Wake Forest Outlasts Texas A&M to Win Belk Bowl Behind John Wolford's 4 TDs

In the highest-scoring bowl game of the season thus far, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons beat the Texas A&M Aggies 55-52 on Friday in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Demon Deacons and Aggies combined for 1,260 yards of total offense with quarterbacks John Wolford and Nick Starkel leading the way.

For Wake Forest, Wolford finished his improbably great senior season with 400 passing yards and four touchdowns to go along with 68 rushing yards, ending the campaign by passing Riley Skinner as the most prolific single-season passer in school history.

Texas A&M's Starkel threw for 499 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, while No. 1 target and potential 2018 first-round draft pick Christian Kirk finished with 13 receptions for 189 yards and three touchdowns.

The Demon Deacons finished the season with a record of 8-5 thanks to Friday's victory, while the Aggies fell to 7-6.

One of the wildest bowl games in recent memory began in unpredictable fashion, as each of Wake Forest's first two drives ended in blocked punts.

The first block by Deshawn Capers-Smith was recovered for a score by Charles Oliver, and the second block by Roshauud Paul eventually set up a two-yard touchdown run by Trayveon Williams.

After the Aggies raced out to a 14-0 lead in less than four minutes, however, the Demon Deacons reeled off 31 unanswered points.

Three of Wake Forest's touchdowns during that run were passes from Wolford with one going to Scotty Washington and two going to Tabari Hines.

While Wake was the victim of two blocked punts and a blocked field goal in the game, it managed to make a positive play on special teams when Jessie Bates III took a punt back 59 yards for a touchdown.

With the Demon Deacons in firm control, Fox Sports' Tim Brando suggested the Aggies had essentially mentally checked out before the game even started:

As pointed out by Bryan Fischer of College Football Talk, though, Texas A&M was in a difficult spot in between coaches, with Kevin Sumlin out and Jimbo Fisher yet to take over day-to-day operations:

Even so, TAMU showed some fight in the closing minutes of the first half, as it sandwiched a 37-yard touchdown pass from Wolford to tight end Cam Serigne between a pair of scoring strikes from Starkel to Kirk.

The second came with 18 seconds remaining in the half and cut the deficit to 38-28 entering the locker room.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the teams needed less than one half of play to make it an over game:

Texas A&M had some momentum back on its side after the late score, and it double dipped effectively by scoring on the first drive of the second half.

Kirk was once again the beneficiary of a nine-yard touchdown catch to shrink the Wake Forest advantage to just three points.

With the touchdowns coming fast and furious, ESPN's Dustin Fox joked that the Aggies and Deacons were battling to reach triple digits:

Kirk's playmaking ability went a long way toward keeping Texas A&M in the game, and his decision to play despite his potentially lofty draft status earned plenty of praise.

Among those who were impressed with his choice was Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle:

The decision nearly proved disastrous, though, as Kirk had his ankle rolled up in the third quarter, which resulted in him remaining on the turf for an extended period of time.

Just as a cart came onto the field, Kirk managed to get to his feet and walk off under his own power.

ESPN's Edward Aschoff described the situation:

"

That went from looking awful for Christian Kirk to him jumping up and walking off whatever happened to his ankle. A lot of toughness from a kid who wants to get back out there and play

— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) December 29, 2017"

Kirk was able to return to the game on Texas A&M's next drive, and he was an important figure for the remainder of the contest.

After Wake extended its advantage to 41-35 with a field goal, the Aggies regained the lead with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Keith Ford.

With the Demon Deacons down 42-41, it was apropos that Conor O'Neill of the Winston-Salem Journal mentioned earlier in the day that Wolford is no stranger to wild games:

Wolford helped put Wake Forest back on top with 9:06 left in the fourth quarter when a drive he orchestrated ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Cade Carney on a fourth-down option pitch.

The Demon Deacons were up 48-45, but Texas A&M answered with a touchdown of its own just over three minutes later when Starkel hit Jhamon Ausbon from 13 yards out.

With the Aggies leading 52-48, Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News suggested that all sense of rhyme or reason in the game had been lost:

That became even clearer on Wake Forest's next drive, as it marched 69 yards on 13 plays and needed just 3:34 before Matt Colburn rushed for a one-yard touchdown to make it 55-52 in favor of the Deacons.

Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports joked that anyone who bet on either Wake Forest or Texas A&M suffered through a stressful day:

Texas A&M had one more chance to either tie the game or take the lead for good, but it turned the ball over on downs near midfield to end the contest.

The win was a big one for Wake Forest not only because it took down an SEC team, but also due to the fact that it secured a season of eight wins or better for the first time since 2008.

Friday's defeat capped a disappointing campaign for Texas A&M, however, sweeping changes figure to be made before the start of the 2018 season with Fisher coming aboard.