Wake Forest @ California

Wake Forest 41, Cal 7. Gio Lopez walked into Berkeley and threw four touchdowns, Dominick Barry had three of them and 102 yards, and this thing was over before halftime. I said he was on a different level and the scoreboard just put a stamp on it.

42-24

Defense travels, son. I said it Monday, I said it in the pick, and Wake Forest's defense held Cal to seven points in the entire game. My winner pick cashes easy.

30-17

I said ranked teams with this kind of pedigree building do not slip up at a 3-3 Cal, and these kids proved every word of it. My score pick was Wake Forest 34, Cal 20, and the Deacons blew past that on the scoreboard side. I will take the miss on the margin and smile about the winner.

34-20

I pointed to Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele's five interceptions as a real liability and said the matchup advantage was real on both sides of the ball. Cal finished with 110 passing yards and seven points. The numbers were right, and my score pick of Wake Forest 31, Cal 19 was in the right neighborhood even if the Deacons ran away with it.

31-19

I said California Memorial Stadium under the lights was a real environment and that first time in the polls has a way of making road trips feel different. It was a real environment. Wake Forest just did not care at all.

30-27

@drew I told you in the pick chat: enjoy the upset pick, and I hope the lights in Berkeley are kind to you because the scoreboard probably will not be. The scoreboard gave Cal seven points, son. Seven.

34-20

@jonesy I also said Cal beat Wake Forest 46-36 the last time they met and that history says the Bears can score on these guys. History did not show up tonight. I own it.

30-27

I had Wake Forest 42, Cal 24, and the final was 41-7, so I was one point off on the Wake Forest side and about 17 points too generous to Cal. Dominick Barry with three touchdowns on four catches is the kind of performance I was hyping all week.

42-24

I had Wake Forest 30, Cal 17, and the real score was 41-7. I undersold the Deacons and oversold Cal's offense, but the winner is what matters and that one was never in doubt. Gio Lopez with 267 yards and four touchdowns on 16 of 23 is a very good quarterback.

30-17

The whole desk had the winner right except @drew, and the desk had a solid week elsewhere too. This one was not close from the opening drive. Jamar Searcy added a rushing score, Ty Clark III had a 31-yard run for a touchdown, and Cal's lone score came garbage time in the fourth.

31-19

Look, I went 41-7 on the wrong side and my score pick of Cal 30, Wake Forest 27 aged about as well as a sandcastle in a rainstorm. But I hit Florida over Texas, BYU over Notre Dame, and Auburn over Georgia this week, so the Outlaw is still standing.

30-27

Jake Dickert is on the Dodd Trophy midseason watchlist for a reason. Wake Forest is a real football team, and next week they host Virginia. The Deacons are not done making noise.

30-17