Tuesday October 03, 2006

Wake Forest Preview

Wake Forest Preview
The Deacons are one of just ten unbeaten teams in Division I-A. They were very impressive in a big win at Ole Miss and probably least impressive in a one-point win over Duke. They get it done with fundamentals and their stats back that up. Wake Forest runs the ball and stops the run. They also lead the league in red zone offense and red zone defense. This undefeated start comes after losing their starting quarterback and running back.

They are fourth in the league in turnover margins with a +0.20 mark. They trail only the Tigers in third down conversions with 44.1 percentage. The Wake defense is tied for the league lead in sacks with 17. They are 17 of 18 inside the red zone and also lead the league in red zone defense allowing only 46 % scoring.

Wake Forest is sixth in the ACC in total offense with 317 yards per contest. The Deacs are third in the conference in rushing with 167.4 yards per game. They average 4.2 yards per carry. Wake is last in the conference in passing offense only averaging 149 yards per game and sixth in the league in scoring average with 23.8 points per game mark.

Wake leads the ACC in scoring defense allowing only 10.6 points a game. They are sixth in the ACC in total defense giving up 273 yards per contest. The Deacs are fifth in the league against the run giving up only 78.2 yards per game. But they are eighth in the ACC against the pass giving up 194.8 yards per game.

The Deacs are sixth in the league in kick off returns with a 20.2 average and third in the ACC in punt returns with a 12.8 mark. They are fourth in punting with a 37 yard per punt average.

The Syracuse Game
The Deacons opened the season with a dominating defensive performance against Syracuse when they held them to 136 total yards. Wake broke a 10-10 tie in the second half by scoring the last 10 points of the game. Micah Andrews had 142 yards rushing but it was D’Angelo Bryant’s 19-yard run with 90 seconds left in the game.

The Duke Game
The Deacs were outplayed most of the game against Duke in their 14-13 win. Duke outgained Wake 365-291 yards. Quarterback Riley Skinner had his first career start and went 22 of 29 for 232 yards and a touchdown. It was a Micah Andrews touchdown with 98 seconds left that lifted the Deacs to 2-0.

The UConn Game
Wake went on the road for the first time and took a 24-13 win despite being out gained and out first downed. The Deacons scored 10 fourth quarter points to put away the Huskies. Andrews had 73 yards rushing but injured his knee in the contest. Perhaps the key play of the game came early in the first quarter when Jeremy Thompson returned an interception 86 yards for a score and a 14-point turnaround.

The Ole Miss Game
Wake Forest’s most impressive win of the season came on a 27-3 trip to Oxford, MS. The Deacs rode 240 yards on the ground and used only five passes in the win. D’Angelo Bryant tallied 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

The Liberty Game
Wake used a balanced offense in the 34-14 win. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game and never looked back. It was their best offensive performance in the first have when they took a 27-7 lead into the locker room.

Strength vs. Strength
The Clemson SID office released these notes about what could be some terrific match ups:
•Clemson ranks second in the nation in scoring offense (43.4) and Wake Forest is 9th in scoring defense (10.6).
•Clemson is seventh in the nation in rushing offense (240.6) and Wake Forest is 16th in rushing defense (78.2).
•Clemson is 10th in the nation in fewest sacks allowed (4), while Wake Forest is 12th in the nation in quarterback sacks by its defense (3.4 per game).
•Clemson is 11th in the nation in total offense (445.2) and Wake Forest is 24th in total defense (273.0).

Stuckey’s Injury
With Chansi Stuckey’s broken foot, the Tigers will have to change a little of its strategy. This week I think Jacoby Ford will get more snaps and perhaps more opportunities. In the coming weeks I think we could see C.J. Spiller more involved in the screen game and maybe seeing some time at wide out.

On August 3, I wrote this about Wake Forest:
”I think it is time to start calling it like it is when it comes to Wake Forest football under Jim Grobe. This is a very tough out. This is not the Wake Forest of the past. No, this is Jim Grobe’s Wake Forest team. And the worst news is that the 2006 Deacons are Grobe’s best squad since he arrived in Winston-Salem.

I know some of you are still not believers. I know some of you will point out that they went 4-7 the last two seasons. I know some of you will point out that they have defeated Clemson twice under Grobe. Well guess what, it is not just Clemson. They have had success against a lot of teams under Grobe. Wake Forest has defeated Clemson, Virginia, NC State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Oregon and Purdue under Grobe.

It is their style of play. They do not beat themselves. In fact, over the last four seasons Wake is plus 30 in the turnover margin. They also play so many close games. In the 57 games Grobe has coached at Wake Forest, 29 have been decided by a touchdown or less.

Again, the hard pill to swallow is that this year he has his best team. The Deacons return 19 starters including 10 on defense. I don’t buy into the theory that says Groves Stadium is a hard place to play because no one is there. I believe Grobe has a well-coached bunch that executes. FSU’s last trip there saw a close 3-point Seminole win. I guarantee you if you told Tommy Bowden he could take a 3-point win there this season, he would gladly take it and not even make the trip.”

October 4 Note:
Wake is as good as I thought but Clemson is better than I thought and better than Wake Forest.

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