The Wake Forest Demon Deacons lead the Akron Zips 28-3 after the first half.

It was an eventful first half for the Demon Deacons' offense as big pass plays propelled them to a dominant first-half performance. Some key transfers really came in and made a name for themselves out of the gate, and key returners also made big plays. Let's go through the highlights.

1st Quarter

The Deacs came out firing in a pass-heavy opening drive after winning the coin toss. A Carlos Hernandez catch-and-run went for 34 yards to put Wake in Akron territory. From there, Gio Lopez threw a strike to Cam Shanks for a 27-yard reception and score. Lopez was 5-of-6 for 72 yards on the opening drive.

The defense came out of the gate aggressively. New Deac Matt Herron wasted no time making his presence felt as he combined with Dallas Afalava to sack Broughton and force an Akron punt. Braylon Johnson also had a nice sack to end the quarter.

Penalties were a big story in the first quarter. With only 10 points scored, there were nine total penalties committed by the two teams. The Deacs were guilty of five of those penalties, and it was certainly one of the more concerning aspects of an overall solid quarter of play.

2nd Quarter

Wake got the ball on their own 12 to start the second quarter. It took them only four plays to go 88 yards and find the end zone thanks to a Gio Lopez 72-yard strike to transfer Antonio Meeks. This was a promising big play that put the Deacs up three scores with plenty of football still to be played.

The defense came right back with a big play of their own. Vinny Firenze helped punch it free, and Rushuan Tongue recovered. The Deacs moved the ball down the field before eventually settling for a field goal to make the score 20-0.

The next time Wake Forest got the ball, it did not take them long at all to add to their lead. On the first play of the drive, Gio Lopez threw it out wide to Carlos Hernandez, who took it 78 yards for the score. This was just another big pass play that helped propel the Deacs in the first half.

To end the half, Akron put together a decent drive that worked down to the Wake Forest seven-yard line. The Deacs' defense came up big, though, thanks in part to a big stop on a 3rd-and-one run play. This put the Zips on the board but kept the margin heavily in Wake's favor.

With less than two minutes left in the half, Wake marched down the field and got into field goal range, but Calvert's 38-yard attempt missed. Still, the Deacs go into halftime with a 28-3 lead.