Wake Forest didn’t just show up at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. It came to embarrass SMU. The Demon Deacons ripped through the Mustangs’ defense from the opening drive, piling up a ruthless 28-0 lead before SMU could even figure out what hit it. And the humiliation only got worse.
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SMU, supposedly the stronger program with home-field advantage, looked completely helpless as Wake Forest stormed to a staggering 42-0 halftime lead. By then, the upset predictions were dead, and the analysts who doubted the Demon Deacons were already scrambling to apologize.
Kirk Herbstreit was first. In a video posted alongside Pat McAfee, the longtime ESPN analyst offered a direct mea culpa. “Whelp. Both @PatMcAfeeShow and I want to apologize from the bottom of our hearts for picking against @WakeFB,” he wrote.
“We thought SMU at home had a chance and BOY WERE WE WRONG!! These boys are for real! Congrats and WE BELIEVE!” McAfee quickly followed with his own simple reply: “That’s 100% ON US.”
Scott Van Pelt joined them shortly after. “I apologize to Wake Forest,” he posted. “I WAS familiar with your game, but picked the ponies anyway. What a wagon this Deacon team is.”
The reaction was as swift as Wake Forest’s offense. Fans who had watched the Demon Deacons quietly put together one of the more impressive seasons in the ACC suddenly had national voices admitting they had underestimated the program.
The 49-7 final only reinforced the point. Wake Forest finished with 475 total yards and controlled the game on both sides of the ball. SMU managed just one touchdown and never recovered from the early avalanche.
This was not a case of a team catching lightning in a bottle. Under head coach Jake Dickert, Wake Forest entered the game at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the ACC, ranked as high as No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Their only loss came against Miami early in the season. Since then, the Demon Deacons have reeled off a string of dominant performances, including a 51-7 win over Virginia and a 77-0 rout of Merrimack.
Quarterback Gio Lopez has been the catalyst, giving the offense balance between the pass and a productive ground game. The defense has been equally effective, limiting opponents and creating short fields.
Yet the national conversation had not fully caught up. SMU entered the afternoon as the betting favorite in some circles, and several high-profile voices still leaned toward the Mustangs.
The perception that Wake Forest was a solid but not elite ACC team lingered, even as the results continued to pile up. Saturday’s performance in Dallas made that view difficult to sustain.
The Demon Deacons did not just win; they dismantled a team that had been viewed as a legitimate threat for an ACC title and playoff consideration.
The apologies from McAfee, Herbstreit, and Van Pelt carried weight because of their platforms. Herbstreit and McAfee form one of the most visible tandems on College GameDay, while Van Pelt’s SportsCenter audience reaches millions.
When they publicly reverse course, it signals a broader shift in how the program is viewed. Wake Forest is no longer a curiosity or a mid-tier ACC surprise.
The team is forcing evaluators to treat it as a real contender in a conference that has been fighting for respect in the expanded playoff era.
For SMU, the loss was particularly damaging. The Mustangs fell to 7-3 and saw their path to the ACC Championship Game effectively close on their home field.
Special teams miscues and turnovers compounded the issues, allowing Wake Forest to build an insurmountable lead before the third quarter even began. Kevin Jennings and the SMU offense never found rhythm against a Deacon defense that has been one of the more consistent units in the league.
The larger takeaway extends beyond one Saturday. College football’s national media landscape still tends to default to brand names and conference hierarchy until the results become impossible to ignore.
Wake Forest has spent the better part of two months under Dickert making its case on the field. The 42-0 halftime lead simply removed any remaining ambiguity.
The apologies that followed were less about one bad pick and more about acknowledging that the Demon Deacons have earned a different level of attention.
As the regular season winds down, Wake Forest will face Georgia Tech on the road and close at home against Duke. With a 9-1 record and a resume that now includes a statement road win against a ranked-ish ACC opponent, the Demon Deacons enter the final stretch with momentum and a clearer national narrative.
The analysts who picked against them on Saturday have already adjusted. The rest of the sport may not be far behind.