#3 Irish Win Shootout Over Wake Forest
It wasn’t the prettiest game, especially defensively, but the Irish came away with a 48-37 win in a big-time shootout with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium.
The Irish won their seventh straight game to improve to 8-1, just days after being ranked the number three team in the country by the College Football Playoff committee.
Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons fell to 5-4 with the loss, after beating Louisville just a week ago.
Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush finished the game 15 of 30 for 280 yards and a touchdown through the air with 110 yards on 12 carries on the ground with two more scores. Backup quarterback Ian Book finished the game eight for eight for 60 yards and a touchdown. Chase Claypool was the leading receiver with nine catches for 180 yards and a touchdown. Irish Heisman candidate Josh Adams finished with just 22 rushing yards on five carries as he was removed with an injury early in the first half.
Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford finished the game for the Deacons 28 of 45 for 331 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also had 12 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown. Matt Colburn had 120 yards on the ground and a score while Alex Bachman was the leading receiver with eight receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown to lead the Demon Deacons.
The Irish put the game away for good in the third quarter. After a few incompletions, Wimbush found Claypool for a big gain to get the Irish well over midfield and then hit #83 again for a 34-yard touchdown to put the Irish up 41-16 late in the third quarter.
The Demon Deacons’ next drive began at their own 25-yard line. A couple completions got them moving well into Irish territory with time winding down in the quarter. On second down, Colburn took it into the end zone from 30 yards out to put him over 100 yards for the game. The score cut the lead to 41-23 with under a minute left in the quarter.
Book replaced Wimbush for good on the next Irish drive and completed another pass to Nic Weishar as the quarter came to a close. Two plays into the fourth, Book took a quarterback keeper 43 yards all the way into Wake Forest territory. A Book completion to Myles Boykin got the Irish into the red zone. Deon McIntosh scored three plays later from two yards out to put the Irish up big 48-23 with 11:39 to go.
The Deacons began their next drive at their own 30-yard line. Scotty Washington started the drive with a catch and a gain of 15 yards. A pass to Tabari Hines got them over midfield as they tried to keep pace with the Irish. A rocket pass to Washington got the Deacons into the red zone, trying desperately to stay in the game. Wolford completed a touchdown pass two plays later to Jack Frudenthal to cut the Irish advantage to 48-30 with 8:45 to play.
The Irish took over at their own 25-yard line trying to ice the game. A first-down carry by Book got the drive moving, putting him close to 100 total yards for the game. The first down was all the Irish could get as they were forced to punt again. The Deacons took over at their own 8-yard line after the punt with 5:35 to go.
Kendall Hinton replaced Wolford on the next drive as the Demon Deacons seemed to concede the outcome. A big run by Colburn got the Deacons over midfield with under three minutes to play. Hinton took the ball himself into the red zone as the Deacons attempted to close the gap on the Irish. Isaiah Robinson ultimately scored with less than a minute to go to provide for the game’s final score.
The Irish gained 720 total yards in the game, tying a school record
The Demon Deacons started the second half with the ball, but Daelin Hayes got right into the backfield on the first play of the drive to disrupt a short run. The drive stalled without picking up a first down and the Demon Deacons were forced to punt giving the Irish the ball at their own 43-yard line.
A first-down run by Wimbush on third down got the Irish over midfield and kept the drive alive with a gain of 14 yards. A fourth-down carry by Wimbush picked up a first down and then he found Claypool on a beautiful throw to get the Irish into the red zone for the first time in the half. The Irish were unable to get into the end zone but they settled for a Justin Yoon field goal from 22 yards out to give them a 34-10 lead with 9:19 left in the half.
The Demon Deacons started their ensuing drive at their own 23-yard line. A Wolford completion to Cam Serigne got Wake Forest over midfield and a penalty got them even further. A few completions got them closer to the red zone but they were unable to get any further and settled for another field goal, but Mike Weaver missed wide and the Irish took over with 6:13 left in the quarter.
Dexter Williams got into the game on the next Irish drive and picked up a nice gain of 32 yards to get the Irish over midfield. The drive didn’t get any further and were unable to pick up a first down on fourth down as the Demon Deacons took over at their own 37-yard line.
Hines caught a nice throw from Wolford to get the Deacons over midfield then another throw to Serigne moved them near the 30-yard line. Two plays later, Wolford found Bachman streaking down the sideline for a 30-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 34-16 after a failed two-point conversion with 2:54 to play in the quarter.
The Irish converted 50 percent of their third downs on the afternoon.
The game began with the Irish receiving the ball. Wimbush completed a deep corner route to Equanimeous St.Brown for a gain of 24 on the first play from scrimmage. A first-down carry by Adams got the Irish over midfield. But the drive stalled after that as Wimbush was sacked on third down by Ja’Cquez Williams. The Demon Deacons took over at their own two-yard line after a good punt by Tyler Newsome.
A few short-yardage plays got the Demon Deacons drive moving highlighted by a quarterback run by Wolford. A sliding catch by Chucky Wade got them over midfield and then a long run by Colburn got the Demon Deacons down into the red zone. An incompletion on third down led to a field goal by Weaver, giving the Demon Deacons the 3-0 lead with 8:46 left in the first quarter.
A strong return by Sanders gave the football to the Irish in great field position at the Wake Forest 48-yard line. A huge third-down reception by St. Brown kept the drive alive and then Wimbush found Durham Smythe on the very next play over the middle to get the Irish into the red zone for the first time in the game. Wimbush then capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown scamper to give the Irish a 7-3 lead with 6:26 remaining in the quarter.
The Demon Deacons started their next drive at their own 26-yard line. A couple of nice throws by Wolford got the Demon Deacons up to midfield as they continued to have success against the Irish defense. The drive slowed after a sack by Te’von Coney and the Demon Deacons were forced to punt. Chris Finke caught the punt at the Irish 13-yard line with 2:56 to play in the quarter.
An end around on the second play of the drive got the Irish up to midfield. KJ Stepherson got a few key blocks as he continued to have success in the last few games. After Wimbush fumbled and the Irish recovered, he fired a laser over the middle to Claypool for a first down. Then Tony Jones Jr. followed with a first down carry which closed out the quarter.
A short run by Jones put the Irish into the red zone for the second time in the game. Unable to get into the end zone, the Irish settled for a 34-yard field goal by Yoon to give them a 10-3 advantage just 42 seconds into the second quarter.
After a short kick return, the Demon Deacons took over at their own 25-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Julian Love jumped the pass by Wolford and picked it off, giving the Irish the football at the Wake Forest five-yard line. Jones punched it right in to put the Irish up 17-3 with 14 minutes to go in the half.
After a touchback, the Demon Deacons began their next drive as they tried to keep the game from snowballing out of control. A first down throw from Wolford to Cortez Lewis got the drive moving but it stalled before it got any further and they were forced to punt yet again with the Irish taking over at their own 25-yard line.
On the first play of the drive, Wimbush went deep to Claypool in double coverage to get the Irish over midfield for a gain of 40 yards. The big play was all the Irish would get on the drive as Wimbush was sacked on third down and his pass was batted down on fourth down. The Demon Deacons took over at their own 31-yard line.
A couple of long completions by Wolford put the Demon Deacons into the red zone and he then capped it off with a 20-yard touchdown run right up the middle to cut the Irish lead to 17-10 with 10:13 left in the half.
After the Demon Deacons kickoff went out of bounds, the Irish started their next drive at their own 35-yard line. A 12-yard gain by Jones in the first play of the drive got the Irish drive moving up around midfield. A first down rush by Wimbush on third down kept the drive alive. After a penalty, Wimbush took the ball right up the gut and the seas parted as he was able to jog into the end zone to give the Irish a 24-10 lead.
The Demon Deacons began their next drive at their own 25-yard line down two scores. A good completion to Hines from Wolford got the drive moving with a 17-yard gain. However, the drive stalled after an incompletion and the Demon Deacons were forced to punt. Finke caught the punt at the Irish 16-yard line as the offense came out with a 14-point lead.
A third down pass to Smythe gave the Irish the first down as Wimbush got into a good rhythm. A completion to Kevin Stepherson got the Irish over midfield. The Irish ultimately settled for a Yoon field goal from 50 yards out but the kick was short and the Demon Deacons took over at their own 33-yard line. Wake Forest was unable to pick up a first down on the drive and went three and out for the first time in the game. The Irish took over at their own one-yard line after the punt with 3:09 remaining in the half.
Wimbush completed an important throw to Claypool on third down to give the Irish some breathing room. A big rumbling run from McIntosh for a 45-yard gain got the chains moving and Wimbush took the football himself all the way down to the one-yard line but was injured on the play and took a long time to get to his feet. Book came in to replace Wimbush and proceeded to find Weishar in the end zone to give the Irish a 31-10 lead with 22 seconds to play in the half.
Wimbush finished the first half completing 11 of 19 passes for 164 yards. He also had 10 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Irish in rushing. Jones added 54 yards on eight carries and a score. Claypool was the leading receiver with 6 receptions for 75 yards.
Wolford finished the half 12 of 23 for 136 yards and an interception for the Demon Deacons. He also had eight carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Colburn had eight rushes for 63 yards, leading the team in rushing. Serigne was the leading receiver with 3 catches for 27 yards.
Player of the Game: Wimbush. Despite being injured at the end of the half, he had a strong game especially rushing the ball. With Adams not being very involved, Wimbush took charge.
Unsung Hero: Claypool. Coming into the game with 15 catches, Claypool exploded for nine and was the key target for Wimbush in the game.
Up Next: The Irish travel to Florida next Saturday to take on the #10 Miami Hurricanes.