Wake Forest demolishes SMU 49-7 and closes in on the College Football Playoff

No. 13 Wake Forest delivered one of the most dominant performances by any team this season on Saturday, going into Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas and dismantling SMU 49-7. The victory pushed the Demon Deacons to the doorstep of the College Football Playoff and extended a remarkable run in which they have outscored opponents 145-0 in first halves over the last four games.

By conventional measures, none of this should be happening. Head coach Jake Dickert only took over a program after his boss was fired at Washington State. Quarterback Gio Lopez was cast aside after a miserable season at North Carolina. Wake Forest sits at No. 65 in the 247Sports Talent Composite, lost high-profile transfers to Texas, Florida and Texas Tech because it could not match the financial demands, and plugged those holes with players from FIU, New Hampshire and Weber State.

SMU actually came in as a narrow 1.5-point favorite with a chance to play its way back into ACC contention. Instead, after falling behind 7-0, Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee gambled on an early fourth down and Wake Forest stuffed the play at the line, then scored a touchdown five plays later. The Demon Deacons found the end zone again on their third and fourth drives, the latter set up by a fumble on a swing pass, and the lead ballooned to 28-0 almost immediately.

The final statistics matched the scoreboard. Wake Forest outgained SMU 535-275, outpassed the Mustangs 249-209, outrushed them 286-66, controlled the ball for 37 minutes to SMU's 23 and won the turnover battle 3-1. Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings, one of the most productive players in college football, was limited to 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception in what was supposed to be a celebration of his final game at Ford Stadium. "They whipped us in every area you can whip someone in a football game," Lashlee told reporters afterward.

The blowout fits a larger pattern. Wake Forest ranks third in the ACC in offense and second in defense, and it previously held Miami's elite rushing attack to 158 yards, one of the Hurricanes' most middling outings of the season. The Demon Deacons have outgained, outscored, outpassed and outrushed each of their last six opponents. "The defense is firing on all cylinders," linebacker Aiden Hall said. "It's not much that I can say bad about what we're doing right now.. we can't control who recognizes us or who doesn't. Only thing we can control is how bad we keep whooping on teams."

Sitting at No. 13, Wake Forest could climb after routing a top 40 opponent. Lopez and wide receiver Carlos Hernandez are in line for serious All-America consideration, while the rest of the roster embraces Dickert's motto of being "Built in the Dark."

If the Demon Deacons beat Georgia Tech and Duke over the next two weeks, they will earn a rematch with Miami in the ACC title game. With Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney still sidelined, Wake Forest could claim its first conference championship since 2006 and force its way into the postseason, a push reinforced by new contract extensions for Dickert and heralded offensive coordinator Rob Ezell.

"I think people don't know what to make of us because they don't understand how we're doing it," Dickert said. "I think we keep making statement after statement, eventually they're going to have to say we're a pretty good team." He added that he does not want anyone thinking the run has come easily, noting the program is one of the lowest payroll teams in the country. "You want to be coached in football and you want to develop? Come to Wake Forest."