The Demon Deacons improved to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the ACC, keeping pace with Miami in the conference title race.
Wake Forest did not just beat SMU, it buried them. The Demon Deacons rolled into Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas and left with a 49-7 win, handing SMU its first home loss since joining the ACC three seasons ago.
The rout extended Wake Forest's scoring dominance to absurd levels, with the team outscoring opponents 145-0 in first halves over its last four games. That kind of margin tends to end conversations about soft schedules, and this one did. At 9-1 overall and 6-1 in ACC play, Wake Forest remains firmly in the College Football Playoff picture.
Miami kept pace on its own end, beating Duke at home the same day, so the ACC championship race stays a two-team conversation for now. Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert called it a mission accomplished, saying afterward that the team is on a mission and that the goal has never been about proving doubters wrong.
With the win, Wake Forest pushes its momentum into the stretch run of the season, still chasing Miami atop the conference standings.