Wake Forest brings six game winning streak to SMU

Wake Forest's margin is more than double SMU's

Against Power 4 opponents, Wake Forest is +148 in point margin, second nationally and first in the ACC. SMU is +71, 14th nationally and fifth in the ACC.

The yardage is closer. SMU gains 453 yards a game, eighth nationally, and allows 344, 18th. Wake Forest gains 443, 12th, and allows 326, 16th. Wake Forest ends 63.4% of its drives with points, second nationally.

Against Power 4 opponents, SMU ranks ahead of Wake Forest in penalty yards and time of possession. Wake Forest is penalized 74 yards a game, 83rd nationally and 15th in the ACC, against 60 for SMU, 55th. SMU holds the ball 29:42 a game to Wake Forest's 29:01.

Wake Forest allows 14.0 yards on 13 kick returns, fifth nationally, and averages 12.9 yards on 9 punt returns, 10th. SMU averages 8.7 yards on 13 punt returns, 28th.

Where it's decided

When Wake Forest has the ball, it brings 39.3 points a game against Power 4 opponents, third nationally, against the SMU defense, which allows 24.6, 31st. Wake Forest scores on 97.1% of its red zone trips, seventh nationally, and SMU allows scores on 89.5%, 64th. The SMU pass defense is the sterner test, allowing 200 yards a game, 15th nationally, against a Wake Forest passing game that averages 272, 10th.

Gio Lopez leads Wake Forest in passing yards with 2,176, with 18 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 67.1 completion percentage, and he has run for 318 yards. Lopez's 18 touchdown passes are tied for third in the ACC.

Carlos Hernandez leads Wake Forest in receiving yards with 945, third in the ACC, and in catches with 61, tied for third, with 7 touchdowns. Jack Foley adds 557 yards. Ty Clark III leads Wake Forest in rushing yards with 416 and has 8 touchdowns, and Deuce Lawrence has 327.

SMU's Marques White leads the team in sacks with 7.5, tied for the ACC lead, and his 10 tackles for loss are tied for third in the ACC. Alexander Kilgore leads SMU in tackles with 51.

When SMU has the ball, it scores 34.7 points a game against Power 4 opponents, 10th nationally, and meets the Wake Forest defense, which allows 18.1, ninth. The Wake Forest defense is softest through the air, allowing 253 passing yards a game, 56th nationally, with opponents succeeding on 43.7% of passes, 54th. SMU throws for 285 yards a game, eighth nationally. Wake Forest's red zone defense ranks fifth nationally at 71.4%, and SMU scores on 93.5% of its trips, 15th.

Kevin Jennings leads the ACC with 2,783 passing yards, with 25 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and a 73.9 completion percentage. Jennings' 25 touchdown passes rank second in the ACC, and he needs 217 yards for 3,000 this season. Jennings is one of 5 FBS players this season with two 400-yard passing games.

Yamir Knight leads SMU in receiving yards with 626 and in catches with 50, and Yannick Smith has 521. SMU's Jalen Cooper has raised his receiving yards in three straight games, from 9 to 37, 53 and 98 against Virginia Tech last week.

Langston Hardy leads Wake Forest in sacks with 5.5, and his 11.5 tackles for loss tie for the ACC lead. Vincent Firenze leads Wake Forest in tackles with 55.

Wake Forest's run defense against Kendrick Raphael

Against Power 4 opponents, Wake Forest allows 73 rushing yards a game, second nationally and first in the ACC, and opponents succeed on 34.9% of runs, 10th. Wake Forest has not allowed a rushing touchdown in 5 straight games.

Against Power 4 opponents, SMU runs for 168 yards a game, 16th nationally. Kendrick Raphael leads SMU in rushing yards with 760, third in the ACC, and has 10 touchdowns.

Wake Forest's offense, from 28 points to 43

Wake Forest scores 43.3 points a game in all games, up from 28.1 last season. Against Power 4 opponents, the Wake Forest offense succeeds on 50.3% of snaps, up from 37.0% last season.

Wake Forest returned none of last season's passing yards, and Lopez brought in 1,747 as a transfer. Two seasons ago, Wake Forest went 4-8 and scored 25.7 points a game.

Third down: Wake Forest's best against SMU's best

Wake Forest converts 51.7% of its third downs against Power 4 opponents, third nationally. SMU's defense allows 32.7% on third down, ninth. The other way, SMU converts 44.9%, 15th, and Wake Forest allows 38.0%, 28th.

Transfers fill both backfields

Kendrick Raphael ran for 952 yards last season before transferring to SMU from California as a 4-star. SMU had returned only 20% of its rushing yards from last season. Yannick Smith came from East Carolina, also as a 4-star, after 583 receiving yards last season.

Marques White brought 5 sacks from last season to SMU, part of 15 added through transfers after SMU returned 14% of its sacks. SMU returned all of last season's passing yards.

Wake Forest's Wondame Davis Jr. transferred from UTEP after 604 receiving yards last season, and Antonio Meeks came from Louisville with 189. Wake Forest kicker Connor Calvert ranks second in the ACC with 13 field goals and third with 82 points.

Wake Forest had 2 players drafted, a cornerback and a running back, neither in the first two rounds. Karon Prunty went to New England in the fifth round, 171st overall, and Demond Claiborne went to Minnesota in the sixth, 198th, taking 905 rushing yards from last season with him. SMU had 1 player drafted, tight end Matthew Hibner, who went to Baltimore in the fourth round, 133rd overall, after 436 receiving yards last season.

Lopez cleared, SMU's secondary thinned

Update, Sat, Nov 14, 9:00 AM CT: Since Friday's report, SMU upgraded Ahmaad Moses (questionable to available). On the latest report, SMU lists Tyren Polley Jr., Jahkai Lang, Ira Singleton IV and 8 others as out or doubtful, and Jaden Milliner-Jones as a game-time decision. Wake Forest lists Devin Cook, Landon Morris, Dalton DeBoer and 2 others as out or doubtful.

Jake Dickert said Nov. 9 that Gio Lopez, who has a right knee and leg injury, would return to limited practice Tuesday and will be ready to go Saturday at SMU, according to On3 (Deacons Illustrated).

SMU safety Tyren Polley Jr. tore a pectoral muscle and is out for the season, Rhett Lashlee said Oct. 20, according to Yahoo Sports, with recovery expected to take four to five months. Lashlee said the same day that SMU is pursuing a court injunction for safety Ahmaad Moses' fifth year, that Moses first has to become eligible and that Moses is recovering from spinal fusion surgery. Moses was listed Out on the ACC availability report for SMU's last 7 games.

SMU cornerback Jaelyn Davis-Robinson and linebacker Xavier Wright were listed Out for the Virginia Tech game. SMU also had running back Link Rhodes listed Out for its last 7 games, defensive end Ira Singleton IV for 5, receiver Carterrious Brown for 4 and defensive end Trey Wilson for 3.

Wake Forest took the last one by a point

SMU leads the series 3-1 since 1949. Wake Forest won the last meeting 13-12 at home in 2025. Both teams went 9-4 in that 2025 season.

Three things to watch

Ball security: Wake Forest has run 344 straight offensive plays without a turnover since a lost fumble against Louisville, and SMU is -5 in turnover margin against Power 4 opponents.

SMU's path: against Power 4 opponents, SMU ends 56.2% of its drives with points, fourth nationally, and it has won 10 straight at home.

The third quarter: Wake Forest has outscored Power 4 opponents 78-23 in the third quarter this season.