Three field goals from Connor Calvert, along with Carlos Hernandez’s huge punt return for a score were difference makers in Wake Forest’s 16-9 win over No. 12 Virginia Saturday night in Charlottesville, Va.
The Demon Deacons (6-3, 3-3 ACC) handed the Cavaliers (8-2, 5-1) their first conference loss and beat Virginia for the first time since 2021 when they won 37-17 on the road.
Hernandez had the biggest play of the night, fielding the ball off a bounce and returning it 88 yards for a score, giving the Demon Deacons the lead for good at 7-6 with 1:33 left in the half.
Calvert’s first field goal from 40 yards out with 40 seconds left extended the lead to 10-6 at halftime.
The Cavaliers came in as the lone unbeaten in the ACC but saw their seven-game winning streak end as they failed to score a touchdown for the first time all year.
Two field goals by Will Bettridge accounted for Virginia’s only points of the first half. He added a 35-yarder in the third to cut the deficit to 10-9 but Calvert connected on a 50-yarder with 3:49 left in the quarter to make the score 13-9.
Virginia lost starting quarterback Chandler Morris to an injury in the second quarter after he was hit by two defenders while sliding on a second-down run, laying on the field for a few minutes before getting up and going to the locker room. He was 3-for-6 for 19 yards before exiting and did not return.
Daniel Kaelin filled in and completed 18 of his 28 passes for 145 yards. He also rushed for 49 yards.
Virginia outgained Wake Forest 327-203.
Wake Forest’s 16-play fourth-quarter drive consumed 9:16 and led to a 49-yard field goal by Calvert and a 16-9 edge with 3:53 to play.
Dylan Hazen forced a fumble on a rush by J’Mari Taylor and recovered it at the 26-yard line of Wake Forest with 3:12 remaining to kill off Virginia’s ensuing drive.
The Cavaliers had one last chance to answer with a little over two minutes to play, getting inside to the 5-yard line of the Demon Deacons with 36 seconds to play. But a fourth-and-three pass from Daniel to Jahmal Edrine was broken up at the goal line.
