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By Bryan Colbert Jr.
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Wake Forest has spent three games piling up points. On Saturday, the Demon Deacons delivered their latest statement against a team that had never lost an ACC home game.
Wake Forest overwhelmed SMU 49-7 in Dallas, extending its winning streak to seven games and improving to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play. The Demon Deacons entered the weekend ranked No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings and left with another convincing result for the selection committee to consider.
The victory pushed Wake Forest’s scoring total over its last three games to 177 points, an average of 59 per contest. That stretch includes a 51-7 win over Virginia, a 77-0 victory against Merrimack and Saturday’s rout of the Mustangs. Those opponents combined for just 14 points.
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Winning this decisively at SMU added a different kind of evidence to Wake Forest’s postseason argument.
The Mustangs entered Saturday 12-0 at home in ACC games. By halftime, they trailed 42-0. Wake Forest scored four touchdowns in the second quarter alone, turning a significant conference matchup into a runaway before the teams reached their locker rooms.
Head coach Jake Dickert still wanted his team to finish.
“We’re not finished with them yet. We came for 60 minutes and they’ve got nowhere to hide,” Dickert said at halftime.
Quarterback Gio Lopez threw for 201 yards and a touchdown while scoring twice on the ground. His 44-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Hernandez helped fuel the second-quarter surge. Hernandez finished with 94 receiving yards.
Wake Forest’s running game supplied six touchdowns and 286 yards. Ty Clark III led the team with 77 rushing yards, including the opening 27-yard touchdown. Jamar Searcy, Deuce Lawrence and backup quarterback Steele Pizzella also scored rushing touchdowns.
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The defense made the afternoon equally difficult for SMU. Wake Forest limited the Mustangs to 275 total yards, including just 66 rushing yards, while producing 535 yards of its own.
SMU’s only touchdown came in the third quarter, with the outcome already firmly in Wake Forest’s control.
The Demon Deacons visit Georgia Tech next, carrying a winning streak that began after their September loss to Miami. Their playoff position remains unsettled, but their recent results have given the committee considerably more to evaluate.
Scoring 177 points in three games gets attention. Building a six-touchdown halftime lead against an undefeated ACC home team gives that attention substance.
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