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Wake Forest investigates whether plays leaked to or stolen by Louisville

Dan Wolken
USA TODAY Sports

Wake Forest football staff members discovered materials left behind by Louisville last Saturday that showed the Cardinals were prepared for plays the Demon Deacons had not run before, raising suspicions of a security breach, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson reacts during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson acknowledged Wednesday the school was investigating whether data might have been leaked to Louisville or stolen. Louisville won the game 44-12.

Athletic director Ron Wellman said in a statement Wednesday that he notified Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford and Louisville AD Tom Jurich after the documents were discovered by a member of the school's travel party.

Clawson wouldn't elaborate on the nature of the inquiry on the ACC teleconference.

"There was somehow a breach," Clawson said. "I've shared it with our (athletics director) and we're trying to find out what happened."

If Louisville indeed had documents that showed plays Wake Forest had used in practice but not games, it could be considered a competitive advantage.

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Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said in a statement he has "no knowledge of the situation."

"We take a lot of pride in the way we operate our program," the statement said. "As I've stated already this season, my coaching philosophy has always been to play the game with sportsmanship. Right now, our focus is on our game (Thursday) at Houston and finishing the 2016 season strong."

It is not uncommon for teams to accidentally leave behind materials related to game preparation in the locker room, on the field or in the assistant coaching box.

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