The defense was stifling for Louisville (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which sacked Wake Forest freshman quarterback John Wolford eight times, intercepted three passes and turned back Wake Forest (2-3, 0-1) on 14 of its 16 third-down attempts. Added up, it was more than enough to make a winner out of freshman quarterback Reggie Bonnafon, who was 16-of-32 for 206 yards and ran for 46 more in his first career start subbing for injured starter Will Gardner.

Wolford was 19-of-34 for 122 yards for the Demon Deacons, who couldn’t take advantage of three Louisville fumbles and a season-high 11 Cardinals penalties for 89 yards in suffering their seventh straight road loss. With the seven sacks, Wake Forest finished with minus-22 rushing yards on 23 attempts.

Wake Forest nose tackle Tylor Harris pounced on a fumble in the end zone – his third recovery of the game -- after stripping and sacking Bonnafon to give Wake Forest a 10-7 lead with 8:32 left in the third quarter and then the visitors took possession at the Cardinal 30 after stoning a Louisville fake punt run on its next defensive series. But two plays later, Louisville defensive end Sheldon Rankins intercepted a Wolford shovel pass, and the Cardinals scored 10 plays and 69 yards later on Radcliff’s 16-yard, tackle-breaking scoring run with 11:41 left to give Louisville a lead it would never relinquish.

Each team turned the ball over twice in a sloppy first half, and Louisville also added two missed field goals and eight penalties for 64 yards. Following their second interception of Wolford – a James Burgess pick in the end zone – the Cardinals marched 80 yards in five plays, capped by Radcliff’s 29-yard scoring run up the middle with 3:55 left in the second quarter to give Louisville a 7-3 lead at the half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville S Gerod Holliman added to his FBS-leading total by intercepting his sixth pass of the season in the second quarter. … Wake Forest has lost 10 of its last 11 ACC road games and 14 of its last 16 road contests overall. … Louisville is 79-26 since moving into Papa John’s Cardinals Stadium in 1998, and the .752 winning percentage is the top mark nationally for programs in their current stadiums.