The No. 13 Wake Forest Demon Deacons have been one of the more slept-on teams in college football this season, led by head coach Jake Dickert.
On Saturday, they faced one of their biggest challenges yet, taking on a gritty SMU Mustangs team on the road. SMU entered the game as the favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Not to mention, ESPN personalities Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit both predicted that SMU would beat Wake Forest on “College GameDay,” which would also hurt the Demon Deacons’ College Football Playoff hopes.
Wake Forest Blows Out SMU in First Half
It didn’t take long after the 12 p.m. ET kickoff between the two ACC teams for McAfee and Herbstreit to publicly apologize to Wake Forest after what transpired in the first half.
Wake Forest scored a touchdown on its opening drive, and I think many simply thought we were in store for a shootout.
Yet, the only team to score all half was the Demon Deacons, who absolutely dominated SMU and took a 42-0 lead into halftime.
NEW: Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert on being up 42-0 on SMU at halftime:
“We’re not finished with them yet. We came for 60 minutes and they’ve got nowhere to hide.”
(via @CamLemons_)
— On3 (@On3) November 14, 2026
McAfee & Herbstreit Apologize to Wake Forest
At halftime, Herbstreit posted a video on social media of himself and McAfee issuing an apology for picking against Wake Forest.
“That’s on us,” McAfee said. “We apologize to Wake. Wake is real. We think they’re so good. I don’t know what we were thinking today… SMU looked good last week, you know who else did? Wake.”
Herbstreit added, “So on behalf of Pat, we’re sorry. We love Wake. And Peter’s here. Peter you know Wake’s good right? We all love Wake.”
The caption Herbstreit put on the video read, “Whelp. Both @PatMcAfeeShow and I want to apologize from the bottom of our hearts for picking against @WakeFB We thought SMU at home had a chance and BOY WERE WE WRONG!! These boys are for real! Congrats and WE BELIEVE!”
Whelp. Both @PatMcAfeeShow and I want apologize from the bottom of our hearts for picking against @WakeFB
We thought SMU at home had a chance and BOY WE WE WRONG!!
These boys are for real!
Congrats and WE BELIEVE! https://t.co/CNBfE0X3LL— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 14, 2026
Wake Forest entered the game with an 8-1 record and, barring an unforeseen comeback, is about to improve to 9-1 with two regular-season games remaining.
Pat McAfee & Kirk Herbstreit Publicly Apologize to Wake Forest