Sam Hartman threw four touchdown passes to Greg Dortch as Wake Forest snapped two-game losing streak by hammering visiting Rice 56-24 in a nonconference game on Saturday at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Hartman completed 15 of 17 passes for 241 yards. Dortch made 11 catches for 163 yards.

Running back Cade Carney scored on a pair of 1-yard runs in the first half for the Demon Deacons (3-2), who play host to undefeated Clemson next weekend.

It was the first game since last Sunday's firing of Wake Forest defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel following a blowout loss to visiting Notre Dame.

Rice tallied 370 yards of total offense against the Demon Deacons, who are using a staff-by-committee in overseeing the defensive calls.

A good chunk of Rice's offense came because the Owls were 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions.

The score was 42-3 at halftime after cornerback Essang Bassey returned a fumble 51 yards for a touchdown.

Rice quarterback Shawn Stankavage was 17-for-32 passing for 103 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Owls (1-4), who've lost four games in a row, scored the game's final 14 points.

Rice gained 267 yards on the ground, with Austin Walter churning out 165 yards on 18 carries.

Hartman threw touchdown passes of 54 and 10 yards to Dortch in the first quarter. The pair connected on a 38-yard touchdown play in the second quarter and a 4-yard scoring play in the third quarter.

Less than a minute after the final Hartman-to-Dortch hookup, Wake Forest's Chuck Wade Jr. returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown.

Stankavage threw an 8-yard shovel pass to Walter for a touchdown in the third quarter. Walter ran 38 yards for a touchdown later in the quarter.

Stankavage threw 3 yards to Aaron Cephus for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Aside from Dortch, Wake Forest players totaled just six catches.

It was the first meeting between the teams since 1990. The series is now even at 1-1-1.

--Field Level Media