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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Wake Forest is one of the hottest teams college football right now, putting together an impressive five-game winning streak to improve to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in ACC play. The Demon Deacons first edged out then-No. 16 Louisville 30-27 on the road on Sept. 26 before blowing Stanford 57-3 at home, NC State (38-14) and Cal (41-7) both on the road, and then knocking off Virginia 51-7 last weekend.
Their only loss this season came against an undefeated Miami Hurricanes team that currently sits atop the College Football Playoff rankings. With four regular-season games left, the Demon Deacons have a legitimate chance to strengthen their own CFP resume and potentially compete for an ACC championship.
However, Wake Forest could be without its starting quarterback for Saturday's home matchup against Merrimack. Lopez suffered a lower-body injury during last weekend's rout of Virginia, forcing him to leave the game late in the third quarter. He was described as day-to-day earlier in the week, but ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Saturday morning that the team will start Steele Pizzella against Merrimack instead, holding Lopez out as a precaution, and that he should be back against SMU next week.
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Lopez is a redshirt junior quarterback who transferred to Wake Forest from North Carolina ahead of the 2026 season. He previously played at South Alabama before spending one season with the Tar Heels. He's been one of the ACC's top quarterbacks this season, throwing for 2,176 yards and 18 touchdowns with just one interception through eight games, along with 317 rushing yards and six rushing scores, giving him 24 total touchdowns and just one turnover.
Losing that level of production is significant for a team like Wake Forest, which has relied on their explosive offense all season and needs to keep stacking wins to keep their CFP hopes alive. Pizzella, a redshirt freshman, has yet to start a game at the college level, so Saturday against Merrimack will be a big opportunity for him.
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The ACC's top two teams will meet in the conference championship game on Dec. 5, with the winner receiving an automatic playoff berth. Wake currently sits behind Miami for second place in the conference, but SMU is right behind them at 7-2. The Demon Deacons will face the Mustangs next weekend in Dallas, a game that's setting up to be massive for both sides. After that, Wake Forest will go on the road to face Georgia Tech and then close things out back home against Duke.
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