Louisville 48, Wake Forest 21
(AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
By STEVE BITTENBENDER
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fueled by an opportunistic defense, Louisville used a 35-point third quarter to knock off No. 10 Wake Forest 48-21.
The Cardinals (5-3, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) forced eight turnovers, all of which came in the second half. Louisville forced six turnovers in the third quarter as coach Scott Satterfield took his first win against a top 10 team.
Louisville needed a rally after losing a 13-0 lead they held a minute into the second quarter. A defense that's improved in recent weeks provided that spark and then some.
Kei'Trel Clark's 46-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Louisville a 20-14 lead 47 seconds into the second half. The period ended with a 90-yard pick six by Quincy Riley to provide Louisville with a 34-point lead.
According to ESPN, Wake Forest was the first team in at least 15 years to commit eight turnovers in a half.
Quarterback Sam Hartman completed 20 of 35 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown while throwing three picks for the Demon Deacons (6-2, 2-2). He was benched to start the fourth quarter.
Louisville's Tiyon Evans ran for 106 yards on 11 carries, including a 52-yard touchdown, in his first action since the Boston College game on Oct. 1.
BIG PICTURE
Wake Forest: After committing two turnovers last week in the win against Boston College, Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson was worried about committing turnovers against a rejuvenated Louisville defense. There was no way he could even imagine his team committing more in one half than they did in the entire 2020 season.
Louisville: The once-inconsistent Cardinals won their third straight game. The schedule is still very tough the rest of the way, and the Cardinals still aren't bowl eligible. However, if Satterfield is on the Louisville sidelines next season, this game will be a major reason why.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
Wake | Lou |
| Lou |
FG |
11:08 |
James Turner 29 yard field goal |
0 |
3 |
| Lou |
FG |
5:43 |
James Turner 39 yard field goal |
0 |
6 |
| Second Quarter |
Wake | Lou |
| Lou |
TD |
14:27 |
Malik Cunningham 1 yard TD run (James Turner Extra Point) |
0 |
13 |
| Wake |
TD |
11:15 |
Justice Ellison 3 yard TD run (Matthew Dennis Extra Point) |
7 |
13 |
| Wake |
TD |
5:45 |
Jahmal Banks 16 yard TD pass from Sam Hartman (Matthew Dennis Extra Point) |
14 |
13 |
| Third Quarter |
Wake | Lou |
| Lou |
TD |
14:13 |
Kei'Trel Clark 46 yard interception return for TD (James Turner Extra Point) |
14 |
20 |
| Lou |
TD |
6:04 |
Tiyon Evans 52 yard TD run (James Turner Extra Point) |
14 |
27 |
| Lou |
TD |
4:09 |
Malik Cunningham 9 yard TD run (James Turner Extra Point) |
14 |
34 |
| Lou |
TD |
3:12 |
Jaelin Carter 28 yard TD pass from Braden Smith (James Turner Extra Point) |
14 |
41 |
| Lou |
TD |
0:00 |
Quincy Riley 90 yard interception return for TD (James Turner Extra Point) |
14 |
48 |
| Fourth Quarter |
Wake | Lou |
| Wake |
TD |
0:14 |
Trey Boll 5 yard TD pass from Mitch Griffis (Matthew Dennis Extra Point) |
21 |
48 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Wake Forest |
Louisville |
| First downs |
30 |
19 |
| Rushing |
12 |
9 |
| Passing |
15 |
10 |
| Penalty |
3 |
0 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
7-15, 47% |
4-12, 33% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-4, 25% |
0-2, 0% |
| Rushes-Yards |
46-92 |
38-211 |
| Passing Yards |
308 |
199 |
| Return Yards |
94 |
236 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
26-44-4 |
18-27-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
8-54 |
1-8 |
| Punts |
4 |
3 |
| Fumbles Lost |
5-4 |
1-1 |
| Penalties - Yards |
3-15 |
8-85 |
| Wake Forest Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| S. Hartman |
20 |
35 |
269 |
1 |
3 |
| M. Griffis |
6 |
9 |
39 |
1 |
1 |
| Louisville Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| M. Cunningham |
15 |
23 |
164 |
0 |
0 |
| B. Smith |
1 |
1 |
28 |
1 |
0 |
| B. Domann |
2 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
| Wake Forest Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| W. Towns |
7 |
54 |
7.7 |
0 |
| C. Turner |
9 |
38 |
4.2 |
0 |
| J. Ellison |
8 |
22 |
2.8 |
1 |
| M. Griffis |
5 |
13 |
2.6 |
0 |
| Q. Cooley |
2 |
7 |
3.5 |
0 |
| D. Claiborne |
2 |
2 |
1.0 |
0 |
| S. Hartman |
12 |
-24 |
-2.0 |
0 |
| Louisville Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| T. Evans |
11 |
106 |
9.6 |
1 |
| J. Jordan |
9 |
45 |
5.0 |
0 |
| M. Cunningham |
9 |
38 |
4.2 |
2 |
| J. Mitchell |
3 |
16 |
5.3 |
0 |
| A. Huggins-Bruce |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
| T. Cooley |
3 |
3 |
1.0 |
0 |
| B. Domann |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| Wake Forest Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| D. Greene |
3 |
75 |
25.0 |
0 |
| K. Williams |
5 |
61 |
12.2 |
0 |
| B. Whiteheart |
4 |
52 |
13.0 |
0 |
| A. Perry |
3 |
32 |
10.7 |
0 |
| T. Morin |
2 |
24 |
12.0 |
0 |
| J. Banks |
2 |
23 |
11.5 |
1 |
| J. Hensley |
1 |
15 |
15.0 |
0 |
| N. Ragano |
2 |
10 |
5.0 |
0 |
| W. Grimes |
1 |
6 |
6.0 |
0 |
| T. Boll |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
1 |
| C. Hite |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| C. Turner |
1 |
2 |
2.0 |
0 |
| Louisville Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| T. Hudson |
6 |
77 |
12.8 |
0 |
| M. Ford |
1 |
39 |
39.0 |
0 |
| J. Carter |
2 |
37 |
18.5 |
1 |
| A. Huggins-Bruce |
4 |
24 |
6.0 |
0 |
| J. Jordan |
1 |
15 |
15.0 |
0 |
| C. Bell |
2 |
7 |
3.5 |
0 |
| T. Evans |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| T. Cooley |
1 |
-4 |
-4.0 |
0 |
| Wake Forest Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Louisville Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Q. Riley |
2 |
101 |
| K. Clark |
1 |
46 |
| M. Montgomery |
1 |
9 |
| J. Minkins |
0 |
38 |
| Wake Forest Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| I. Mora |
4 |
199 |
49.8 |
| Louisville Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| M. Vassett |
3 |
121 |
40.3 |
| Wake Forest Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Louisville Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| B. Smith |
2 |
21 |
10.5 |
| Wake Forest Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| K. Williams |
3 |
39 |
13.0 |
| W. Towns |
2 |
55 |
27.5 |
| Louisville Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Jordan |
1 |
21 |
21.0 |
| Wake Forest Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Louisville Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| J. Turner |
47 |
