It has been a wild college football season to say the least. With all the crazy upsets and big-time matchups we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, it can be easy to lose track of the teams and players that have been steady and taken care of business week in and week out. One player who has performed at an extremely high level this season without receiving the same recognition as others is Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez.
The Demon Deacons have gotten off to a 6-1 start, with their lone loss coming against the No. 1 ranked Miami Hurricanes. Their hot start is due in large part to the play of their transfer quarterback, who has helped turn Wake Forest into one of the biggest surprise teams in college football this season.
Through seven games, Lopez has thrown for 1,947 yards and 17 touchdowns with just one interception while adding 253 yards and six more scores on the ground. Statistically, Lopez is right up there with the big name quarterbacks in college football, including Trinidad Chambliss, Darian Mensah and CJ Carr, and has even outperformed some of them in certain areas.
Lopez found himself in Winston-Salem after a difficult season at North Carolina last year during Bill Belichick’s first season, which was an all around mess. He began the season as the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback but dealt with injury issues. Even when healthy and on the field though, he never quite looked like the player we saw in 2024 at South Alabama. That season, Lopez was the driving force behind a high-powered Jaguars offense, accounting for just over 3,000 yards of total offense and 25 touchdowns in 11 games.
During his time at South Alabama, Lopez played in offensive coordinator Rob Ezell’s system. Ezell is now the offensive coordinator at Wake Forest, and their reunion at the Power Four level has been perfect so far. The Demon Deacons are averaging 446.9 yards per game, 6.7 yards per play, and have scored 30 or more points in six of their seven games. Lopez certainly has not done it alone as he is surrounded by a plethora of offensive weapons, including wide receiver Carlos Hernandez who like Lopez, has been one of the more underrated players at his position this season.
With the big-name players at the big-name programs often stealing the spotlight, it can be easy to overlook guys like Gio Lopez. He deserves to be in the conversation among the elite quarterbacks in college football this season and, in my opinion, is worth mentioning in the Heisman race. He also has an intriguing story after struggling a year ago and finding his footing again by reuniting with his former offensive coordinator. His turnaround shows how important player development and finding the right system can be in college football, especially in a season where we have seen so many notable QBs struggle.
It's more than just Lopez though, as Wake Forest is a team worth keeping an eye on. In his second season with the program, Jake Dickert has quickly turned the Demon Deacons into a legitimate contender that deserves a spot well within the Top 25 and is firmly in the race for the ACC title.
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