BERKELEY, Calif. — No. 21 Wake Forest made a long trip look easy Saturday, building a 41-0 lead on California before the Golden Bears scored and leaving with a 41-7 win that makes the Demon Deacons bowl eligible.
Quarterback Gio Lopez threw for 267 yards and accounted for 318 yards of offense and four touchdowns. His favorite target was freshman tight end Dominick Barry, who had four catches for 102 yards and three scores.
The Deacs opened with a 99-yard drive that took just five plays, finished off by a 39-yard Lopez strike to Barry down the middle, the first of Barry’s career. After a pass breakup by defensive back Deuce Blades II forced a Cal turnover on downs deep in its own end, Lopez found Jack Foley alone in the end zone from 29 yards for a 14-0 lead.
Jamar Searcy, who led Wake Forest with 61 rushing yards, plunged in from a yard out early in the second quarter, and Ty Clark III broke a 31-yard touchdown run to make it 27-0. Lopez and Barry connected from 30 yards with nine seconds left before halftime, then hooked up again from 2 yards late in the third quarter. Blades also knocked away a fourth-and-goal pass to keep Cal off the board.
Barry is the first Wake Forest tight end to reach 100 receiving yards in a game since Cam Serigne against Texas A&M in December 2017, and the first with three touchdown catches in a game since Jake Freudenthal did it against NC State in 2019.
Cal managed only 110 passing yards from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and avoided the shutout with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Mason Mini in the fourth quarter. Ashten Emory led the Bears with 56 rushing yards, and Chase Hendricks caught passes for 54 yards.
The win gives Wake Forest bowl eligibility for the second year in a row and the 19th time in program history. The Deacs have now earned a postseason spot nine times since 2016.
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