He had plenty of help outside. Jack Foley caught 6 balls for 162 yards, and Carlos Hernandez had 4 catches for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns from Pizzella. Wake put up 20 in the first quarter and 29 in the second. The 2nd-quarter total alone beat anything Merrimack has scored in its last 5 games, and the board never had this one inside 6 touchdowns.
Merrimack's offense never got going. The Warriors went 16-of-35 through the air for 100 yards and threw 2 interceptions, and all 4 quarters of their line score read 0. The preview called the size and depth gap the decisive matchup before kickoff, and an FCS front against an ACC line played out exactly that way.
The part worth noticing is the second half. Pizzella was finished, the reserves came in, and Wake Forest still scored 14 in the 3rd and 14 in the 4th. If Merrimack was counting on the Deacons easing off once the starters sat down, it didn't happen. The box score we found doesn't say whether linebacker Aiden Hall or lineman Tolu Olajide played, but with a 49-0 halftime lead, Jake Dickert had no reason to rush either one back.
Wagner19-14
New Hampshire24-17
Dartmouth21-27
Yale24-41Merrimack77-0
Wake Forest is now 8-1 and has won 5 straight. Over those 5 games the Deacons have outscored Stanford, NC State, Cal, Virginia and Merrimack by a combined 264-31. Merrimack drops to 4-6. Its 2-game home winning streak ended, and it has now lost all 3 road trips in its last 5, with Yale and Dartmouth before this one. The Warriors got their paycheck and the film the preview mentioned, but there won't be much on that film they want to watch. Lopez is expected back for the SMU trip, and Wake can go there knowing its backup handled a full game plan without trouble.
