Wake Forest boosts winning streak to four
Wa k e Fo r e s t Syracuse 14
38,
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kenneth Walker III ran for three touchdowns, Gavin Holmes scored on a 32-yard interception, and Wake Forest extended its winning streak to four.
Walker carried 16 times for 79 yards at the Carrier Dome. He scored on runs of 1, 20 and 5 yards for the Demon Deacons (4-2, 3-2 ACC). The loss was the fourth straight for the Orange (1-6, 1-5).
Sam Hartman completed 19 of 33 for 250 yards and one touchdown, an 81-yard pass play to Jaquarii Roberson, who caught seven passes for 130 yards. Christian Beal-Smith ran for 87 yards.
Wake Forest, which led 17-7 at the half, blew the game open in the third quarter. Hartman connected with Roberson, and just nine seconds later, Holmes’ interception return made it 31-7. Walker’s 5-yard scoring run put the game on ice.
The “pick-six” was the third of the season for the Demon Deacons, tied for the nation’s best, and Wake’s 11th interception of the year, which leads college football.
Rex Culpepper was 15 of 27 for just 85 yards and one touchdown for Syracuse, a 21-yarder to Nykeim Johnson, who set up the Syracuse score with a 26-yard punt return. Culpepper also threw two interceptions.
The injury- depleted Orange played without two key starters, running back Sean Tucker and safety Trill Williams. Tucker, a freshman who gained 100 yards in two of the three games he started, suffered a leg injury a week ago against Clemson. Williams is also dealing with a lower-body injury.
Among the Syracuse starters out for the season are starting quarterback Tommy DeVito and preseason All-American defensive back Andre Cisco.
No. 4 Notre Dame 31, Georgia Tech 13
ATLANTA — Kyren Williams ran for two touchdowns, Ian Book passed for another, and Notre Dame moved on to its biggest game of the season with a dominant defensive performance.
Book completed 18 of 26 passes for 199 yards in another efficient performance for the Fighting Irish (6-0, 5-0 ACC).
Williams shook off a fumble that Georgia Tech returned for a touchdown to score on runs of 2 and 4 yards. He finished with 76 yards on 15 carries.
Next for Notre Dame: a showdown against No. 1 Clemson in South Bend, Indiana. The Irish won’t have to face Trevor Lawrence, the star quarterback who will have to sit out his second game in a row after testing positive for COVID-19.
Georgia Tech (2-5, 2-4) has lost three in a row by a combined score of 152-47.
Leading the ACC in time of possession and ranked in the top 10 nationally, Notre Dame lived up to its ball-hogging reputation on the first possession. Book guided a 15-play, 81-yard drive that included four straight third-down conversions before an 8-yard touchdown pass to Joe Wilkins.
Georgia Tech’s bright spot was provided by
the defense. With Notre Dame seemingly driving for a two-touchdown lead to start the second quarter, Williams had the ball stripped away by Juanyeh Thomas just before the runner’s knee hit the
ground.
Zamari Walton scooped it up and ran 93 yards down the sideline for the longest fumble return in school history.
But that was merely a brief stumble for the Fight
ing Irish, who responded quickly with a 75-yard drive capped by Williams’ 2-yard score, led 17-7 at halftime and finished off the Jackets when C’Bo Flemister’s scored on a 3-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter.