WINSTON-SALEM – Gio Lopez waited nine months to get hit again.

Once he did, Wake Forest's new quarterback could get back to doing what he came to Winston-Salem to do.

The North Carolina transfer threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns as Wake Forest raced to a 28-3 halftime lead and opened its season with a 38-16 victory over Akron on Thursday night at Allegacy Financial Stadium.

Lopez completed 21 of 32 passes without an interception and helped the Demon Deacons pile up 559 yards of offense. Wake Forest averaged 8.2 yards per play and scored touchdowns through the air from 27, 72 and 78 yards. 

For Lopez, it was his first game action since suffering a broken fibula the last time he was tackled.

“I was like, ‘I haven't been tackled in like nine months,’” Lopez said. “You get that first hit, you're like, ‘All right, we're good.’”

Wake Forest didn't need long to settle in.

Lopez capped an eight-play, 82-yard opening possession with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ke'Shawn Shanks. Connor Calvert added a 25-yard field goal later in the first quarter to make it 10-0.

Then the Demon Deacons started producing the explosive plays that broke the game open.

Lopez connected with Antonio Meeks for a 72-yard touchdown less than four minutes into the second quarter. After another Calvert field goal, Lopez found Carlos Hernandez for a 78-yard score, giving Wake Forest a 28-0 advantage with 4:57 remaining before halftime. Akron's only first-half points came on a 28-yard field goal. 

“I felt very in control,” Lopez said. “I trust Coach Ezell when he's telling me what the play is or whatever the check is. So it's full belief in Coach Ezell just to get us in the right situation, and I just go and execute the play that he called.”

Hernandez became Lopez's biggest target, catching five passes for 165 yards. Kam Shanks finished with five receptions for 55 yards, while Antonio Meeks had three catches for 93.

Lopez credited his receivers for turning throws into big gains, something Wake Forest couldn't fully simulate during practices designed to limit contact.

“They did a really good job with the ball in their hands,” Lopez said. “To see those guys make plays with the ball in their hand after the catch was super exciting for me just to be a fan and watch those guys play.”

His connection with Hernandez goes beyond football.

“That's my best friend,” Lopez said. “We're super close off the field and super close on the field.”

Wake Forest also found explosiveness on the ground. Running back Ty Clark rushed seven times for 105 yards, including a 57-yard run, while Deuce Lawrence added 52 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown. 

Yet coach Jake Dickert wasn't interested in allowing a comfortable season-opening victory to obscure Wake Forest's mistakes.

“Success can be an illusion,” Dickert said. “I thought we were sloppy in a lot of phases of this game.”

Wake Forest managed only three points in the third quarter and was outscored 13-7 in the fourth as Akron scored twice against the Demon Deacons' reserves. Dickert also wanted more physicality from the running game and was disappointed with how his defense finished.

“There's so much to clean up from this tape,” Dickert said. “We'll show them the good, we'll be excited about where we go from here, but we've got to be a better football team in nine days.”

Lopez offered a similar assessment.

“I think we did a really good job executing the playbook,” he said. “I think we've got to be better in the second half, just overall keeping the energy going.”

The degree of difficulty now increases.

Wake Forest travels to West Lafayette, Indiana, in nine days to face Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium.

“I think we're super excited to go to Purdue,” Lopez said, “go to their stadium and play in a stadium that isn't ours, but try to win a game.

CHARLOTTE – Jake Dickert didn’t waste time defining what Wake Forest football is supposed to be. He said it plainly, repeatedly, and with the conviction of a coach who knows exactly what he wants his program to look like.

Wake Forest is built in the dark.

It’s not a slogan. It’s not a marketing line. It’s the identity Dickert has hammered into the program since the day he arrived – humility, hunger, development, toughness, and a willingness to do the work when nobody’s watching.

Last year, that identity produced one of the quietest nine‑win seasons in ACC history. Wake Forest tied for the third‑best season in school history, won the Duke’s Mayo Bowl over an SEC opponent, and did it with a roster that was supposed to finish near the bottom of the league.

Dickert didn’t shy away from the challenge of sustaining it. “Good is the enemy of great,” he said. “Last year’s hunger, I can’t recreate that. This year’s team has to be humble enough to turn the lights out and get back in the dark.”

Wake Forest returns 60 players, adds more than 50 newcomers, and has one of the best staff retention rates in the country. That continuity is the backbone of Dickert’s confidence. “We can win in a lot of different ways,” he said. “We retained a tremendous depth of experience on the defensive side of the ball.”

The Deacons aren’t trying to be Clemson or Miami. Dickert made that clear. “If we think and act like Miami, we’re not going to be successful,” he said. “There’s a perfect lane of Wake Forest football.” That lane is development, connection, and consistency, and the roster reflects it.

Stability at quarterback

Wake Forest hasn’t always had stability under center, but Dickert believes he has it now in Gio Lopez, the South Alabama transfer who briefly landed at UNC before choosing Wake.

Lopez didn’t need to learn the offense from scratch – Wake’s OC Rob Ezell coached him at South Alabama. “The adjustment was pretty smooth,” Lopez said. “I already knew it.” That familiarity allowed Lopez to lead from day one. “You can’t ask for respect if you’re not doing the right things,” he said. “I had to show up early, be the first guy in, last guy out.” Lopez brings experience, mobility, and a calm presence,  and he’ll play behind a defense that expects to carry its weight.

A defense with continuity

Wake Forest’s defensive front returns intact, and Langston Hardy is the headliner. He doubled his sack total last season and became one of the ACC’s most disruptive edge players.

Hardy missed the spring with an injury, but used the time to become a better leader. “I was able to see things from a different lens,” he said. “How guys like to be coached, how they like to be led.”

The connection across the front four is real. “I can look to my right and see Dallas or Zach and know exactly what stunt we’re running,” Hardy said. “Connection is our edge.”

Then there’s Davaughn Patterson, the versatile chess piece who played through a sports hernia in both groins last season. “My body was hurting, but mentally I wanted to be there for my teammates,” Patterson said. He can line up at defensive end, blitz from the slot, or drop into coverage, and Dickert loves having that flexibility. “He’s one of the fiercest competitors you could ever imagine,” Dickert said.

Schedule Breakdown

Wake Forest’s 2026 schedule is a mix of manageable openers, tricky travel, and a November stretch that will determine whether the Deacons can match last year’s success.

Sep. 3 vs. Akron 

Sep. 12 at Purdue  

Sep. 18 vs. Miami

Akron is a tune‑up, but Purdue on the road is a legitimate early test. Miami on a Friday night in Winston‑Salem will be one of the biggest home games of the season.

If Wake starts 2-1, they’ll be positioned well.

Sep. 26 at Louisville  

Oct. 3 vs. Stanford  

Oct. 10 at NC State  

Oct. 17 at Cal  

This is the stretch that will define Wake Forest’s season. Louisville on the road is tough. Stanford at home is winnable. Then comes a brutal two‑week run: at NC State, then a cross‑country trip to Berkeley to play Cal. If Wake goes 2-2 here, they’re still in the hunt.

Oct. 31 vs. Virginia  

Nov. 7 vs. Merrimack  

Virginia isn’t the pushover it used to be. The Cavaliers reached the ACC title game last season and return enough talent to make this a dangerous matchup. Wake Forest will need to be sharp here, especially coming off a long travel stretch.

Then the difficulty spikes:

Nov. 14 at SMU  

Nov. 21 at Georgia Tech  

Nov. 28 vs. Duke  

SMU and Georgia Tech on the road will test Wake’s depth and toughness. Duke at home is a rivalry game that could determine bowl positioning, or more.

Photos courtesy of ACC Digital Services