A Top 25 team from the ACC took a tumble on Saturday afternoon, and now it already has 2 losses before September ends.
That team is No. 16 Louisville, which had already lost that season-opening thriller in Nashville against Ole Miss. Well, add a 30-27 home heartbreaker to Wake Forest to the list, as the unranked Demon Deacons came into Louisville and punched the Cardinals in the mouth in Week 4.
It’s already been a roller-coaster of a season for Louisville, which just last week on its same home field knocked off No. 16 SMU, with the victory catapulting the Cardinals into that same No. 16 spot in the AP Poll. Now, atter Saturday’s stunner, it’s very likely that Louisville will fall out of the new AP Poll.
The Cardinals are 2-2 overall now and 1-1 in the ACC, while Wake Forest evened its ACC mark at 1-1 while improved to 3-1 overall.
Connor Calvert was Wake’s best weapon on Saturday, kicking 3 field goals, including a 32-yarder with 6:20 left that proved to be the deciding points of the game.
Gio Lopez was solid for the Demon Deacons with 225 yards passing and a touchdown without an interception, and his top target on Saturday was Carlos Hernandez, who caught 9 passes for 194 yards and 1 touchdown. Hernandez’s total yards receiving were just 3 yards off his career best, as Louisville just couldn’t contain the senior wideout.
The Cardinals also couldn’t slow down Ty Clark III, who had 21 carries for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest football’s social media account celebrated the Demon Deacons’ big road victory by calling out Louisville and its ranking in this post:
Louisville played without 2 of its starting defensive backs, and it showed as Lopez and Herandez were able to take advantage through the air.
Cardinals quarterback Lincoln Kienholz went 27 of 36 for 324 yards with 1 touchdown, but he threw his first interception of the season, and Louisville was shut out in the 4th quarter on its home field. Kienholz also ran for 2 touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough, yet again, for the Cardinals to avoid that dreaded 2nd loss before the end of September.
With Louisville having 2 losses now, the Cardinals’ path to the College Football Playoff just got that much more daunting. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the top teams’ chances to be among the field of 12 when it is announced in December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
