Lopez's big day lifts Wake Forest past N.C. State 38-14

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gio Lopez threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in Wake Forest’s 38-14 win over N.C. State on Saturday.

Lopez was 26-for-33 with 303 yards in the air as the Demon Deacons (5-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their third game in a row, undeterred by a rainy second half.

“We were down at halftime,” Lopez said. “There was no head-hanging. … I think it shows we’re battle-tested.”

Jack Foley racked up 156 receiving yards on eight catches and Carlos Hernandez had 117 receiving yards on 12 receptions. They each made a touchdown reception.

N.C. State’s CJ Bailey was 28-for-40 for 241, with a costly first-quarter fumble. He recovered from that by completing his first 16 passes until an attempt was deflected late in the second quarter for the Wolfpack (3-3, 1-2), who led 14-10 at halftime.

“They outplayed us in the second half,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “We did a lot of good things in the first half. We had enough stops in the first half. We came out in the second half, and it was the opposite; we couldn’t stop them.”

Lopez threw 6 yards to Hernandez and 10 yards to Foley for third-quarter scores. He plowed in from 1 yard out later in the quarter as the margin grew to 31-14.

The Wolfpack had only six second-half first downs, while Wake Forest tallied 265 yards after halftime.

“A lot of times they’re running the same plays, and we’re not defending them with discipline,” Doeren said.

Wake Forest’s Braylon Johnson returned Bailey’s fumble on the opening possession to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Lopez connected with Matthew Lusardi on a 1-yard TD toss.

Wake Forest reached the N.C. State 1 in the final seconds of the first half but, after a penalty, settled for Connor Calvert’s 23-yard field goal on the last snap of the half to finish a 16-play, 89-yard drive.

The takeaway

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons have won two road games and a home romp past Stanford since losing to nationally ranked Miami. Their best defensive performances have come in the past two games.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack’s two-game winning streak ended, and there wasn’t much to build on after allowing the game’s final 31 points. The offense generated only 15 yards on the ground.

Second-half success

It’s the second week in a row that Wake Forest didn’t allow a second-half point.

“It means we did what we’re supposed to do,” Johnson said. “We did our job. … It’s a momentum-based game. Everybody is feeding off of it.”

The Demon Deacons have outscored opponents by 119-41 in the second half of games this season.

A week to work

N.C. State has a week off, and there will be plenty to address.

“Attack it,” linebacker Popo Aguirre said. “We got to be a little bit more disciplined.”

Doeren noted it’s imperative that the Wolfpack get some injured players back in action.

“Sometimes personnel wins,” Doeren said. “Today, it did.”

Up next

Wake Forest: At California next Saturday.

N.C. State: At Stanford on Oct. 23.

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