LOUISVILLE (Interstat) — Wake Forest used a balanced offense, timely defense and a late special-teams stand to beat Louisville 30-27 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision game at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. The announced attendance was 46,042. Wake Forest improved to 3-1, while Louisville dropped to 2-2. The Demon Deacons scored 30 points and the Cardinals scored 27, with the outcome decided in the final minutes after Louisville missed two field goals down the stretch.

Connor Calvert opened the scoring with a 39-yard field goal for Wake Forest. Louisville answered when Lincoln Kienholz rushed right for a 5-yard touchdown and Carson Hilbert kicked the extra point. Wake Forest regained momentum when Gio Lopez connected with Carlos Hernandez for a 77-yard touchdown. Ty Clark III added a 6-yard touchdown run, and Calvert’s kick made it a two-score game. Louisville pulled closer before halftime when Kienholz found Jaleel Skinner for a 61-yard touchdown, a play upheld by automatic review. Hilbert’s kick cut the deficit.

The second half turned into a kicking exchange. Hilbert made a 41-yard field goal for Louisville, Calvert answered from 35 yards for Wake Forest, and Hilbert converted a 54-yarder. Calvert’s 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter put Wake Forest ahead for good. Louisville had chances late, but Hilbert missed from 42 yards, and Nick Keller’s 57-yard attempt was blocked by Gabe Kirschke with 15 seconds remaining.

Wake Forest entered the game after a 33-20 loss to Miami, a 38-36 overtime win at Purdue and a 38-16 win over Akron. Louisville entered after a 41-31 win over SMU, a 59-13 win over Villanova and a 41-38 loss at Ole Miss. The Demon Deacons scored 21 points in the first quarter, three in the second, three in the third and three in the fourth. Louisville scored 14 in the first, six in the second and seven in the fourth.

Kienholz led Louisville’s offense by completing 27 of 36 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for a score. Gio Lopez completed 12 of 19 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown and rushed eight times for 15 yards for Wake Forest. Carlos Hernandez was Lopez’s top target, catching nine passes for 194 yards and a touchdown. Ty Clark III carried 21 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Deuce Lawrence added 10 carries for 64 yards. Jamar Searcy ran twice for 8 yards. Kamrean Johnson caught one pass for 17 yards, and Drayden Dickmann caught two passes for 14 yards.

Jaleel Skinner caught four passes for 82 yards and a touchdown for Louisville. TreyShun Hurry had eight receptions for 71 yards, Lawayne McCoy had six catches for 75 yards, and Tre Richardson had five catches for 85 yards and two rushes for 8 yards. Isaac Brown ran nine times for 33 yards and caught four passes for 11 yards, while Keyjuan Brown ran 12 times for 48 yards. Braxton Jennings ran once for 3 yards, and Marquise Davis ran once for 2 yards.

Wake Forest’s defense made enough plays to preserve the win. Aiden Hall led the Demon Deacons with 11 tackles. Somad Eaddy had seven tackles and an interception, and Frank Cusano also finished with seven tackles. Deuce Blades II, Braylon Johnson and Davaughn Patterson each had six tackles. Gabe Kirschke recorded three tackles, two sacks and the blocked field goal. Langston Hardy and Zach Lohavichan each had three tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Vincent Firenze and Myles Turpin each had four tackles. Dallas Afalava had two tackles and a quarterback hurry, while Tyler Walton and Matt Herron each added two tackles. Rushaun Tongue had five tackles. Zamari Stevenson, Ashaad Williams, Ja’Marion Kennedy, Kadear Dembele and Deuce Dyce each had one tackle. Koredell Bartley returned two kickoffs for 47 yards, and Ethan Hyams punted three times for 151 yards.

Louisville’s defense was led by Stanquan Clark, who made 12 tackles. T.J. Capers had 10 tackles. Tayon Holloway had six tackles, and Kaleb Beasley had five. Benjamin Perry had five tackles and a sack, TJ Banks had five tackles, and Blake Ruffin added five. Clev Lubin had four tackles and a sack, while Jerod Smith II had three tackles and a sack. Niall Hayes punted twice for 73 yards. Connor Calvert made field goals of 39, 35 and 32 yards. Carson Hilbert made kicks of 41 and 54 yards but missed from 42. Nick Keller’s 57-yard try was blocked.

Wake Forest is scheduled to host Stanford next, while Louisville will visit North Carolina State. The Demon Deacons will look to build on a road win that required poise in the final minutes, while the Cardinals will try to regroup after a narrow loss.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Louisville 35, Wake Forest 22. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Louisville with an 86.7 percent probability to win. Wake Forest had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +12.5. The total score of 57 went over the over/under line of 57.5.