Wake Forest overwhelms SMU 49-7 to extend winning streak and bolster playoff case

DALLAS, No. 11 Wake Forest built a 42-0 halftime advantage and cruised past No. 25 SMU 49-7 on Saturday, Nov. 14, strengthening its College Football Playoff credentials with a seventh straight victory. Quarterback Gio Lopez rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another as the Demon Deacons improved to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The defeat dropped SMU to 7-3 and 5-3 in conference play, ending its perfect ACC home record after 12 wins. The Mustangs were playing their final game at Ford Stadium in their third ACC season. Their already slim playoff prospects were left nearly extinguished after a season that began with hopes of a second appearance in three years and a Heisman Trophy campaign for hometown quarterback Kevin Jennings.

Wake Forest's only loss remains a 33-20 defeat against seventh-ranked Miami almost two months earlier. Continued victories by both teams would put them on course for another meeting in the conference championship game. The Demon Deacons stood 13th in the week's rankings for the 12-team playoff, leaving uncertainty about their prospects if they finish with two losses, both to the Hurricanes.

Ty Clark supplied the opening touchdown on a 27-yard run with Wake Forest facing third-and-18. It was the first of four touchdowns the Demon Deacons scored on third down before halftime. Jamar Searcy also broke loose for 38 yards on fourth-and-1 to set up a 1-yard touchdown. Three first-half scoring possessions covered no more than 26 yards, following a fourth-down stop, a fumble and Kyndall McCaleb's recovery at the SMU 21 after the Mustangs allowed a short kickoff to bounce.

Wake Forest finished with 535 total yards to SMU's 275 in a meeting between two of the nation's leading offenses. Clark contributed 77 yards to a 286-yard rushing performance, while Carlos Hernandez caught passes for 94 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown. Lopez passed for 201 yards before Steele Pizzella replaced him late in the third quarter. Pizzella had started the previous week's 77-0 victory over FCS opponent Merrimack while Lopez dealt with a knee injury.

Jennings ended his final home start with 209 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, bringing his record at Ford Stadium to 16-2. Late in the first half, after Wake Forest had scored its sixth touchdown, he had only 40 passing yards. SMU coach Rhett Lashlee called his team's first-half performance “very noncompetitive” and said the disappointment extended across every phase of the game.

The result continued an exceptional stretch for Wake Forest, which ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense and is the only team this season with five road wins against power conference opponents. The Demon Deacons have outscored opponents 145-0 in the first halves of their past four games. They became the first team since Alabama in 2013 to score at least 20 points and hold opponents scoreless before halftime in four consecutive games.

Coach Jake Dickert, who signed a contract extension two days before the victory, said Wake Forest keeps making statements about its quality. The rout followed last year's 13-12 home win over SMU, which ended the Mustangs' 20-game conference regular-season winning streak. Wake Forest next visits Georgia Tech, while SMU travels to fifth-ranked Notre Dame the following Saturday.