WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 17 Wake Forest seeks its first 6-0 start since 1944 when it jumps back into action following a bye week by hosting Louisville for an ACC matchup on Saturday. The Demon Deacons have been off since a 27-24 win at Boston College on Sept. 28 that gave them a 5-0 start for the first time since 2006 and a seven-game winning streak dating to last season, tied for the school record.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Wake Forest -6.5
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Junior quarterback Jamie Newman threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 102 more to lead the Demon Deacons in the latest victory. Newman leads the ACC with 304.2 yards passing per game while sitting second with 14 TDs through the air, and the team is now 8-1 with him starting under center. The Cardinals also topped Boston College their last time out for the program's first ACC win since Nov. 18, 2017. They are beginning a gauntlet that will see them host second-ranked Clemson on Oct. 10 and then 19th-ranked Virginia the following Saturday.
ABOUT LOUISVILLE (3-2, 1-1 ACC)
With junior quarterback Jawon Pass (foot) still sidelined, the Cardinals utilized both sophomore Micale Cunningham and freshman Evan Conley in the win over Boston College. The pair combined for 428 passing yards and two touchdowns, and Cunningham added 43 yards along with a score on the ground before leaving with a knee injury that is not expected to hinder him this week. "Evan played really good football. Made some good throws on third down scenarios," coach Scott Satterfield told reporters this week after indicating that Pass remains day-to-day. "Threw the ball away, which was good and made some great decisions in the run game. … [Cunningham] played his best game, maybe his best of his career."
ABOUT WAKE FOREST (5-0, 1-0)
The Demon Deacons will be trying to end a frustrating trend that has seen them go 0-6 over the past five seasons when coming off a bye week, a point of emphasis this offseason for coach Dave Clawson. "We looked at what we've done in our other bye weeks and quite frankly, we probably gave the kids in the past too much time off," Clawson told reporters. "So we gave them one less day off, we made sure that our workload was greater than it was." After hosting Florida State next Saturday, Wake Forest gets another week off before a third consecutive home game against North Carolina State on Nov. 2.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Demon Deacons sophomore WR Sage Surratt leads the ACC in receiving yards (515) and senior WR Scotty Washington ranks fourth (470). They share the conference lead with six receiving TDs apiece.
2. Cardinals freshman RB Javian Hawkins ran for a personal-best 172 yards last week and is third among ACC players with 562 yards on the ground overall.
3. Wake Forest won the last two meetings, including a 56-35 triumph at Louisville last year in which the Demon Deacons piled up 368 yards rushing.
PREDICTION: Wake Forest 39, Louisville 31