Wake forest football plus#

Let’s see how great this team can actually be. Now the next step in the season labeled as wanting to go from “Good to Great” continues with a stretch of 4 games that Wake should at worst be 5 point favorites in, half on the road, half at home. Sam Hartman looks genuinely like a solid ACC quarterback and not a JAG(Just a guy.) The defense has multiple guys who can get to the quarterback, which takes so much pressure off the linebackers and secondary. This is a team that has looked to have fixed what has plagued them year after year: there’s more than two receivers that can turn a game on its’ head. Giving up 17 points to an offense that’s at worst top 30 in the country is a statement, not punting until 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter is a statement. However, Friday’s game showed that they could clean those things up. The offense still could sputter out at a moment's notice, the defense has bent and given up some explosive plays, Ivan Mora still kicking the ball out of bounds. They’ve had some kinks to work out on both sides of the ball. This isn’t a prognostication of Wake Forest transporting back to 2006 and winning an ACC championship, but this team just looks like Dave Clawson’s best team. This feels eerily reminiscent of the 2019 season, as this week Wake Forest takes on Louisville to continue their winning ways. Well, the Deacs find themselves 24th in the AP Poll and 25th in the Coaches Poll. Carter finished with 132 receiving yards and Emeka Emezie had 133 with a pair of touchdowns.Wake Forest has found themselves ranked for the first time since the 2019 season that had so much promise before injuries ravaged the team and the season ended with a whimper.Ĭoming off of a win where Wake dominated Virginia in every aspect of the game: the offense didn’t punt until late in the game, the defense held on goal to go situations twice while grabbing two turnovers, and Nick Sciba is Nick Sciba, it was touch and go on whether or not Wake would find themselves ranked.

Wake forest football plus#

His 4-yard TD run with 1:47 left put the game away for the Deacs.Ĭarter caught his second touchdown, an 8-yarder with 45 seconds left, but NC State could not recover the onsides kick. The 2021 Football Schedule for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons with box scores plus records, streaks, and rankings. Leary threw for a pair of touchdowns in the final 2 minutes of the first half to cut the margin to 21-20 before Wake kicker Nick Sciba added a 45-yard field on the last play of the half.Įllison finished with three touchdowns, two on the ground. The Wolfpack ran for only 74 yards, a far cry from the 354 Wake allowed to Syracuse, the 416 by Army and the 330 by UNC. Knight was more effective as a returner when wasn’t dealing with an injury. NC State couldn’t get its run game going. 75 in the country in scoring defense and No. The Deacs had given up at least 56 points in two of the past three games.

The Deacs were 10 of 18 on third down and were helped by some extra chances by NC State’s penalties.Ī pair of early turnovers helped Wake jump out to a 21-6 lead. Hartman’s 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brandon Chapman at 11:07 in the third quarter put the Deacs back up 31-27.Ī 35-yard punt return by Taylor Morin helped set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Hartman to running back Justice Ellison. He finished with 290 passing yards and 43 more on the ground.Īfter NC State took a 27-24 lead on a 100-yard kickoff return by running back Bam Knight on the opening kick of the second half, the Deacs scored the next two touchdowns. Hartman made sure that didn’t happen again. Wake gave up an 18-point second-half lead in the nonconference road loss to the Tar Heels. In last week’s 58-55 loss at North Carolina, Wake was flagged a season-high 11 times for 119 yards.

The Wolfpack was flagged 14 times for 119 yards, while Wake was penalized five times for 50 yards. NC State’s defense caused three turnovers, all interceptions on Hartman, but penalties offset some of the big play.

A first-half fumble by receiver Devin Carter also led to a Wake Forest touchdown. NC State quarterback Devin Leary threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns but was intercepted twice. Some of the mistakes from Saturday were familiar. The Wolfpack has lost 9 of 10 trips to Winston-Salem. Even the best recent versions of the Wolfpack, with Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson and Bradley Chubb, have lost in Winston-Salem. NC State’s ACC title drought goes back to 1979. It was the most meaningful game for NC State since a trip to Maryland in the final week of the regular season in 2010 with the division title on the line. NC State needs Wake to lose its final two ACC games - and win its own final two games - to pass the Deacs for its first division title. The Deacs have the inside track to their first division title since 2006, when Jim Grobe’s team won the school’s second ACC championship.