season-high four turnovers while holding Duke to seven points and 251 yards of total offense, both seasonlows for Deacon opponents.
The Deacs received the opening kickoff and marched down the field 74 yards in nine plays to open the scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run by Carney. Midway through the opening quarter, Wake Forest took over at the Duke 17-yard line after Demetrius Kemp forced a fumble which was recovered by Willie Yarbary. Three plays later, Newman connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Greg Dortch to double the lead at 14-0. Late in the quarter, the Deacs pushed the lead to 21-0 as Washington caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Newman.
Duke opened the second quarter by getting on the scoreboard with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Deon Jackson, cutting the lead to 21-7. The Wake Forest lead returned to three scores later in the quarter as Nasir Greer returned his first career interception 20 yards for the pick-six, Wake's fourth defensive touchdown of the season. On the final play of the first half, Nick Sciba connected on a 20-yard field goal to give the Deacs a 31-7 lead at the break.
On the Deacs' first drive of the second half, a 9-play, 70-yard drive was capped by a 6-yard pass from Newman to Alex Bachman to push the lead to 38-7. Late in the third quarter, Newman threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day, connecting with Sage Surratt on a 9-yard score to make the score 45-7.
In the fourth quarter, Mike Allen recovered a fumbled pitch play by Duke to set up a short field and leading to Carney's second touchdown run of the day. His 12-yard rush made the score 52-7. After another fumble recovery by the Deacs, this one by Jake Simpson, Kendall Hinton checked in at quarterback for the first time in six games. Hinton led Wake Forest on its final scoring drive of the day, capped by his 11-yard run.
The 52-point margin of victory was the largest for Wake Forest since a 53-0 win over Presbyterian in 1945. The was the largest margin of victory on the road since a 65-0 win at Camp Davis to open the 1941 season.
With the victory, Dave Clawson became Wake Forest's winningest coach through his first five years. Clawson has led the Deacs to 27 wins during his tenure, one more than Peahead Walker (1937-41) and Jim Grobe (2001-05), each with 26 wins in their first five seasons
Wake Forest will await a bowl announcement, expected on Dec. 2.
The Deacs scored 59 points, their seventh 50-point game of the past two seasons, while accumulating 517 yards of total offense. Jamie Newman threw for 177 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers, while Cade Carney set career highs of 31 carries and 223 yards rushing.
Greg Dortch had 10 catches for 124 yards, becoming the fifth Wake Forest receiver to have a 1,000 yard season. His 1,078 yards on the season rank second in school history, behind Chris Givens' school-record 1,330 yard campaign in 2011.
The Wake Forest defense forced a season-high four turnovers while holding Duke to seven points and 251 yards of total offense, both seasonlows for Deacon opponents.
The Deacs received the opening kickoff and marched down the field 74 yards in nine plays to open the scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run by Carney. Midway through the opening quarter, Wake Forest took over at the Duke 17-yard line after Demetrius Kemp forced a fumble which was recovered by Willie Yarbary. Three plays later, Newman connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Greg Dortch to double the lead at 14-0. Late in the quarter, the Deacs pushed the lead to 21-0 as Washington caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Newman.
Duke opened the second quarter by getting on the scoreboard with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Deon Jackson, cutting the lead to 21-7. The Wake Forest lead returned to three scores later in the quarter as Nasir Greer returned his first career interception 20 yards for the pick-six, Wake's fourth defensive touchdown of the season. On the final play of the first half, Nick Sciba connected on a 20-yard field goal to give the Deacs a 31-7 lead at the break.
On the Deacs' first drive of the second half, a 9-play, 70-yard drive was capped by a 6-yard pass from Newman to Alex Bachman to push the lead to 38-7. Late in the third quarter, Newman threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day, connecting with Sage Surratt on a 9-yard score to make the score 45-7.
In the fourth quarter, Mike Allen recovered a fumbled pitch play by Duke to set up a short field and leading to Carney's second touchdown run of the day. His 12-yard rush made the score 52-7. After another fumble recovery by the Deacs, this one by Jake Simpson, Kendall Hinton checked in at quarterback for the first time in six games. Hinton led Wake Forest on its final scoring drive of the day, capped by his 11-yard run.
The 52-point margin of victory was the largest for Wake Forest since a 53-0 win over Presbyterian in 1945. The was the largest margin of victory on the road since a 65-0 win at Camp Davis to open the 1941 season.
With the victory, Dave Clawson became Wake Forest's winningest coach through his first five years. Clawson has led the Deacs to 27 wins during his tenure, one more than Peahead Walker (1937-41) and Jim Grobe (2001-05), each with 26 wins in their first five seasons
Wake Forest will await a bowl announcement, expected on Dec. 2.
Team Stats
WF
DU
Total Yards
517
251
Pass Yards
177
145
Rushing Yards
340
106
Penalty Yards
30
25
1st Downs
29
16
3rd Downs
12
6
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
37:21
22:39
1st Quarter
WF 7, DU 0
WF - Carney, C 5 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 9 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:49
WF 14, DU 0
WF - Dortch, G 15 yd pass from Newman, J (Sciba, N kick) 3 plays, 17 yards, TOP 0:58
WF 21, DU 0
WF - Washington, S 9 yd pass from Newman, J (Sciba, N kick) 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:53
2nd Quarter
WF 21, DU 7
DU - Jackson, D 6 yd pass from Jones, D (Wareham, C kick) 14 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:35
WF 28, DU 7
WF - Greer, N 20 yd interception (Sciba, N kick)
WF 31, DU 7
WF - Sciba, N 20 yd field goal 11 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:10
3rd Quarter
WF 38, DU 7
WF - Bachman, A 6 yd pass from Newman, J (Sciba, N kick) 9 plays, 70 yards, TOP 3:48
WF 45, DU 7
WF - Surratt, S 9 yd pass from Newman, J (Sciba, N kick) 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:28
4th Quarter
WF 52, DU 7
WF - Carney, C 12 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 3 plays, 33 yards, TOP 1:35
WF 59, DU 7
WF - Hinton, K 11 yd run (Murphy, Z kick), 6 plays, 45 yards, TOP 3:56
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
18
TD
4
YDS
177
INT
0
Players Mentioned
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
PK
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ FootballCoach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Sept. 22, 2025)
Monday, September 22
Wake Forest Football Head Coach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Week 5)
Monday, September 22
Football Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
QB Robbie Ashford takes it himself for the score
Thursday, September 11