Wake Forest edges No. 16 Louisville 30-27 on late field goal

Deacons survive a wild one in Louisville

Wake Forest beat No. 16 Louisville 30-27 on Saturday at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, with Connor Calvert's 32-yard field goal with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter proving to be the difference. The win moved Wake Forest to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Demon Deacons' first conference win of the season. Louisville falls to 2-2 and 1-1 in the league. Calvert made three field goals on the day, and the two teams traded points in a game that was tied three separate times before Wake Forest pulled away for good.

Kienholz and Hernandez traded haymakers

Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz completed 27 of 36 passes for 324 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and added two rushing touchdowns of his own. His longest strike went 61 yards to Jaleel Skinner, tying the game at 24 late in the second quarter. On the other side, Wake Forest's Gio Lopez threw for 225 yards and a touchdown on just 12 completions in 19 attempts. Wide receiver Carlos Hernandez caught nine passes for 194 yards and a touchdown, three yards short of the career high he set last season against Delaware. His 77-yard touchdown catch put the Demon Deacons up 17-14 in the second quarter. Running back Ty Clark III carried the load on the ground, rushing for 91 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns.

Penalties and a blocked kick sealed it for Louisville

Louisville played without two of its starting defensive backs, Antonio Watts and Koen Entringer, and the secondary paid for it against Lopez and Hernandez. The Cardinals also committed nine penalties for 90 yards, the third time this season they have reached that total. Louisville forced a Hernandez fumble in the fourth quarter with the game tied and turned Wake Forest over on downs at the Wake 38, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play pushed the Demon Deacons' next drive back 15 yards from the Wake 29, and that drive ended in Calvert's go ahead field goal. Carson Hilbert had tied the game twice for Louisville, with a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter and a 54-yarder later in the same quarter, but he missed a 42-yard attempt with 2:29 left. Louisville's last chance ended when Nick Keller lined up for a 57-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining and Wake Forest's Gabe Kirschke blocked it to seal the win.

Neither coach was thrilled with how it looked

Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert did not sugarcoat the performance, saying, "it was so beautiful because our guys found a way to win." The Demon Deacons committed 10 penalties for 85 yards, the third time this season they have hit double digit penalties. Brohm was more pointed about his own team's mistakes, saying, "It cost us. We've been doing it every single week." Louisville's Stanquan Clark led all tacklers with 12, and Benjamin Perry had a sack, but it was not enough to hold off a Wake Forest team that found just enough plays late.

Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.