Wake Forest goes from a hunter to the hunted
Unbeaten Deacons have a big test at Clemson on Nov. 20
Wake Forest began this season among the large group known as “everybody else” in the ACC, the label applied to teams projected to fall in line behind perennial favorite Clemson.
Imagining a different scenario would have been a stretch this summer, considering the powerhouse Tigers were coming off a sixth consecutive league title and yet another appearance in the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons were looking to improve from a 4-5 showing (3-4 ACC) in a pandemic-affected season and were picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division by media.
Wake Forest has flipped that script in a big way.
The 16th-ranked Demon Deacons (6-0, 4-0) have gone from hunter to hunted as the ACC’s only unbeaten school and the highest-ranked team in the league during this week’s bye. A daunting second half looms for Wake Forest, including a Nov. 20 meeting at Clemson.
Despite what’s ahead, the Demon Deacons and their high-scoring offense are currently the unexpected targets, and potential challengers must either keep pace or find a way to slow them down.
“The fact that Wake is undefeated at this point shows everybody that there’s hope and everybody’s got a chance,” said North Carolina coach Mack Brown, whose squad hosts Wake Forest in a non-conference meeting on Nov. 6.
Coach Dave Clawson “does a tremendous job at Wake. They’ve got an older team and I do think that the ‘super-senior’ year (of extra eligibility) helped them. A lot of those guys are back from last year and they’re playing with a lot of confidence.”
Wake Forest has its first 4-0 start in ACC play and is 6-0 for the first time since beginning 7-0 in 1944. The Demon Deacons rank 14th nationally in scoring (38.7 points per game) and average 441.3 yards per outing (42nd in FBS).
Sophomore quarterback Sam Hartman directs a proficient attack that seems to score at will and protects the ball. Those strengths have helped earn consecutive close wins over Louisville (37-34) and Syracuse (40-37 in overtime) entering the break.
Resilient as Wake Forest has been, its road to an Atlantic Division
title gets tougher with Duke, the Tar Heels, No. 22 North Carolina State (Nov. 13), Clemson and Boston College still ahead.
Second-place N.C. State (4-1, 1-0) might end up holding the cards after creating this opening with a 27-21, two-overtime victory over then-No. 9 Clemson last month. That gave the Wolfpack the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Tigers, with N.C. State’s lone loss coming the week before in non-conference play at Mississippi State.
“That game helped us,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. “Even though we lost (at MSU), it helped us I think identify some things we can’t be. And the guys took that to heart.”
N.C. State still has the bulk of its ACC docket remaining, but if it can run the table, a berth in the title game in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Dec. 4 awaits. That’s a big “if,” with Clemson steadily improving from two September losses and Wake Forest playing well in all phases.
The Tigers (3-2, 2-1) visit Syracuse tonight after a bye to begin a four-game stretch with three road contests, including a visit to Coastal Division contender Pittsburgh on Oct. 23. As it turns out, Clemson will host Wake Forest in a conference finale next month, a meeting that could decide the Atlantic Division.