Wake, Duke suffer tough football losses on the road
Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 13, 2020
- Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman led the Demon Deacons past Florida State on Saturday. (Jamie Rhodes-ACC Pool, file photo)
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Malik Cunningham threw for 195 yards and accounted for three scores for Louisville, which blitzed past Wake Forest 45-21 Saturday.
The Cardinals (4-7, 3-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame a sluggish start to rally for a victory in their regular-season finale. After gaining just 7 yards in the first quarter, they finished with 453. Louisville gained 254 of those on the ground.
Cunningham completed 73% (16-for-22) of his passes. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. He went without an interception for the first time in five games.
The Demon Deacons (4-4, 3-4) amassed 351, but they couldn’t stay on the field as they converted just seven of 18 on third down.
Both teams were missing key receivers. Louisville’s Tutu Atwell announced during the week he would miss the contest, while Donavon Greene did not dress for the Demon Deacons. In addition, the Cardinals were without three starting offensive linemen.
The Demon Deacons played for the first time in nearly a month, and it showed as quarterback Sam Hartman had by far his worst day of the season. The sophomore completed 17 of 41 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Florida State 56, Duke 35
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jashaun Corbin ran for three touchdowns while Jordan Travis threw for two TDs and ran for another as the Seminoles snapped a three-game skid.
Travis threw for 192 yards and two TD passes to Ja’Khi Douglas, as Florida State (3-6, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) won following a 28-day layoff that was prompted by two game postponements and a rescheduled matchup with Duke.
Florida State listed 50 scholarship players as having participated in the game, and the Seminoles started seven true or redshirt freshmen.
“It’s been a long time since we had an opportunity to compete in a game,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “It’s been a lot of adversity. It’s been an extremely challenging last month. Playing a lot of young players. Seeing those guys continue to work and invest in their improvement, it was a great sight to see tonight.”
Mataeo Durant ran for 127 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown, for Duke (2-9, 1-9). The Blue Devils ran 51 times for 245 yards but tossed three interceptions and managed just 148 yards passing.
