Demond Claiborne ran for two touchdowns and Wake Forest’s defense did much of the heavy lifting in a 23-20 victory against host Connecticut on Saturday afternoon at East Hartford, Conn.
Claiborne gained 60 yards on 24 carries, Hank Bachmeier threw for 274 yards with an interception and Taylor Morin had 104 receiving yards for the Demon Deacons (3-4).
UConn quarterback Nick Evers was 26-for-43 passing for 247 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
UConn (4-3) didn’t move above the 200-yard mark of total offense until about five minutes into the fourth quarter. But the Huskies engineered a 13-play, 88-yard mark to pull within 23-20 on Evers’ 25-yard scoring pass to Louis Hansen with 2:27 left.
UConn forced a Wake Forest punt and got the ball back at its own 20-yard line with 2:02 remaining. The Huskies picked up a first down before an incomplete pass on fourth down near midfield halted the final threat.
Wake Forest’s defense made a big impact. After a defensive-oriented first half, the teams traded touchdown drives in the first eight minutes of the second half.
Wake Forest extended its advantage to 20-6 with Claiborne’s 1-yard run completing an eight-play, 60-yard drive.
UConn responded by going 50 yards in seven plays, with Evers throwing 20 yards to Jasiah Gathings to cut the deficit to 20-13.
A chance for Wake Forest to rebuild a double-digit lead was thwarted when Matthew Dennis’ 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked late in the third. On the Demon Deacons’ next possession, Dennis connected from 36 yards out for a 23-13 lead with 11:13 to play.
Wake Forest led 13-6 at halftime, outgaining the Huskies 228-124 prior to the break. Both teams collected an interception in the first half.
Dennis kicked Wake Forest field goals of 32 and 31 yards and Chris Freeman booted UConn field goals of 35 and 53 yards. The difference was Claiborne’s 5-yard run early in the second quarter. The second Dennis field goal put the Demon Deacons up 13-3.
–Field Level Media