2,557 pass YDS, 2,500-yd club isn't a headline at Wake Forest anymore — it's just what Giovanni Lopez reliably is.
6′0″ · 203 lb · Madison, AL
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
On production he ranks #107 of 146 QBs; on reputation he is a projected national-award finalist. The gap between those two numbers is the story.
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 432 yds · 3 TD -- top 1% passing yards game. -- Best game: 312 pass yds, 3 TD, 1 INT, vs Miami
The play that turned itSwung North Carolina from 12% to 44% to win.Duke at North Carolina · 32-25
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior quarterback for Wake Forest. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
How he plays
Pushes it downfield on every look.
Interception rate: 79th percentile.
The full scouting readAura™ · Him Watch
-54aura tax
60th pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=9
— the tape outruns the hype.Buzz vs Tape
His production sits in the 60th percentile among qualified QBs this season, well ahead of 6th-percentile attention — a gap of 54 points between tape and volume.
Giovanni Lopez
Giovanni Lopez is a cornerstone for Wake Forest — measured against the line he joined.
PASS YDS · 2,500-YD CLUB
2,557
2557 passing yards — clears the 2,500-QB volume bar.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Dave Clawson → Jake Dickert. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Wake Forest
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wake Forest | 66 | 105 | 62.9% | 887 | 8.4 | 7 | 1 | 153.9 | 65 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 170 | 261 | 65.1% | 1,747 | 6.7 | 10 | 5 | 130.2 | 30 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | South Alabama | 205 | 311 | 65.9% | 2,557 | 8.2 | 18 | 5 | 150.9 | 51 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | South Alabama | 41 | 61 | 67.2% | 475 | 7.8 | 4 | 2 | 147.7 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 482 | 738 | 65.3% | 5,666 | 7.7 | 39 | 13 | 143.7 | 45 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wake Forest | 27 | 90 | 3.3 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 86 | 133 | 1.5 | 3 | -- |
| 2024 | South Alabama | 82 | 465 | 5.7 | 7 | -- |
| 2023 | South Alabama | 18 | 154 | 8.6 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 213 | 842 | 4.0 | 14 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-16vs Akron | 21/32 | 350 | 3 | 0 | 10.9 | 81.7 | Season-high 350 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 38-36@ Purdue | 16/27 | 225 | 1 | 0 | 8.3 | 90.3 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-33vs Miami | 29/46 | 312 | 3 | 1 | 6.8 | 72.7 | 3 TD passes |
| Total | 66/105 | 887 | 7 | 1 | 8.7 | 81.6 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 38–36
at Purdue
225 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 90.3 · 59 rush yds (13 car) · 2 TD
Edged out Purdue on the road in a shootout.
With E. Hyams — 42.5 yards per punt · 2 punts · 46 long · C. Calvert — 12 points · 44 long · 100 percent on field goals
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +312 passing yards, +3 passing TD, +1 interception.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: rush tds (84th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
8.6542 of 126 QBsSack rate
4.5%64 of 126 QBsSacked on 4.5% of dropbacks (64 of 126) — and still 42 of 126 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 62.3% completion on 106 attempts · 33% completion on 12 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 109 dropbacks65Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
46.8%59th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected pointsYards per attempt weight 56%
8.5093th pct of FBS QBssacks excludedSack rate weight 21% (penalty)
4.6%68th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot seeOpponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (2 of 111 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 331 | 3.0 | 8.8 | 0.5 |
| Road1g | 225 | 1.0 | 8.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 296 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jake Dickert
Pass share
55.1%
108 pass / 88 run
Plays / game
65.3
3 games
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him in the top five; no finalist honor is on the books yet.
Play style
Pushes it downfield on every look.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,331 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the ACC as a junior.
Player DNA
Elite arm talent, pushing downfield. Completion rate is the variable.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Jaylen Raynor’s 2023 season.
Matches Jaylen on
Differs from Jaylen on
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Chandler Rogers’s path through UL Monroe.
Matches Chandler on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Blake Shapen's senior season at Mississippi State (2024).
Matches Blake on
Differs from Blake on
Player DNA
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #13 this season.