Grit. Determination. Luck.
Whatever you want to call it, this Wake Forest football team was not leaving Charlottesville without a victory. Thanks to an all-around exceptional performance from both the special teams and defense, the Demon Deacons were able to slay the beast and deliver No. 14 Virginia their first conference loss of the season.
Following a blowout loss against Florida State last weekend, the Demon Deacons recovered defensively and found a way to win.
“I’m unbelievably proud of our football team. That was a really resilient effort,” Coach Dickert said following the game. “It definitely wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t pretty. Once again, our defense was unbelievable.”
The defensive side of the ball looked just as good, if not better, than it did against SMU in Wake Forest’s week 10 victory. The defensive ends shone again as Langston Hardy and Dylan Hazen held down the fort. Both linemen shone with seven total tackles each, including five individual efforts from Hazen.
“We know any one of us can make a play out there. We don’t play any selfish ball,” Hardy said. “We’re gonna go out there and do our job, and whoever is out there will be ready to make the play.”
The scoring started for the Demon Deacons when Carlos Hernandez ran back an 88-yard punt return to the house. Hernandez, who has been struggling recently at the position, was able to field the football on a bounce and evade several defenders to give Wake Forest their first lead of the evening. After that, the Demon Deacons never looked back.
The rest of the offense, however, did not execute accordingly. Robby Ashford only threw for 86 yards, Demond Claiborne averaged just three yards per carry, and third-down conversions were minimal.
“Sometimes we can get in those environments where we lose our minds,” Claiborne said. “So being composed and being truthful with each other is what matters the most.”
Despite their inability to perform consistently, the offense was able to set up Connor Calvert for three field goals throughout the game. The young kicker cleaned up each mess he was dealt and took care of business.
Calvert converted on all of his field goal attempts, including a 49 and a 50-yarder. Ever since the redshirt freshman drained the game-winning field goal against SMU two weeks ago, the young kicker has switched to another gear.
“I thought there were a lot of gutty performances out there from a lot of different people,” Dickert said. “This is what ‘Built in the Dark’ is about. This is important to our guys. This is who we are.”
After claiming their sixth win of the 2025 campaign, the Demon Deacons are officially bowl eligible for the first time since 2022.
This weekend, the Demon Deacons will face off with legendary head coach Bill Belichick and the 4-5 North Carolina Tar Heels at 4:30 in Allegacy Stadium.
