Wake Forest PFF Standouts in Victory Over Stanford

The domination of the Deacs led to some high grades

Oct 3, 2026; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback Gio Lopez (3) looks to pass to wide receiver Carlos Hernandez (8) during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons dominated and defeated the Stanford Cardinal this past weekend. Now it's time to review what we have been doing over the first five weeks of the season by breaking down the PFF grades that stood out in the game.

This week, multiple players received high grades due to Wake's efficient performance on both sides of the ball. We also saw some backups who normally do not see any action come in during the fourth quarter and play some good snaps, given that the game was already out of hand.

Gio Lopez, Clinton Richard, and Rushaun Tongue were also selected for the official PFF ACC Team of the Week. We'll get into their grades and a whole lot more below:

Earned their recognition ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/jOAMmfdYTS

— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) October 6, 2026

Gio Lopez Sets the Pace

The Demon Deacon's transfer QB has been terrific all season, but he may have taken it to another level on Saturday. Gio Lopez accumulated 265 yards through the air and 88 on the ground, combining for five total touchdowns. His playmaking was brilliant, and all of this landed him a PFF grade of 91.6. This was the highest of any Power Four quarterback during Week Five. Despite all of the early success, Lopez seems to just continue to raise the bar week after week, as this offense is firing on all cylinders.

The offensive line also held up quite well against this Stanford defensive front, showing continual improvement from that position group. Clinton Richard has a team-high pass-blocking grade of 78.5, and left tackle Tolu Olajide was not far behind at 76.3 in pass protection.

Right tackle Aidan Martin may have played his best game as a Deac. He had a solid 76.2 overall grade and a team-high 82.2 grade in the run block. This is a great sign from a young tackle who has had an up-and-down season but is certainly taking strides.

Tight end Will Loerzel also played well. He caught two passes, one being a touchdown reception, and had a great overall grade of 78.6. In the run block, he was especially effective, with a grade of 71.9.

Defensive Standouts

Coach Dickert called out the sloppy tackling in the first few weeks of the season that cost the Deacs points against both Purdue and Miami. However, for the second week in a row, Wake tackled very well. According to the grades, five Deac defenders had tackling grades above 80, led by Davaughn Patterson with a tackling grade of 85.2. They also had 22 total defenders who logged at least three snaps and had over a 71 tackle grade.

A major development from the weekend was Rushaun Tongue, who played his best game of the season against Stanford, according to the analytics. He had a 77.2 overall grade, an 83.7 tackle grade, and a 78.2 cover grade in 46 snaps. This was shown by the fact that Stanford really had no big plays over the top in the passing game. Tongue played the free safety position very well. This should be a nice momentum boost for him going forward.

Interior defensive lineman Kadear Dembele continues to improve week after week and is proving to be a force up front. He graded an 80.3 against the run and 73.5 overall. His snap count also keeps rising, as he got 30 total snaps against the Cardinal, tying a season high.