Wake Forest followed one of its biggest wins in recent years with the largest ACC victory in program history.
Gio Lopez accounted for five touchdowns and the Demon Deacons scored on eight of their final nine meaningful possessions in a 57-3 rout of Stanford on Saturday at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
Wake Forest improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the ACC, one week after knocking off then-No. 16 Louisville. Stanford fell to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
This one was never particularly close.
🔑 How It Happened
Wake Forest took control immediately. Deuce Lawrence capped a 72-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run before Lopez scored from 5 yards out to make it 15-0 late in the first quarter.
Stanford’s only points came on Emmet Kenney’s 43-yard field goal early in the second quarter. From there, Wake scored 42 unanswered points.
Lopez added a 12-yard touchdown run and threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Jack Foley before halftime, sending Wake to the locker room with a 29-3 lead. He added another rushing touchdown and a touchdown pass to Will Loerzel in the third quarter before turning things over to the reserves.
Steele Pizzella and Jamar Searcy added fourth-quarter touchdown runs to complete the rout.
📊 Names and Numbers That Matter
Gio Lopez (Wake Forest): 20-of-27 for 265 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also led Wake with 88 rushing yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns, giving him five total scores.
Carlos Hernandez: (Wake Forest) Seven catches for 87 yards, following his 194-yard performance against Louisville last week.
519-197: Wake more than doubled Stanford in total offense. Both teams ran exactly 67 plays, making the disparity even more striking — Wake averaged 7.7 yards per play to Stanford’s 2.9.
49 rushing yards: That’s all Stanford managed on 34 attempts — 1.4 yards per carry. Wake finished with 197 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
10-of-13: Wake converted 77% of its third downs. Stanford finished 6-of-17 and failed on all three fourth-down attempts.
8-for-8: Wake reached the red zone eight times and scored eight touchdowns. Few teams are playing as well as Wake Forest right now.
⏭️ What’s Next
Wake Forest heads to Raleigh next Saturday for an ACC matchup with NC State. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on The CW.
Stanford will battle one of the nation’s top teams, traveling to unbeaten Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish topped UNC 37-26 on Saturday.
