Wake Forest Defense Shines Late in Upset Win Against SMU
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On Saturday afternoon, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the SMU Mustangs faced off in Winston-Salem, both with win streaks on the line. Rhett Lashlee and his squad secured a big home win over the Clemson Tigers last Saturday, while Jake Dickert and the Deacons entered the game coming off a bye week.
In what turned out to be a defensive battle, Wake Forest walked it off with a 50-yard field goal with only four seconds remaining to upset SMU 13-12. While redshirt freshman Connor Calvert was the hero for the Deacons, Wake Forest's defense deserves some flowers for their performance against a high-power SMU offense.
In seven games this season, defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton has shown his value by putting the Demon Deacons' defense in positions to succeed. After the 34-24 loss to N.C. State, Hazelton's defense has gotten noticeably better each week. Wake Forest allowed just 246 yards of total offense with the Mustangs only converting 4 of their 17 third down opportunities.
A Strange Saturday in Winston-Salem
The Demon Deacons showed out on defense against a formidable SMU offense that appeared to have been rolling during the past few weeks. In each of their wins over Syracuse, Stanford, and Clemson, the Mustangs scored 30+ points while averaging over 350 total yards.
Admittedly, it appears to have been a peculiar day in Winston-Salem for both programs. With less than 250 total yards of offense, one would expect Wake Forest to have won the turnover battle by a large margin. That couldn't be further from the truth. With three fumbles and two interceptions, the Demon Deacons lost the turnover battle 5-3.
One of the shining stats from the Wake Forest win was their ability to get off the field in a timely manner. The Deacons' defense made the Mustang offense uncomfortable all day, forcing 17 third down situations and allowing just four conversions. SMU's offense went three-and-out on six occasions across all four quarters.
Across the entire defense, Wake Forest totaled eight tackles for a loss, including one sack and four pass deflections. Davaughn Patterson led the way in passing defense in the Deacons' secondary with three pass deflections and seven total tackles. Nick Andersen led the way for Wake Forest's linebackers with eight total tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Coach Hazelton's defense has been notably better in the first half this season. The Demon Deacons have yet to trail or even be tied at halftime in all seven games they've played. While Wake Forest dropped games to Georgia Tech and N.C. State, the Deacons have continued to give themselves chances to win by taking leads into the second half.
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Carson, a 2025 TCU graduate, is a sports journalist who covers college athletics for several On SI sites. While most of his experience is with TCU On SI, he also writes with Wake Forest On SI and Houston On SI. He also has a passion for the college baseball scene, most notably being a fan of TCU Baseball. In 2023, Carson was in Omaha and reported on the Men’s College World Series, where TCU finished 4th in the nation. His past work not only consists of major sports like football, basketball, and baseball, but with others like track and field and cross country as well.