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Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert's pregame comments on ESPN's College GameDay proved eerily accurate. He described his team's identity as "a style of play that nobody wants to face and a process a few can handle," and his players backed up those words with a resounding 49-7 victory over No. 25 SMU at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
The Demon Deacons dominated from the opening whistle, outgaining the Mustangs 535 to 275 and keeping SMU off the scoreboard until the 3:55 mark of the third quarter. SMU, which had been 27-4 at home under coach Rhett Lashlee, suffered its worst home defeat under his leadership and its largest margin of defeat in any venue during his tenure. The Mustangs' previous worst home loss was an eight-point setback to TCU four years ago.
SMU's troubles began immediately. On the game's first drive, running back Kendrick Raphael managed just two yards on second down after an incomplete pass. Facing third-and-8, quarterback Kevin Jennings attempted to escape the Wake Forest pass rush but was sacked for a 20-yard loss. The tone was set: there was nowhere to run or hide.
Wake Forest's offense, powered by a multi-pronged rushing attack and the return of starting quarterback Gio Lopez, scored touchdowns on six of seven first-half possessions. Meanwhile, the defense forced two turnovers and a turnover on downs in SMU territory. The Mustangs ran only 11 plays in Demon Deacons territory before halftime.
Despite a 42-0 lead at the break, Dickert remained unsatisfied. "We're not finished with them yet," he said during his halftime interview. "We came for 60 minutes, and they've got nowhere to hide." His team delivered, with backups finishing the job in mop-up duty to complete the 49-7 rout.
Key Analysis
The irony of Wake Forest's season is that a team so adept at handling opponents in the dark has largely been left in the dark by the College Football Playoff committee. Despite sporting just one loss—to an undefeated Miami team at the time—the Demon Deacons checked in at No. 16 in the committee's first rankings, behind multiple two-loss teams. A 77-0 win over FCS Merrimack, with backup quarterback Steele Pizzella making his first collegiate start, only moved Wake Forest to No. 13 in the second rankings.
Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said the committee thinks highly of Wake Forest, but their actions suggest otherwise. The committee appears unimpressed by Wake Forest's strength of schedule, which ranks 59th nationally. However, that schedule is tougher than those of UCLA (No. 4) and Utah (No. 2). The Demon Deacons rank 10th in strength of record, ahead of playoff teams Tennessee, BYU, and Boise State.
Wake Forest can only play the teams in front of them, and it has done more than just beat them—it has eviscerated them. After outscoring October opponents 187-31, the Demon Deacons have dominated two November games by a combined 126-7 margin. Through six quarters (four against Merrimack, two against SMU), Wake Forest scored 119 points and became the first team since 2013 Alabama to score at least 20 points while shutting out opponents in the first half of four straight games.
"I just think people—they don't know what to make of us because they don't know how we're doing it," Dickert said Saturday. "We keep making statement after statement; eventually they're going to have to say we're a pretty good team." Few teams are equipped to dance in the darkness with Wake Forest. It's about time the CFP committee sees the light.