Wake Forest Athletics
Football Hosts ACC-Rival Duke For Homecoming
10/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Oct. 7, 2002
WFU FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #7
Saturday, Oct. 12
Wake Forest (3-3, 1-2 ACC) vs. Duke (2-4, 0-2 ACC)
Groves Stadium (31,500)/Winston-Salem, NC
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
Television: No broadcast.
Radio: Broadcast by the Wake Forest ISP Sports Network, heard on 20 stations across North Carolina and in Virginia. Full station listing is on page five of this package. Voice of the Deacons Stan Cotten calls the play-by-play with former Deacon great Ed Bradley serving as color analyst.
On the Web: The radio broadcast can be heard live over the internet via WFU??s athletics homepage: www.WakeForestSports.com.
Records: Wake Forest improved to 3-3 and earned its first ACC win of the season with a 24-21 victory at Georgia Tech last week. Duke dropped to 2-4, 0-2 in ACC play with a 27-22 loss to Virginia at home in its last outing.
The Series: Saturday??s game marks the 83rd meeting between these conference rivals, with Duke leading the series 53-27-2. The Deacs are currently riding a two-game win streak and are looking to make it three in a row over the Blue Devils for the first time since the 1970-72 seasons.
Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is in his second season in Winston-Salem, posting an 9-8 record with the Deacs. Entering his eighth season as a head coach, Grobe??s overall career record stands at 42-41-1.
Duke??s Carl Franks is 5-34 in his fourth season as a head coach, all with the Blue Devils.
Tickets: Contact the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322.
Wake Forest Looks To Make It Two Wins in a Row
Coming off a 24-21 victory at Georgia Tech last season, the Wake Forest football team (3-3, 1-2 ACC) will look to post its second straight victory as it returns home to host conference rival Duke (2-4, 0-2 ACC) on Saturday at Groves Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm.
The Deacons will look to halt a win one-lose one streak it has put together since the start of the season. After dropping its season opener at Northern Illinois, WFU returned home the following week to defeat East Carolina, 27-22. The next week was a loss at NC State, 32-13, followed by a road win at Purdue, 24-21. The Deacs returned to Winston-Salem to drop a conference matchup against Virginia, 38-34, but rebounded last week with the win over the Yellow Jackets.
It was another wild, down-to-the-wire game for WFU in Atlanta, with six lead changes and a tie before the final horn sounded. Wake??s Tarence Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yard run with 5:29 remaining, then tacked on the two-point conversion to give WFU the three-point victory. Wake had the ball for nearly 38 minutes, ran 92 offensive plays and tallied 447 yards against one of the ACC??s top defensive units.
The Duke Blue Devils, after two winless seasons in 2000 and ??01, have already posted two victories this season - over East Carolina and Navy - but will be searching for their first conference win of the season when they visit Groves Stadium.
Wake Forest Leads Nation in Turnover Margin
Wake Forest ranks first among NCAA leaders in turnover margin (+15 overall/+2.5 per game). Through six games this season, the Deacons have forced 19 turnovers while committing just four of their own.
The Deacs also rank tied for seventh nationally in turnovers gained and tied for first (with Bowling Green, Mississippi and Wisconsin) in turnovers lost.
The WFU offense did not commit a turnover until the third game of the year at NC State, when James MacPherson lost a fumble and Cory Randolph threw an interception, both in the second half. The offense opened the season with 10 straight quarters without a turnover, as the first miscue of the season occurred on a fumbled punt attempt in the fourth quarter versus East Carolina.
Wake has been turnover-free in three of six games in 2002 -- Northern Illinois, Virginia and Georgia Tech.
At Northern Illinois, Wake intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles. Versus ECU, the Deacs picked off four Pirate passes and forced another fumble. At NC State, WFU recovered two Wolfpack fumbles. At Purdue, Wake had five takeaways with just one lost fumble of its own. Wake recovered one Virginia fumble, the only turnover of that game. At Georgia Tech, the Deacs picked off one pass and recovered a fumble.
The numbers so far are an improvement over last year, as the Deacs finished the 2001 campaign ranked 72nd nationally in turnover margin with -3 overall (25 to 22), -.27 per game.
Road Warriors
Since Jim Grobe arrived at Wake Forest last season, the Deacs are gaining a reputation as road warriors. Wake went 4-1 in away games last year, including a season-opening victory at East Carolina and a 3-1 mark in ACC opponents?? stadiums. The Deacons?? lone road loss last year took place at FSU??s Doak Campbell Stadium.
WFU is 2-2 in road games so far this season. It dropped its first two road trips at Northern Illinois and NC State, but have come back to post impressive road wins at Purdue and Georgia Tech.
Over the last season and a half, Wake and FSU are the only two teams in the league to post four wins in fellow league opponents?? stadiums.
On the flip side, the Deacs have not fared as well at home. A win over Duke this weekend would mark Grobe??s first ACC victory at Groves Stadium.
The Return of Tarence Williams
Though probably not quite at 100 percent, senior running back Tarence Williams looked very close to his 2001 form last week against Georgia Tech. His 19-carry, 99-yard performance against the Yellow Jackets included a 10-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion on the game-winning drive for the Demon Deacons.
Williams, playing a increasing role in Wake??s committee of running backs, has been gradually returning to action after breaking a bone in his foot in June. His 99 rushing yards against Tech were the most tallied by a Deacon back so far this season. The touchdown was the 18th rushing score of his career, putting him in sole possession of sixth place on Wake??s career rushing TDs chart. He also moved into eighth on the all-time rushing list with 1,944 career yards.
More Notes From the Georgia Tech Game
* Wake Forest??s victory marked its first win over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta since the 1994 season and third overall road win in this series.
* The Georgia Tech game marked Wake??s first appearance on the ABC television network since the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day, 1999. It was the Deacs?? fifth ABC appearance since 1997, and Wake owns a 4-1 record in those five games.
* For the second straight game, Wake Forest tallied 92 offensive plays. That total is the most since taking 94 offensive snaps versus Duke in 1995.
* All ACC teams that were playing on the road on Oct. 5 recorded wins. In addition to Wake??s victory in Atlanta, Virginia won at Duke, Maryland won at West Virginia and North Carolina posted a victory at Arizona State.
Scouting the Blue Devils
Duke rolls into Winston-Salem with its best record in three seasons, compiling a 2-4 mark through the first half of the 2002 campaign. After a 23-game losing streak that spanned three seasons, Duke notched a win in this season??s opener, defeating East Carolina at home. After dropping its next three games with Louisville, Northwestern and Florida State, Duke won big at Navy, 43-17. The Blue Devils lost a close one last week, falling to Virginia, 27-22 in Durham.
Fullback Alex Wade and tailback Chris Douglas headline the Blue Devils?? offense. Wade ranks second in the ACC in rushing (90.5 ypg) and ninth in all-purpose yardage (98.7) and has tallied three 100-yard rushing games so far this season. Douglas also ranks among the conference??s top 10 in both rushing (59.2 ypg) and all-purpose yards (96.2). Douglas had a stellar game against Virginia last week, gaining 126 yards on the ground and catching eight passes for 89 yards and a TD.
Three different quarterbacks have seen action for the Blue Devils in 2002, although sophomore Adam Smith has emerged as the most productive, completing 78 passes for 904 yards, six touchdowns, and just one interception in 35 attempts.
Defensively, Duke is led by linebacker Ryan Fowler, who ranks sixth among ACC tacklers with 9.7 stops per game. Safety Terrell Smith is not far behind with 9.5 tackles an outing. Defensive end Shawn Johnson leads the league in tackles-for-loss (10) and ranks second in sacks with six this season.
Saturday??s game may be a battle of who can hold on to the ball longer, as Wake Forest and Duke rank 1-2 in the ACC in time of possession, with the Deacs averaging 32:58 minutes of offense per game and Duke 31:47.
The Series With Duke
* Duke leads the all-time series, 53-27-2 and owns a 21-9-2 series lead in games played on the Deacons?? home turf.
* Wake Forest has won two straight games against the Blue Devils, but the teams have evenly split the last 16 meetings, 8-8.
* The Demon Deacons are looking a make it a three-game win streak versus Duke, a feat they haven??t accomplished since the 1970-72 seasons.
* Four of the last six meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less, including a 42-35 Wake win at Duke last season.
* The two teams have combined for at least 62 points in six of the last eight meetings and together have put up at least 31 points every year since 1978, when Duke posted a 3-0 win.
WFU-Duke Connections
* Wake Forest freshmen James Adams and Josh Gattis hail from Durham and attended Northern Durham High School.
* Deacon freshman walk-on kicker Tilghman Morton and Duke freshmen Malcolm Ruff and Mike Dowling were teammates at Gilman School in Baltimore.
* Wake placekicker Matt Wisnosky and Duke safety Mark Thompson were teammates at Moorestown High School in New Jersey.
* Three Canadians could see action on Saturday -- Wake??s Mark Moroz and Ray Thomas (Ontario) and Duke??s Chris Best (Calgary).
* Deacon assistant athletic director for football, Bill Faircloth, was an assistant coach at Duke in 1976 and 1977.
No ACC Welcome From the Deacs
The nine ACC schools have welcomed five new football coaches into the fold since the start of the last season, and Wake Forest has not been very hospitable in its initial meetings with these new coaches. The Demon Deacons are 3-1 versus schools guided by a first-year ACC head coach. This includes wins over Al Groh??s Virginia team and John Bunting??s UNC squad in 2001, and Chan Gailey??s Georgia Tech team this season.
The only new coach to defeat the Deacons is Ralph Friedgen, who guided Maryland to a seven-point win in Winston-Salem last year.
Wake Forest will face another coach in his first year at a school later this season, when it plays Paul Johnson??s Navy squad on Nov. 23.
"Cardiac Deacs" Still in Effect
Over the last two seasons, the Deacs have gained a repuation for playing games that go down to the wire. Since Jim Grobe took over the reins as head coach last year, 14 of 17 games have been decided by a touchdown or less, including 12 of the last 13. Seven of those 14 games were decided by three points or less.
Also included in that statistic is an ACC-record nine consecutive games decided by seven or less points.
The streak stretched from last year??s NC State game (Oct. 6, 2001) to the East Carolina game this season (Sept. 7, 2002). Over that stretch, Wake Forest posted a 5-4 record in games that were collectively decided by 36 points (an average of 4.0 per game).
Bookending the streak were losses to two nationally-ranked teams -- No. 15 Florida State (48-24) on Sept. 29, 2001 and the Sept. 14, 2002 loss to No. 19 NC State (32-13).
Despite all these close games, only one had to be decided in overtime. Wake Forest played just its second-ever overtime game at Northern Illinois in the 2002 season opener, losing 42-41. The first overtime game in school history was a 30-27 loss to Appalachian State at home in 1998.
MacPherson Still Interception-Free
Wake starting quarterback James MacPherson enters Saturday's game with Duke with no interceptions to blemish his stats so far this season. The senior's last interception was in the first quarter of the 2001 season finale versus Northern Illinois. Since then, he has gone 23 quarters and thrown 138 passes without a pick. New Mexico State's Buck Pierce (118 passes) and Oklahoma's Natye Hybl (148) are the only other QBs yet to throw a pick this season.
For the first time in his career, MacPherson entered the 2002 season knowing the starting job was in his hands. In 1999, he served as a backup QB whose only game action was at punter. Coming off a knee injury in 2000, MacPherson was called to action much sooner than expected after starter C.J.Leak suffered a season-ending knee injury. MacPherson split time with true freshman Anthony Young that season. Both players returned in 2001, with the starting job up for grabs. Again, the duo split time until a foot injury sidelined Young. MacPherson responded well to being Wake??s only healthy QB in the second half of the season, leading to Deacs to thrilling, come-from-behind road wins at Virginia and North Carolina.
With the move of Young from quarterback to wide receiver, MacPherson entered the 2002 season as the Deacs' starter. Through six games, MacPherson has completed nearly 57 percent of his passes (69 of 122) for 889 yards and two touchdowns. He also reached a milestone in versus ECU on Sept. 14, passing the 3,000-yard career passing mark. MacPherson is just the 10th quarterback in school history to achieve that feat and the first since Brian Kuklick (1994-98). He reached that milestone in his 21st overall game at quarterback and just his 12th career start at the position.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest hits the road, traveling to Clemson, S.C. to face the Clemson Tigers on Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm with an ABC regional telecast.
