Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Louisville Cardinals Match Player Stats On Nov 12, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 12, 2016

Brandon Radcliff's three second-half touchdowns helped No. 6 Louisville come from behind to beat feisty Wake Forest 44-12 on Saturday night at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky. The Cardinals scored an astounding 34 points in the fourth quarter.

After uncharacteristically poor first-half offensive performance that saw Louisville (9-1) net just a lone field goal, the Cardinals got rolling in the second half to stymie the upset bid of the Demon Deacons (6-4).

The Cardinals finally broke into the end zone with a 55-yard run for a touchdown by Radcliff with 7:30 left in the third quarter. Radcliff's run, and the ensuing extra point by Blanton Creque, cut Wake Forest's lead to 12-10.

Creque had a chance to give Louisville a lead, but his 43-yard field goal try sailed wide left with 4:21 left in the third quarter.

Louisville took its first lead of the game on a 7-yard touchdown run by Radcliff with 10:35 left. Radcliff's run capped a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that was kept alive when Jackson found Reggie Bonnafon for a 12-yard gain on fourth-and-4 from the Wake Forest 34-yard line. Louisville's two-point conversion failed, leaving the score at 16-12.

After a defensive stop, Louisville's Devante Peete blocked a Wake Forest punt, giving Louisville the ball at the Wake Forest. Radcliff scored his third touchdown of the night four plays later to put Louisville ahead 23-12 with 7:36 left.

With 4:05 left in the fourth quarter, Lamar Jackson added a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Hikutini to put Louisville up 30-12 after the extra point.

An interception and 32-yard return by Ronald Walker added insurance to Louisville's substantial lead with 3:44 left. A two-yard run by Malik Williams pushed Louisville's lead to 44-12 with just 50 seconds left on the clock.

Three lost fumbles and several other miscues derailed Louisville's typically potent offensive attack in the first half.

The Cardinals entered the game No. 1 in scoring offense (50.2 points per game) and total offense (593.4 yards), but were at minus-9 yards after their first three drives combined. The Cardinals ran only 25 plays in the first half and totaled 128 yards due in large part to four fumbles.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest took advantage of the short fields to kick four field goals on its five first-half drives. Mike Weaver kicked a 37-yarder after Louisville's first fumble, a 45-yarder on Wake's second drive, a 33-yarder after Louisville's second fumble and a 38-yarder with 2:49 left until halftime.

Louisville's offense didn't wake up until just before halftime, when it used a hurry-up drive to reach the Wake Forest 11 with 44 seconds left. The Cardinals avoided a scoreless first half on a 28-yard field goal by Creque with 18 seconds left.

NOTES: Louisville did not score in the first quarter for the second time this season (Oct. 1 versus Clemson). ... The Cardinals outscored the opposition 129-23 in the first quarter this season. ... Louisville's previous low-scoring half of the season was seven points versus Virginia on Oct. 29. ... Cardinals QB Lamar Jackson, the prohibitive favorite for the Heisman Trophy, completed 4 of 9 passes for 46 yards and rushed for 65 yards in the first half, his lowest offensive output for a half this season.