Gio Lopez throws four TD passes as No. 21 Wake Forest routs Cal 41-7 in Berkeley

Wake Forest marked its first Associated Press ranking in four years by taking California apart early. Gio Lopez threw four touchdown passes, three of them in the first half, and the No. 21 Demon Deacons beat the Golden Bears 41-7 on Saturday night at California Memorial Stadium. The result moves Wake Forest to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the ACC, second in the league behind unbeaten Miami.

The game was over by halftime. According to the Associated Press recap carried by ESPN, Wake Forest scored touchdowns on five of its six first-half possessions and averaged 12.3 yards per play. It outgained Cal 394-142 before the break and led 34-0. That is the largest halftime deficit Cal has faced since it trailed Oregon 41-3 in 2013, and the home crowd booed the Bears off the field.

Lopez finished with 267 passing yards. Tight end Dominick Barry caught three of his touchdown passes, including scores of 39 and 30 yards in the first half. The 39-yarder finished a five-play, 99-yard drive on Wake Forest's opening possession. The Deacons then stopped Cal on fourth-and-1 at the Bears' 34, and Lopez hit Jack Foley for a 29-yard score right away. Jamar Searcy added a 1-yard touchdown run and Ty Clark III broke a 31-yard run before Lopez and Barry connected again just before the half. ESPN's recap says Lopez now has 23 total touchdowns this season, passing and rushing combined.

For Cal, the loss erased the lift from last week's 25-20 win over Virginia Tech, and the quarterback question is back. Coach Tosh Lupoi started Jackson Brousseau again rather than Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who missed the Virginia Tech game with a concussion. Brousseau completed 17 of 28 passes for only 81 yards in his second career start, and Sagapolutele replaced him in the second half. Sagapolutele's fourth-quarter touchdown pass prevented the shutout. Lupoi told ESPN the job would be a competition from here on, even though Cal has invested heavily in Sagapolutele. The Bears are 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the ACC, and they have lost three of their four home games against FBS opponents.

What it means next

Wake Forest has an open date before hosting Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Deacons have won four of five since their only loss, 33-20 to then-No. 5 Miami. In that run they have outscored NC State, Stanford and Cal by a combined 136-24. This was their fourth road win over a power-conference opponent this season, after Purdue, Louisville and NC State. Virginia comes in at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the league. With Miami and SMU also near the top of the standings, Wake Forest probably can't afford a slip at home if it wants to stay in the ACC title race.

Cal gets no rest. The Bears travel to No. 24 SMU (5-1, 3-1 ACC) on Saturday, Oct. 24, in a game on The CW. Their record shows a clear split. They have beaten Syracuse, Wagner and Virginia Tech, but lost by double digits to UCLA, Clemson and now Wake Forest, and they also fell 39-31 at UNLV. Lupoi has to pick a starting quarterback for a road game against a ranked team just after the Bears' worst half in more than a decade. A loss in Dallas would leave Cal below .500 with five games to go, which would make the push for bowl eligibility difficult.