RALEIGH (Interstat) — Gio Lopez threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as Wake Forest defeated North Carolina State 38-14 in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. The Demon Deacons, the visiting team, improved to 5-1. The Wolfpack, the home team, fell to 3-3. Attendance was 56,919. Wake Forest scored 38 points, while North Carolina State finished with 14.

Lopez completed 26 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed eight times for 10 yards and scored on a 1-yard run. His touchdown passes went to Matthew Lusardi for 1 yard, Carlos Hernandez for 6 yards and Jack Foley for 10 yards. Foley finished with eight catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. Hernandez had 12 receptions for 117 yards, a touchdown and two punt returns for 8 yards. Lusardi had one catch for 1 yard and a score. Kamrean Johnson added two catches for 5 yards, and Drayden Dickmann had two catches for 18 yards.

Deuce Lawrence rushed eight times for 46 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for 6 yards. Jamar Searcy rushed four times for 28 yards. Ty Clark III carried 12 times for 17 yards. Ryan Henley returned two kickoffs for 46 yards. Ethan Hyams punted three times for 124 yards. Connor Calvert handled kicking duties and made a 23-yard field goal.

North Carolina State quarterback CJ Bailey completed 28 of 39 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. Will Wilson completed his only pass for 2 yards and a touchdown. Chance Robinson caught three passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Keenan Jackson had five catches for 61 yards. Preston Douglas had five catches for 45 yards. Victor Snow had three catches for 19 yards. Amiri Acker had one catch for 14 yards. Hunter Provience caught three passes for 9 yards and a touchdown. Deandre Desinor had two catches for 3 yards. Darius Johnson had one catch for 4 yards. Ashton Locklear had one catch for 4 yards. Jackson Waller punted four times for 180 yards.

Wake Forest’s defense was led by Vincent Firenze and Langston Hardy, who each made eight tackles. Hardy added 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries. Aiden Hall had six tackles. Braylon Johnson had five tackles and one quarterback hurry. Deuce Blades II had five tackles. Zach Lohavichan had four tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Davaughn Patterson, Rushaun Tongue and Frank Cusano each had four tackles. Ashaad Williams and Somad Eaddy each had three tackles. Zeek Jackson, Matt Herron and Kadear Dembele each had two tackles, with Dembele adding half a sack. Kerrington Lee had two tackles and one quarterback hurry. Gabe Kirschke had one tackle and one quarterback hurry. Dallas Afalava and Deuce Dyce each had one tackle.

North Carolina State’s Popo Aguirre made 12 tackles and had two quarterback hurries. Ziggy Moore had nine tackles and one quarterback hurry. Jackson Vick had eight tackles. Brody Barnhardt had five tackles. Brian Nelson II had four tackles. Elijah Satchell had three tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Kanoah Vinesett handled kicking duties for the Wolfpack.

Wake Forest opened the scoring in the first quarter when Lopez connected with Lusardi for a 1-yard touchdown at the 13:03 mark. North Carolina State answered at 8:17 of the first when Bailey hit Robinson for a 24-yard touchdown. The Wolfpack took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter when Wilson found Provience for a 2-yard touchdown at 9:42. Wake Forest cut the deficit to 14-10 on Calvert’s 23-yard field goal as the first half ended.

The Demon Deacons took control in the third quarter. Lopez threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Hernandez at 10:44, then hit Foley for a 10-yard score at 7:29. Lopez added a 1-yard touchdown run at 2:27 to push Wake Forest ahead 31-14. Deuce Lawrence capped the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run at 11:24 of the fourth quarter. Wake Forest scored 38 points total, while North Carolina State scored 14.

Wake Forest entered the game after a 57-3 victory over Stanford. Earlier this season, Wake Forest beat Louisville 30-27, lost to Miami 33-20, beat Purdue 38-36 in overtime and beat Akron 38-16. North Carolina State had won its previous game against Louisville 31-28. The Wolfpack also beat Appalachian State 41-31, lost at Vanderbilt 35-31, beat Richmond 73-0 and lost at Virginia 34-8. Wake Forest is next scheduled to visit California, then host Virginia, Merrimack and Duke, with road games at SMU and Georgia Tech. North Carolina State is next scheduled to play at Stanford, then host California, Duke and Syracuse, with road games at Florida State and North Carolina.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of North Carolina State 42, Wake Forest 40. Interstat’s ELO system gave North Carolina State a 65.2 percent probability to win. North Carolina State had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -3.5. The teams combined for 52 points against an over-under line of 57.5.