Louisville vs Wake Forest Kickoff Time Announced

The ACC has announced kickoff times for Week 4 of the college football season, including the Louisville-Wake Forest matchup at L&N Stadium on September 26th.

Oct 12, 2019; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; The Louisville Cardinals mascot sits with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons mascot during the third quarter at BB&T Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced kickoff times for Week 4 (9/25-9/26) of the college football season.  Louisville’s matchup with Wake Forest on 9/26 will be a NOON kickoff.  TV designation will be assigned Sunday, 9/20.  Network options for the matchup are ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. 

Wake Forest is currently 2-0 on the young 2026 season.  They beat Akron in their opener 38-16, with Louisville transfer receiver Antonio Meeks finding the end zone a 72-yard reception.  In game two they traveled to West Lafayette, Indiana and turned back the Purdue Boilermakers 38-36 in double overtime. 

This will be Louisville’s first noon game of the season as the home game coincides with the Bourbon and Beyond music festival occurring at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. 

The Cardinals and the Demon Deacons have battled it out on the gridiron 10 times, with the Cards owning a 7-3 series advantage.  The last matchup was in October of 2022 when Louisville beat the No. 10 Demon Deacons at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, 48-21. 

Oct 29, 2022; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons running back Justice Ellison (6) runs the ball against Louisville Cardinals defensive back Benjamin Perry (10) to score a touchdown during the second quarter at Cardinal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

In that contest, Louisville forced eight Wake Forest turnovers and scored on two interception returns in a third quarter that saw the Cards outscore the Deacs 35-0.  Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham was 15 -23 through the air for 164 yards, while rushing for 38 yards on nine carries, scoring two touchdowns. 

The over has hit in the last seven meetings between the two teams, with an average of 78 points per game being scored in those contests.  In 2019, the Cards went down to Winston Salem and beat No. 19 Wake Forest 62-59.  Wake Forest had 668 yards of total offense in that contest, while The Ville had 520. 

Oct 12, 2019; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Javian Hawkins (10) gets lifted in the air after a touchdown in the first quarter against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at BB&T Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

The first matchup between the two schools was the 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, FL.  Both teams came into that game 11-1, with Louisville winning the Big East and Wake Forest winning the ACC.  Current Louisville offensive coordinator Brian Brohm was the quarterback for the Cards that night and brought home MVP honors.   Brohm was 24-34 for 311 yards passing.

This will be the first matchup between a Jeff Brohm led Louisville team against the Demon Deacons.  Brohm is currently 16-8 in ACC matchups as the Louisville coach. 

The No. 23 Cards will play host to No. 16 SMU this Saturday at 3:30 on ESPN2.  Wake Forest will host No. 5 Miami on Friday night at 7:30 on ESPN.  

The rest of the ACC schedule for Week 4:

ACC football TV selections for Week 4 (ET):

Fri, Sep 25
Clemson at Cal – 10:30pm, ESPN

Sat, Sep 26
VT at BC – 12pm, ESPN/2 or ACCN
Wake at Louisville – 12pm, ESPN/2 or ACCN
Bucknell at Pitt – 12pm, ACCNX
UCA at Florida State – 3pm, ACCN
William & Mary at Duke – 3:30pm, ACCNX…

— FBSchedules.com (@FBSchedules) September 14, 2026