Louisville downs No. 19 Wake Forest in wild, 62-59 shootout

Hassan Hall scored two touchdowns, including one on a 100-yard kickoff return, in Louisville’s 62-59 road upset of No. 19 Wake Forest on Saturday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Hill gained 220 yards on kickoff returns, and also scored on an 8-yard run. Louisville quarterbacks Micale Cunningham and Evan Conley threw two touchdown passes apiece, with Dez Fitzpatrick catching two of those.

The Cardinals (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) compiled 520 yards of total offense in the second-highest scoring game in ACC history. Wake Forest had 668 total yards.

Wake Forest (5-1, 1-1), playing as a nationally ranked team for the first time since 2008, scored on two Sam Hartman pass plays in a 35-second span, the latter with 3:37 to play, to close within 55-52.

After failing to recover an onside kick moments earlier, the Cardinals got possession and then Conley ran 41 yards for a touchdown on fourth-and-1. Hartman ran 1 yard for a touchdown at the 1:10 mark.

Wake Forest starting quarterback Jamie Newman threw three touchdown passes — all to receiver Sage Surratt — despite leaving briefly in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. Newman finished 24 of 41 for 251 yards with two interceptions.

Wake Forest running back Christian Beal-Smith gained 123 yards on 14 carries.

Louisville, which was winless in ACC play last year, went up 38-21 when Conley hit Fitzpatrick on a 15-yard play to open the second-half scoring.

Wake Forest bounced back on Newman’s 47-yard pass to Surratt, but the Demon Deacons couldn’t keep up.

Conley’s 50-yard pass to Fitzpatrick with 9:14 to play propelled the Cardinals to a 52-31 lead.

Louisville held a 31-21 halftime lead, thwarting a late threat by Wake Forest on Yasir Abdullah’s interception.

The Cardinals went up by converting after a Wake Forest fumble for the first points of the game on Javian Hawkins’ 8-yard run.

Then Seth Dawkins turned in a 55-yard catch-and-run for a 14-0 lead.

Wake Forest responded with a scoring drive capped by Newman’s 12-yard pass to Surratt.

Hall then returned the kickoff 100 yards.

Tutu Atwell scored on a 9-yard pass from Cunningham as the Cardinals boosted their lead to 28-7 just 10 seconds into the second quarter.

The teams combined for 35 points during a seven-minute stretch spanning the first and second quarters. Then there was more than eight minutes without any points before Blanton Creque’s 32-yard field goal with 2:06 to play in the first half.

Both teams scored after forcing first-half turnovers.

Wake Forest running back Cade Carney, who lost a first-quarter fumble, scored on a 1-yard run as the Demon Deacons pulled within 28-21.

–Field Level Media