Series History: Wake Forest Football vs Louisville
Wake Forest is on high alert with a road trip to Louisville this weekend. Wake may be the ranked team and the favorite according to the oddsmakers (-5.5), but ESPN’s FPI gives the Cardinals the edge at home.
This weekend should be another addition to a contentious and competitive series history between the two programs. Although they’ve only met nine times, there are a lot of great moments packed into what was once called, “the best dumb rivalry in college sports.” Let’s take a look at the all-time matchup between Wake Forest and Louisville on the gridiron.
January 2007: The Orange Bowl
That’s right, the first ever matchup between these two “rivals” came in the 2007 Orange Bowl. After one of the best seasons in school history, Wake Forest fell to the No. 5 Cardinals back in their Big East days.
The 24-13 victory marked the first BCS bowl appearance in school history for Louisville. Head coach Bobby Petrino was hired by the Atlanta Falcons after the season. For the Demon Deacons, 2007 remains the program’s only Orange Bowl appearance.
READ: Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield on Wake Forest
2014-2015: ACC foes
Louisville made the move to the ACC back in 2012. Two years later, they were set to face Wake Forest for the second time in school history. In Dave Clawson’s first year on the job, an Orange Bowl rematch was scheduled for week five.
Back at the helm for the Cardinals, Petrino and Louisville beat the Deacs in 2014 and ‘15, first by a score of 20-10, then 20-19. In 2015, Louisville held Wake Forest scoreless for the entire second half. The series was all Cardinals, but new information would come to light the following season that helped explain why.
2016: The Wakeyleaks game
At first glance, the Wake Forest-Louisville game in 2016 is one of the strangest of Lamar Jackson’s Heisman season. Wake held Jackson to 145 yards passing – his lowest total of the year – and only one touchdown. Jackson had 153 yards rushing, but it was one of only four games all season where he did not run for a touchdown. And still, Louisville won 44-12, holding the Deacs to four first-half field goals.
After the shocking way the Wake Forest offense was shut down, the program discovered that for multiple years, an inside source had been leaking information to opposing teams – including Louisville. A recent story in The Athletic explains, “In 2016, Wake scored 20.4 points per game, which ranked 119th out of 128 teams. The next season, with virtually the same players back, the Demon Deacons averaged 35.3 points, 21st in the country.”
The 2016 Louisville loss will always be remembered as the closing scene in one of the strangest and most frustrating scandals in college sports. Now, with one of the most potent and innovative offenses in football, Wake Forest has put this devastating event behind them – since the WakeyLeaks game, the Demon Deacons lead the all-time series against Louisville 3-2.
2017-18: Wake victories
Finally, in 2017, Wake Forest broke through. Once again limiting Lamar Jackson, the Deacs led wire-to-wire, holding off a late rally for a 42-32 victory. Wake Forest won again in 2018 as the visitors, dominating Louisville 56-35. Running back Matt Colburn dominated his former team, rushing for 243 yards and three touchdowns on only 20 carries. A memorable game for Colburn and the Deacs, 2018 remains the only Wake Forest victory as visitors at Cardinal Stadium.
As Dave Clawson built his program in Winston-Salem, Petrino’s second tenure at Louisville began to crash. The Cardinals finished the 2018 season at 2-10, and Petrino was let go. The Demon Deacons still trailed the all-time series, but Wake was finally on the board.
2019-2021: Scott Satterfield makes his mark
Since Scott Satterfield took over as Louisville's head coach in 2019, the games between Wake Forest and Louisville have been wildly entertaining.
In 2019, Louisville was 3-2 as they came to Winston-Salem to face undefeated No. 19 Wake Forest. Madness ensued: over 1,100 yards of offense, five turnovers, four quarterbacks - each with multiple passing touchdowns - six rushing touchdowns and 28 points in the final five minutes. Then there was the onside kick controversy that followed Wake Forest’s final touchdown — the ball was booted about 20 yards down the field after the kick and it was initially unclear who recovered. In the end, the ball was awarded to Louisville. When the dust finally settled, the final score was 62-59 in favor of the visiting Cardinals.
After one of the wildest games in recent years, the 2020 matchup was relatively tame. The final game of the COVID-shortened season, Louisville handily beat the Demon Deacons 45-21. Although Louisville finished the year 4-7, while Wake Forest went to a bowl game at 4-4, the two teams felt like they were once again on equal footing.
READ: Wake Forest and their players deserve better
Last season was another instant classic. During a back-and-forth battle, undefeated Wake Forest found themselves in danger for the first time in the still-young 2021 season. Thanks to some brilliant clock management, the Deacs stole three points to end the first half, taking a crucial lead into the break. But Louisville would not go away easily.
Led by their potent rushing attack, a 75-yard touchdown pass from Cardinals QB Malik Cuningham tied the game at 34 apiece late in the fourth quarter. However, the Demon Deacons answered with a methodical drive down the field, winning on a Nick Sciba field goal with 22 seconds remaining.
And so we find ourselves in 2022. Orange Bowl hopes on the line, Heisman hopefuls taking the field – with eerie similarities to the previous nine, the tenth edition of Wake Forest and Louisville is sure to be exciting.
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