Gridiron Deacs Host Northern Illinois in Home Finale
11/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Nov. 20, 2001
WAKE FOREST FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #10
November 17, 2001
Wake Forest (5-5, 3-5 ACC) vs. Northern Illinois (6-4, 4-1 MAC West)
Groves Stadium (31,500) - Winston-Salem, NC
Kickoff: 1:00 pm
Television: No television.
Radio: The Wake Forest ISP Sports Network, heard on 19 stations in North Carolina and Virginia. Full station listing is on page five of this package. Voice of the Deacons Stan Cotten calls the play-by-play. Former Deacs Ed Bradley and Mike Pratapas serve as color analysts.
On the Web: The radio broadcast can be heard live over the internet via WFU's homepage: www.wakeforestsports.com
The Series: Saturday's game marks the first meeting between WFU and Northern Illinois. More series information is on page five.
The Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
The Coaches: Wake Forest's Jim Grobe is 5-5 in his first season with the Deacs. His career record now stands at 38-38-1 in his seventh season as a head coach. Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak is 20-45 in his sixth season as a head coach, all with the Huskies.
Tickets: Contact the WFU ticket office at 336-758-3322.
Officials: Announced on game day.
WAKE FOREST hosts regular season finale vs. Northern Illinois
Wake Forest (5-5, 3-5 ACC) remains at home to host Northern Illinois (6-4, 4-1 MAC West) in the final regular season outing for both teams. The game, originally set to play on Sept. 15, was rescheduled for this week after the national terrorist attacks postponed all Division I football games that weekend.
Wake is looking for just its second victory within the confines of Groves Stadium this season, after losing four straight at home - all to ACC teams - by a total of 22 points.
Wake's 38-33 loss to Georgia Tech last week closed out its ACC slate with a 3-5 mark. The Deacs also lost conference games at home to Maryland (27-20), NC State (17-14) and Clemson (21-14).
NIU is riding a four-game winning streak and posted their sixth victory of the season last week with a 33-29 win over Ball State. A win over the Deacs would give the Huskies a 7-4 mark, their best record since 1989.
INJURY update
* Aside from the usual bumps and bruises, Wake Forest emerged from the Georgia Tech relatively injury free.
LAST time out
For the sixth straight week and eighth time this season, Wake Forest had a game decided by seven points or less. After posting two straight come-from-behind victories, time ran out on the Demon Deacons as they fell to Georgia Tech, 38-33.
Wake Forest appeared to have the early upper-hand, as defensive back Eric King forced and recovered a fumble on Georgia Tech's first punt return. The turnover led to a season-long 44-yard field goal by Tyler Ashe and an early 3-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived, as the Jackets went 80 yards in four plays to score a TD on the next drive. A Wake fumble on the next series gave Tech excellent field position and another touchdown two plays later.
Third-string running back Nick Burney played a key role on Wake's next series, running for 30 of the drive's 80 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown scamper, to make the score 14-10 near the end of the first quarter.
Georgia Tech added a field goal and another touchdown in the second stanza to take a 24-10 lead, but following the TD, Wake returner John Stone took the kickoff 93 yards into the endzone to make the score 24-17 at the half. It was his third career kickoff return for the touchdown.
Wake tied the score at 24-24 on its first drive of the second half, but Tech responded with a 47-yard touchdown pass from George Godsey to Will Glover to take a 31-24 lead into the fourth quarter.
Wake scored its fifth safety of the season and reduced its deficit to five points when Georgia Tech's long snapper hiked the ball over the punter's head and beyond the endzone. It was the second straight week that situation occurred. The Jackets cushioned their lead to 38-26 after a Wake interception gave Georgia Tech the ball at the WFU 31.
Wake, now accustomed to fourth-quarter comebacks, appeared to be engineering yet another one when Tarence Williams produced his second score of the day on a one-yard run with 1:39 remaining. With the score at 38-33, Tech recovered the onside kick and ate up a chunk of the clock, punting the ball to WFU with just :32 seconds remaining. The first pass fell incomplete and the second was intercepted, as Georgia Tech hung on for the win.
For just the second time this season, Wake produced more passing yards (210) than rushing (140), as quarterback James MacPherson completed 18-of-38 for 210 yards, while his counterpart, Godsey, threw for 267 and completed 20-of-27 attempts.
ROAD warriors
Four of Wake's five wins this season have come on the road, and the Deacons have won three consecutive games on their opponents' turf - all ACC opponents.
After opening the year with a win at East Carolina in Greenville, Wake has also won its last three road games at Duke (Oct. 13), Virginia (Nov. 3) and North Carolina (Nov. 10). The Deacons' only road loss this season came at Florida State on Sept. 29.
The last time Wake enjoyed such a long road winning streak was during the 1992 season, when it actually won four straight road games - three of those against ACC opponents. The Deacons won at Vanderbilt (40-6), at Maryland (30-23), at Duke (28-14) and at Georgia Tech (23-10) before 13th-ranked NC State halted the streak in Carter-Finley Stadium, defeating the No. 25 Deacs 42-14.
CLOSE calls
Fans have certainly gotten their money's worth at Wake Forest football games this season. Eight of Wake's 10 games this season have been decided by seven points or less, including seven of eight ACC contests.
After winning by two points (21-19) at East Carolina in the season opener, Wake Forest defeated Appalachian State by 10 points (20-10) in its home opener. The Deacs opened ACC play with a seven-point loss to Maryland (27-20) before suffering its largest margin of defeat of the season at Florida State (48-24). The last six games - all ACC contests - have been decided by a touchdown or less, including a 17-14 loss to NC State, a 42-35 win at Duke, a 21-14 loss to Clemson, a 34-30 win over Virginia, a 32-31 win at UNC and a 38-33 loss to Georgia Tech.
In three of the close losses - Maryland, NC State and Clemson - Wake Forest had the ball with good field position and with a chance to go ahead or even the score late in the game. Two of those situations resulted in interceptions in the endzone.
This year's close games are a sign of improvement over the scores against these same teams last season. Against the eight ACC opponents this year, Wake Forest improved its scoring margin from its 2000 meeting with all eight teams.
HEAD COACH Jim Grobe
The 2001 season marks the debut of new head coach Jim Grobe on the Wake Forest sideline. After opening the 2001 campaign with wins over East Carolina and Appalachian State, Grobe joined an elite group of first-year Deacon coaches. Only six coaches in school history have opened their WFU careers with two straight wins.
Grobe also gained some national recognition after guiding the Deacs to the biggest comeback in school history with a 32-31 win over UNC on Nov. 10. He was named the National Coach of the Week in ESPN The Magazine's online column by Gene Wojciechowski. Last Tuesday, he was featured in an ESPN.com column by Mel Kiper.
Grobe is no stranger to the Atlantic Coast Conference. After beginning his collegiate career at Ferrum Junior College, Grobe went on to the University of Virginia, starting two seasons for the Cavaliers and and earning Academic All-ACC honors. He earned both a bachelor's and master's degree from Virginia.
Grobe came to Winston-Salem from Ohio University, where in six years he resurrected a program that had previously been considered one of the worst in Division I football. Inheriting a team that was winless the previous season, Grobe turned the Bobcats into perennial conference contenders in the MAC and posted a 33-33-1 record during his tenure.
Prior to Ohio, Grobe served as an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy for 11 years under legendary coach Fisher DeBerry. The Falcons produced a record of 84-50 and went to seven bowl games during Grobe's tenure. He also served as an assistant coach at Marshall (1979-83) after beginning his college coaching career at Emory & Henry.
With a 5-5 mark through his first eight games at Wake Forest, Grobe's career record as a head coach now stands at 38-38-1.
MORE NOTES from the Georgia Tech game
* WFU placekicker Tyler Ashe opened the scoring with a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter. It was his longest of the season and second consecutive 40-yard FG after booting a 42-yarder at North Carolina last week.
* Sophomore third-string running back Nick Burney scored his second career touchdown when he scored on a 13-yard run in the first quarter.
* Redshirt freshman receiver Jason Anderson extended his streak to 10 straight games (every game of his career) with at least one reception.
* Consecutive sacks on Tech QB George Godsey in the second quarter moved a pair of Deacon defenders up on WFU's all-time sack chart. Senior Nate Bolling, who registered the first sack (-5 yards) moved into sole possession of seventh place with 12 career sacks. Junior Calvin Pace, with a 12-yard sack on the very next play and a second later in the game, passed former Deac Bryan Ray to own sole possession of second place on the list with 21 career sacks.
* Senior John Stone recorded his third career kickoff return for a touchdown when he returned a 93-yarder in the second quarter. It was his second longest career return, as his previous touchdowns on kickoff returns were 99 yards (at Duke, 1999) and 88 yards (vs. App State, 2000). It was also the seventh longest return in WFU history. He is the only player in Wake Forest history to record three touchdowns on kickoff returns.
* Running back Tarence Williams scored his 15th and 16th career touchdown (eighth and ninth of the season) versus Georgia Tech. He now appears in 10th place on Wake's career rushing touchdowns chart.
* Deja-vu' Deacons: Wake Forest scored its fifth safety of the season on a play that looked strikingly familiar. On a Georgia Tech punt, the long snapper hiked the ball beyond the punter's head out of the endzone, giving the Deacs two points and making the score 31-26. The exact same situation (producing the same exact score) occurred the previous week at North Carolina.
* Wake Forest lost its fourth straight home game this season, with all losses coming by seven points or less.
HUSKIE highlights
* Mid-American Conference member Northern Illinois is 6-4 on the season with a 4-1 mark in the MAC West division. The Huskies are currently riding a four-game winning streak and have posted a 5-1 mark at home while going 1-3 on the road.
* Six of NIU's game this season have been decided by 10 points or less, including two losses.
* Under sixth-year head coach Joe Novak, Northern Illinois returned 39 lettermen and 13 starters (7 offense, 4 defense) from a team that went 6-5 a year ago, its first winning campaign in 10 seasons. The Huskie lineup is a young group, with seven underclassmen on offense and nine on defense listed as starters.
* Quarterback Chris Finlen, a senior and three-year starter, has passed for 6,350 yards and 39 touchdowns in his career. His favorite target this season has been junior split end P.J. Fleck, who has 723 yards on 57 receptions through 10 games.
* Junior tailback Thomas Hammock has already reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark this season (1,016) and ranks 29th nationally with 101.6 yards on the ground per game.
* Placekicker Steve Azar ranks first in the country, averaging 2.0 made per game. He is 20-of-26 so far this year and is the team's leading scorer with 86 points.
ON THIS DATE in WFU history
Wake Forest is 4-6 overall in games played on this date ... the Deacs are 2-1 when playing at home on this date ... WFU has not seen action on Nov. 24 since 1990, when it posted a 56-28 victory on the road against Vanderbilt ... Wake's last home game on this date was during the 1938 season ... therefore, Saturday's game marks the first time the Deacs have played in Groves Stadium (or Winston-Salem, for that matter) on Nov. 24.
THE SERIES with Northern Illinois
Saturday's game marks the first meeting between Wake Forest and Northern Illinois... Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is 2-0 all-time against the Huskies, who joined the MAC in 1997... Grobe's Ohio team beat Northern Illinois 35-30 in 1997 and 28-12 in 1998... NIU coach Joe Novak has never coached against Wake Forest... Novak was the head coach at NIU in both losses to Grobe's Ohio teams.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS connections
* Wake Forest defensive back Jason Carter and NIU defensive end Sean Hopson both hail from Evanston, Ill.
* Deacon defensive back Ricky Perez and NIU nose tackle Rashad Walker both graduated from Bedford High School in Bedford Heights, Ohio.
* Wake Forest defensive line coach Ray McCartney and NIU offensive coordinator Dan Roushar both served as assistants at Ball State University during the 1994 season.
* Jim Grobe's Ohio teams defeated Northern Illinois twice during his tenure. The Bobcats won 35-30 in DeKalb in 1997, then were victorious 28-12 at home in Athens in 1998.
* Mid-American Conference commissioner Rick Chryst was an assistant commissioner at the ACC office in Greensboro from 1992-99.
First Meeting versus the MAC
Saturday's game marks Wake Forest's first-ever meeting with a Mid-American Conference school. The Deacs played current MAC member Marshall three times from 1939-41, prior to the formation of the league.
The Atlantic Coast Conference goes head-to-head with the MAC three times in 2001. On Sept. 8, Maryland demolished Eastern Michigan, 50-3. A meeting between NC State and Jim Grobe's former team, Ohio University, was postponed from Sept. 13 to this Saturday as well.
THOMAS becoming more of a receiving factor
Junior Ray Thomas, who has been the Deacons' starting tight end for the last two seasons, has become more of a factor as a receiver over the last six games. Through the first four games of the season, Thomas caught just three passes for 30 yards. But in the last six outings, the Ontario, Canada native has caught 16 passes for 200 yards, averaging 2.7 catches/33.3 yards per game.
Thomas has enjoyed career-best days the last two weeks. At UNC, he tied his career high with three receptions for a career-best 53 yards. Versus Georgia Tech, he set a new high with four receptions for 48 yards. The key note about his receiving statistics is those two outings was that six of the seven receptions resulted in first downs. Against UNC, Thomas's three receptions took place during Deacon scoring drives in the second half.
JOHN STONE becomes Wake's all-time kick return leader
Senior kick returner John Stone was named ACC Specialist of the Week - for the second time this season - after returning his third career kickoff for a touchdown against Georgia Tech on Saturday. Stone became the first player in Deacon history to record three TDs on kickoff returns.
Stone's return against the Yellow Jackets was 93 yards, adding to his TD collection of 99 yards (at Duke in 1999) and 88 yards (versus App State in 2000).
The week before, at North Carolina, Stone became Wake's all-time leader in kickoff return yardage, passing Anthony Williams (1988-91), who had 1,762 yards during his career. Stone's kickoff return total now stands at 1,891 yards, a mark which ranks fifth all-time among ACC leaders.
JOHN STONE, PART II: an all-purpose kind of guy
While John Stone is widely known for his kick return abilities - having returned three kickoffs for touchdowns during his career - this season he's also become a bigger part of the Deacon offensive scheme while continuing to post impressive numbers on kickoff returns.
In the month of October, Stone accumulated 219 rushing yards on 33 carries (6.6 ypc) after carrying the ball 15 times for just 50 yards in Wake's first three games. Stone reached another milestone - as a receiver - against Duke on Oct. 13. He tied his career-high (set in 1999, also against Duke) with five catches for a career-best 82 yards. He also caught his first career touchdown pass.
Also in October, Stone tallied over 100 all-purpose yards a game in a three-game streak against Florida State, NC State and Duke. He was named ACC Specialist of the Week on Oct. 1 after producing 233 all-purpose yards at Florida State, a total which ranks as the seventh-best single game all-purpose performance in school history.
Against the Seminoles, Stone led Wake Forest in rushing with 70 yards, receiving with 57 yards, and returns with 106 yards. Stone rushed 11 times for 70 yards to average 6.4 yards per rush, and his 57 receiving yards came on two receptions. His four kickoff returns accumulated 106 yards, with a long return of 37 yards.
He currently ranks fourth in the ACC and 55th nationally with 112.4 all-purpose yards per game. Stone has tallied 2,860 all-purpose yards during his career, including 399 rushing yards, 570 receiving yards, and 1,891 kickoff return yards.
BOLLING moves up tackles-for-loss list, joins all-time sack chart
Wake's defensive line boasts talent and experience, including senior Nate Bolling and junior Calvin Pace at the ends, with junior Montique Sharpe at nose tackle. Bolling and Pace rank third and sixth respectively on the squad with 71 and 56 tackles, while Bolling ranks second in the ACC with 21 tackles-for-loss (-57 yards).
After recording one more tackles-for-loss against Georgia Tech, Bolling now owns sole possession of third place on Wake Forest's all-time tackles-for-loss chart with 40 career TFL to his credit. Mike McCrary (1989-92) is WFU's all-time tackles-for-loss leader with 46.
He also recently joined Wake's all-time sack leaders list, as he is currently in seventh place with 12 career quarterback sacks.
PACE'S sack attack
Keep an eye on defensive end Calvin Pace, who, nearing the end of his junior campaign, could make a serious run for first place on WFU's career sack chart next season. Pace has already moved into second place on this list with 21 career sacks to his credit. Wake Forest's all-time leader, Mike McCrary, now a Pro-Bowl candidate with the Baltimore Ravens, recorded 30 sacks from 1989-92.
Pace's 10 sacks so far this season already ties for the second-best season total in Wake history. McCrary (1991) and Bryan Ray (1999) also posted 10-sack seasons.
COMING up next
A win over Northern Illinois would give the Deacons a 6-5 record and make them eligible for a bowl game. Wake Forest would have to receive an at-large bid, however, as it will finish in seventh place in the ACC standings. A loss to the Huskies would end the Deacons' 2001 campaign with a 5-6 mark.