Wake Forest was waiting for this game for a year, and it was worth it for Dave Clawson’s program. Wake Forest (5-3, 2-3 ACC) ambushed Louisville (5-4, 2-4 ACC) in the first half and kept their distance in the second half of a 42-32 victory Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford passed for 461 yards and four touchdowns and added one rushing touchdown to his box score to lead the way in a showdown with the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, Lamar Jackson.
As hard as he tried, Jackson was unable to carry the Cardinals to a road win. Jackson rushed for 161 yards and passed for 330 yards and a score to lead a rally in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a rough first half. Wake Forest had two guys ripping up the Louisville defense as well, with Scotty Washington catching six passes for 133 yards and Greg Dortch tormenting the Cardinals for 167 yards and four touchdowns on 10 receptions. On the ground, Wake Forest got 134 yards out of Matt Colburn.
Wake Forest now needs just one more win to become bowl-eligible, although the remaining schedule is not an easy one. Next week, Wake Forest heads to South Bend, Indiana to play Notre Dame. After that is a road trip to Syracuse, followed by home games against NC State and Duke to close out the regular season.
For Louisville, the Cardinals get a week off before their final stretch. Louisville returns to the field on Nov. 11 at home against Virginia.