Saturday, December 4
Charlotte, N.C.
8 PM
Wake Forest University
10-3 , 7-2
21
vs
45
Pittsburgh
11-2 , 8-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Pittsburgh
14
10
7
14
45
Wake Forest
21
0
0
0
21
Photo by: Andy Mead
Wake Forest Falls to Pittsburgh in ACC Championship; Deacons Await Bowl Announcement on Sunday
12/5/2021 12:53:00 AM | Football
Deacon Nation brought incredible energy to Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night in Wake Forest’s first ACC Championship Game appearance since 2006.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Wake Forest's 2021 season will be remembered following a 10-win regular season and an Atlantic Division Championship. The Demon Deacons' (10-3, 7-1 ACC) bid to bring home the ACC Championship fell short on Saturday, Dec. 4 as Pitt (11-2, 7-1 ACC) defeated Wake Forest, 45-21.
It was an exciting week for the Wake Forest program since claiming its second division crown at Boston College last Saturday, as All-ACC left tackle Zach Tom was announced as the league's 2021 Jim Tatum Award recipient and head coach Dave Clawson earned the league's Coach of the Year honor. Additionally, a program record 15 players were named to the league's All-ACC team.
Despite the loss on Saturday in the ACC Championship to Pitt, Wake Forest's 10-3 record this season marks the second time in program history that it has won double-digit games. With that, Coach Clawson is the only active Power 5 head coach in the country to win double-digit games in a single season at four different Division I institutions.
The Deacs earned their 10 victories against a difficult schedule that featured nine bowl-eligible programs. Wake Forest was the first school in the ACC to become bowl eligible with a perfect mark of 6-0 and the Deacs 8-0 start to the season was the best in school history in addition to having the longest winning streak in school history.
Deacon Nation will learn on Sunday afternoon where the Demon Deacons are headed for their program-record sixth-straight bowl game. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com for more information on Dec. 5.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Taylor Morin's 146 total yards in the game marks a career-best for the redshirt freshman.
He finished the night with four catches for a team-high 83 receiving yards (20.8) and a touchdown. This marks the third time this season Morin has averaged better than 20 yards per catch and the second time this season he has led the Deacs in receiving yards.
Morin also added two kick returns for 62 yards with both returns being 30-plus yards.
STAGGERING STATISTIC
After reeling in a five-yard touchdown reception for Wake Forest's first score of the game on Saturday, A.T. Perry has 14 touchdown catches this season and Jaquarii Roberson has eight.
Perry and Roberson have the chance to be the first pair of Wake Forest teammates to each catch double-digit touchdowns in a single season in program history. Additionally, they have the chance to be the first wide receiver duo in Atlantic Coast Conference history to accomplish the feat.
Additionally, Perry and Roberson and the eighth and ninth Demon Deacon wide receivers to go over the 1,000-yard mark in single-season receiving yards. They are the second pair of Wake Forest receivers to accomplish this feat in the same season (2019: Sage Surratt, Kendall Hinton).
Wake Forest is believed to be the only school in Atlantic Coast Conference history to accomplish this feat twice. With that, Wake Forest is the only program in the conference to accomplish this benchmark twice since at least 1996.
"Congratulations to Pitt and Coach (Pat) Narduzzi. They played better than us tonight. They outplayed us. They did a great job, defensively. They found ways to make plays on offense and in the kicking game. We got outplayed and they certainly deserve to be the ACC Champions. I'm certainly proud of our team. We're disappointed we didn't win the game tonight. After the first quarter, we didn't really execute very well on offense. We had too many turnovers. We didn't tackle as well as we needed to on defense. When you play a good football team, they're responsible for that.
I really, really want to thank all of our fans, all the people we had from Deacon Nation here tonight. It was awesome. All the students that came down – we had over 20 buses. It was just a great scene for us and our football team. We are so grateful for the support we've gotten all year from our fans, our students and faculty members. It's really been a special season. We're disappointed we didn't win the game, but that doesn't take away from the season we had. We had a great season. We're the Atlantic Division champions and we have a chance to go get a bowl championship. We have one trophy and we have a chance to go get a second. We need to rest up, heal up and psychologically recover from this one. Our guys will bounce back. We're excited to go to a great bowl, wherever that may be, and get win number 11."
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will await the bowl announcement on Sunday to see where it is headed for a program-record sixth-straight bowl appearance. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com for more information on Dec. 5.
Atlantic Coast Conference Bowl Ties:
Below are all the game times and networks for bowls with an ACC tie-in and any secondary league bowl games.
It was an exciting week for the Wake Forest program since claiming its second division crown at Boston College last Saturday, as All-ACC left tackle Zach Tom was announced as the league's 2021 Jim Tatum Award recipient and head coach Dave Clawson earned the league's Coach of the Year honor. Additionally, a program record 15 players were named to the league's All-ACC team.
Despite the loss on Saturday in the ACC Championship to Pitt, Wake Forest's 10-3 record this season marks the second time in program history that it has won double-digit games. With that, Coach Clawson is the only active Power 5 head coach in the country to win double-digit games in a single season at four different Division I institutions.
The Deacs earned their 10 victories against a difficult schedule that featured nine bowl-eligible programs. Wake Forest was the first school in the ACC to become bowl eligible with a perfect mark of 6-0 and the Deacs 8-0 start to the season was the best in school history in addition to having the longest winning streak in school history.
Deacon Nation will learn on Sunday afternoon where the Demon Deacons are headed for their program-record sixth-straight bowl game. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com for more information on Dec. 5.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wake Forest tied the game at seven with 10:48 left in the first quarter as Sam Hartman connected with A.T. Perry on a five-yard touchdown.
- Pitt jumped out to a 7-0 lead after a long touchdown rush 1:18 into the game.
- Undaunted, Wake Forest embarked on a 9-play, 65-yard drive that lasted 2:54 minutes.
- On 3rd and 8, Hartman scrambled for 11 yards to extend the drive. The next play, Hartman completed a pass to Christian Beal-Smith for an 13 yards to move the ball to Pittsburgh's 24-yard line.
- The Panthers took a one-touchdown lead (14-7) following a 22-yard pass with 9:37 left in the first.
- The Demon Deacons responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game (7-7) with six minutes remaining in the first as Hartman scampered for an 11-yard touchdown rush, his 11th of the season.
- On 2nd and 8, Pittsburgh was charged with pass interference as Hartman tried to find Perry deep down the field as Wake Forest moved into Pittsburgh territory.
- Three plays later, Hartman found Perry for an 11-yard pitch and catch on 3rd and 10 to move the ball to the Panthers' own 35.
- Wake Forest took their first lead of the game (21-14) as Hartman found Taylor Morin on a 26-yard touchdown pass with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
- The Demon Deacons regained possession of the ball after Pittsburgh pushed a 49-yard field goal attempt wide left.
- Pittsburgh punted for the first time of the game on their ensuing drive as the Demon Deacon took over at their own 41-yard line.
- Luiji Vilain notched a sack for a loss of 12 yards to force fourth down. On the previous play, the Panthers fumbled the snap on 2nd and 3 to set up a third and long situation.
- The Panthers took over at Wake Forest's 25-yard line after the Panther defense picked off Hartman. The Demon Deacon defense held the Pittsburgh offense out of the end zone for the third-straight drive.
- DJ Taylor made a stop for no gain on 3rd and 1, followed by stifling passing defense forced an incompletion on 4th and 1 to give the ball back to the Deacs.
- Pitt tied the game at 21 with a four-yard touchdown pass with 8:21 left in the first half.
- At the end of the first half, the Panthers held a 24-21 advantage after connecting on a 41-yard field goal.
- After 14 minutes and 13 seconds of scoreless action to open the second half, Pitt extended their lead to 31-21 with a 12-yard touchdown rush with 47 seconds remaining in the third.
- Both teams punted on their first trio of possessions of the half.
- On the Demon Deacons' fourth drive of the half, Pitt's defense picked off Hartman to regain possession of Wake Forest's 45-yard line.
- Defensively, Wake Forest forced Pitt's offense to convert on just one of their four third down opportunities in the third period.
- The Panthers extended their lead to 38-21 with a one-yard rushing touchdown three minutes and three seconds into the fourth quarter.
- Pitt tallied the game's final touchdown with a 19-yard interception return for a touchdown with 11:42 left in the game to clinch a 45-21 victory.
Taylor Morin's 146 total yards in the game marks a career-best for the redshirt freshman.
He finished the night with four catches for a team-high 83 receiving yards (20.8) and a touchdown. This marks the third time this season Morin has averaged better than 20 yards per catch and the second time this season he has led the Deacs in receiving yards.
Morin also added two kick returns for 62 yards with both returns being 30-plus yards.
STAGGERING STATISTIC
After reeling in a five-yard touchdown reception for Wake Forest's first score of the game on Saturday, A.T. Perry has 14 touchdown catches this season and Jaquarii Roberson has eight.
Perry and Roberson have the chance to be the first pair of Wake Forest teammates to each catch double-digit touchdowns in a single season in program history. Additionally, they have the chance to be the first wide receiver duo in Atlantic Coast Conference history to accomplish the feat.
Additionally, Perry and Roberson and the eighth and ninth Demon Deacon wide receivers to go over the 1,000-yard mark in single-season receiving yards. They are the second pair of Wake Forest receivers to accomplish this feat in the same season (2019: Sage Surratt, Kendall Hinton).
Wake Forest is believed to be the only school in Atlantic Coast Conference history to accomplish this feat twice. With that, Wake Forest is the only program in the conference to accomplish this benchmark twice since at least 1996.
- Wake Forest Single Season 1,000 Yard Receivers
- 1. Chris Givens (2011) -- 1,330
- 2. A.T. Perry (2021) -- 1,166
- T3. Jaquarii Roberson (2021) -- 1,078
- T3. Greg Dortch (2018) -- 1.078
- 5. Ricky Proehl (1989) -- 1,053
- 6. Kenneth Moore (2007) -- 1,011
- T7. Sage Surratt (2019) -- 1,001
- T7. Kendall Hinton (2019) -- 1,001
- 9. Wayne Baumgardner (1979) -- 1,000
"Congratulations to Pitt and Coach (Pat) Narduzzi. They played better than us tonight. They outplayed us. They did a great job, defensively. They found ways to make plays on offense and in the kicking game. We got outplayed and they certainly deserve to be the ACC Champions. I'm certainly proud of our team. We're disappointed we didn't win the game tonight. After the first quarter, we didn't really execute very well on offense. We had too many turnovers. We didn't tackle as well as we needed to on defense. When you play a good football team, they're responsible for that.
I really, really want to thank all of our fans, all the people we had from Deacon Nation here tonight. It was awesome. All the students that came down – we had over 20 buses. It was just a great scene for us and our football team. We are so grateful for the support we've gotten all year from our fans, our students and faculty members. It's really been a special season. We're disappointed we didn't win the game, but that doesn't take away from the season we had. We had a great season. We're the Atlantic Division champions and we have a chance to go get a bowl championship. We have one trophy and we have a chance to go get a second. We need to rest up, heal up and psychologically recover from this one. Our guys will bounce back. We're excited to go to a great bowl, wherever that may be, and get win number 11."
UP NEXT
Wake Forest will await the bowl announcement on Sunday to see where it is headed for a program-record sixth-straight bowl appearance. Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com for more information on Dec. 5.
Atlantic Coast Conference Bowl Ties:
Below are all the game times and networks for bowls with an ACC tie-in and any secondary league bowl games.
| Bowl Game | Game Date | Game Time (ET) | Network |
| Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, FL) | Thursday, December 23, 2021 | 7pm | ESPN |
| Military Bowl Presented by Peraton (Annapolis, MD) | Monday, December 27, 2021 | 2:30pm | ESPN |
| TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, AL) | Tuesday, December 28, 2021 | Noon | ESPN |
| SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Dallas, TX) | Tuesday, December 28, 2021 | 3:15pm | ESPN |
| San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA) | Tuesday, December 28, 2021 | 8pm | FOX |
| Fenway Bowl (Boston, MA) | Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021 | 11am | ESPN |
| New Era Pinstripe Bowl (New York, NY) | Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021 | 2:15pm | ESPN |
| Cheez-It Bowl (Orlando, FL) | Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021 | 5:45pm | ESPN |
| Duke's Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC) | Thursday, December 30, 2021 | 11:30am | ESPN |
| Taxslayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) | Friday, December 31, 2021 | 11am | ESPN |
| Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) | Friday, December 31, 2021 | 12:30pm | CBS |
| CFP Semifinals: Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami, FL) &/Or Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, TX) | Friday December 31, 2021 | 3:30pm or 7:30pm | ESPN |
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA) | Thursday, December 30, 2021 | 7pm | ESPN |
| Playstation Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ) | Saturday, January 1, 2022 | 1pm | ESPN |
Team Stats
PIT
WFU
Total Yards
385
295
Pass Yards
273
213
Rushing Yards
112
82
Penalty Yards
70
70
1st Downs
22
24
3rd Downs
4
7
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
31:13
28:06
1st Quarter
PIT 7, WFU 0
PIT - Pickett,Kenny 58 yd run (Scarton,Sam kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:18
PIT 7, WFU 7
WFU - Perry,A.T. 5 yd pass from Hartman,Sam (Sciba,Nick kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:54
PIT 14, WFU 7
PIT - Hammond Jr.,Rodney 22 yd pass from Pickett,Kenny (Scarton,Sam kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:11
PIT 14, WFU 14
WFU - Hartman,Sam 11 yd run (Sciba,Nick kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:06
PIT 14, WFU 21
WFU - Morin,Taylor 26 yd pass from Hartman,Sam (Sciba,Nick kick) 4 plays, 69 yards, TOP 01:09
2nd Quarter
PIT 21, WFU 21
PIT - Wayne,Jared 4 yd pass from Pickett,Kenny (Scarton,Sam kick) 5 plays, 32 yards, TOP 01:21
PIT 24, WFU 21
PIT - Scarton,Sam 41 yd field goal 5 plays, 57 yards, TOP 00:55
3rd Quarter
PIT 31, WFU 21
PIT - Abanikanda,Israel 12 yd run (Scarton,Sam kick), 4 plays, 45 yards, TOP 01:20
4th Quarter
PIT 38, WFU 21
PIT - Abanikanda,Israel 1 yd run (Scarton,Sam kick), 3 plays, 3 yards, TOP 01:29
PIT 45, WFU 21
PIT - Hallett,Erick 19 yd interception (Scarton,Sam kick)
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
21
TD
2
YDS
213
INT
4
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ FootballFootball Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
QB Robbie Ashford takes it himself for the score
Thursday, September 11
Chris Barnes scores the TD on the game's first kick
Thursday, September 11
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10