2026 games, tackles for loss per game. W and L: the team’s results.
Gabe Kirschke
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. The four seasons span three programs and three head coaches: Luke Fickell, Jay Norvell and Jake Dickert. The first career honor came in 2024: All-Mountain West. One game to point at: 6 tackles and 1 sack against Purdue — Week 2, 2026.
25 tackles · 3 sacks
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
25 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 7 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wake Forest | 25 | 11 | 7.0 | 3.0 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Wake Forest | 37 | 21 | 9.0 | 5.0 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Colorado State | 41 | 12 | 9.5 | 6.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 104 | 45 | 26.5 | 14.0 | 2 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 2 tackles, 1 hurry.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-16vs Akron | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-36@ Purdue | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 20-33vs No. 5 Miami | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 30-27@ No. 16 Louisville | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 5 | W 57-3vs Stanford | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-14@ NC State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 41-7@ California | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 51-7vs Virginia | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 11 | 7.0 | 3.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 31 · W 51-7 vs Virginia, play by play
2 tackles. The pressure he forced on 4th and 2 ended Virginia’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Hurried the quarterback on 4th and 2. Third quarter, up 30-0. Ended Virginia’s drive (downs).
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 7 tackles for loss, 3 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Wake Forest’s defense played that day
Virginia’s 9 drives: 8 stopped (1 takeaway) · 1 scored.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle. The pressure he forced on 4th and 5 ended NC State’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Hurried the quarterback on 4th and 5. Third quarter, up 24-14. Ended NC State’s drive (downs).
2 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 2 sacks, tied for 9th-most sacks in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss. First quarter, tied 0-0.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles, including 1 sack. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 7-yard loss on 3rd and 2. Overtime quarter, up 30-23.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 4 · 2026
W 30-27
at Louisville
2 sacks · 2 tackles for loss · 3 tackles
A close one, won by 3 on the road.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
28%7 TFLSack rate
12%3 sacksHurry rate
16%4 hurries25 tackles · 7 for loss · 3 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jake Dickert
Pass share
45.3%
237 pass / 286 run
Plays / game
65.4
8 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
269 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
25 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #9 of 73 ACC DLs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
Played for three programs.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
5 coachesPlayed for 5 head coaches at 3 schools: Paul Chryst, Jim Leonhard, Luke Fickell, Jay Norvell and Jake Dickert.
