WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Steele Pizzella stepped into the starter’s role and kept No. 14 Wake Forest rolling on Saturday, throwing for 432 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to lead the Demon Deacons to their sixth straight victory, a record-setting 77-0 rout of Merrimack of the Football Championship Subdivision.
With Pizzella filling in for injured starter Gio Lopez, Wake Forest (8-1) scored 11 touchdowns to break the school scoring record set in a 70-58 win over Army on Oct. 23, 2021.
Pizzella accounted for 495 yards while playing just the first 30 minutes. He had 63 yards rushing, including a 13-yard touchdown late in the second quarter that sent Wake into halftime leading 49-0.
His performance was the first 400-yard passing day for Wake Forest since Hank Bachmaier threw for 403 yards against Virginia in 2024. The Demon Deacons finished with 546 yards passing, breaking the record set in that Virginia game. Jack Foley was their leading receiver with six catches for 162 yards.
The Demon Deacons finished with 730 yards of total offense, 4 yards shy of the school record set against Syracuse on Nov. 11, 2017.
“What I told myself today, and what I told myself out of pregame warmup, was we just need to elevate each other. And my whole focus was just elevating the guys around me and really operating,” Pizzella said. “And so, being able to do that at a high level with the guys means a lot to me, and everyone having confidence in each other is such a big thing.”
This could be a one-week cameo for Pizzella, a redshirt freshman who mostly has played in mop-up situations this season. Lopez injured his right knee in last week’s victory over Virginia but hopes to return when the Demon Deacons start a stretch of three Atlantic Coast Conference games next Saturday at SMU.
Wake Forest is a half-game behind top-ranked Miami in the ACC standings. The Hurricanes beat Wake Forest 33-20 on Sept. 18.
“Everything’s right in front of us,” Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for SMU and what they’re doing, and we got to go to their place. So, our best is going to be required this week in everything that we do, and we can’t miss a moment.”
Lopez wasn’t suited up to play but was easy to spot on the sidelines thanks to his gold shoes. The offense was in good hands without him.
“He’s dynamic. He’s smart. He’s infectious to be around every day,” Dickert said of Pizzella. “So, it was really awesome from a coaching perspective to see him go out there and have a lot of success.”
Pizzella threw a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes to Carlos Hernandez after Ty Clark III opened the scoring with a 1-yard run on Wake Forest’s second possession. The second Pizzella-to-Hernandez connection capped a 96-yard drive.
Wake Forest also scored on a 79-yard punt return and a 98-yard interception return, both in the second half.
It was the eighth time in nine games that Wake Forest has scored at least 30 points. On defense, the Demon Deacons posted their first shutout since a 3-0 victory over Boston College 11 years ago.
Merrimack (4-6) had a chance to score midway through the third quarter, but failed to reach the end zone in four plays from the Wake Forest 9, including a fourth-and-goal at the 1.
The takeaway
Merrimack: The Warriors had a balanced attack, such as it was, with 102 yards rushing and 100 yards passing. But they were 3 of 18 on third-down conversions and were penalized eight times for 74 yards.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons will have to escape the officials’ eyes in their next three games. They were flagged 11 times for 120 yards against the Warriors.
Up next
Merrimack: At Monmouth next Saturday.
Wake Forest: At SMU next Saturday.
___
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
Tom Foreman Jr., The Associated Press