Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Football Weekly Release
9/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 16, 2002
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2002 WAKE FOREST FOOTBALL
NEWS & NOTES
Game #4
Saturday, Sept. 21
Wake Forest (1-2, 0-1 ACC) at Purdue (2-1)
Ross-Ade Stadium (66,295)/West Lafayette, IN
Kickoff: 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
Television: None
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 heads to Purdue with a 1-2 record after dropping its ACC opener at NC State, 32-13 last week. The Boilermakers improved to 2-1 on the season with a 28-24 win over Western Michigan in their last outing.
The Series: Saturday's game is just the fourth meeting between the two schools and the first since 1978. All three previous meetings have taken place at Purdue, with the Boilermakers winning all three.
Rankings: Neither team is ranked. Purdue has been receiving votes in one or both polls since the preseason.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is in his second season in Winston-Salem after guiding the Deacs to a bowl-eligible 6-5 record last year. Entering his eighth season as a head coach, Grobe??s overall career record stands at 40-40-1.
Purdue's Joe Tiller is 41-23 in his sixth season with the Boilermakers. In his 12th overall season as a head coach, his career record stands at 80-53-1.
Tickets: Contact the Purdue Ticket Office at 765-494-3194.
Deacons Travel To Purdue In Search of a Victory
Playing its third road game of the season, the Wake Forest football team heads to West Lafayette, Ind. to face the Purdue Boilermakers (2-1) on Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm (EDT) at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium (66,295).
Purdue is an unfamiliar opponent for the current crop of Demon Deacons, as the vast majority of the WFU football team wasn't even born the last time these two teams met on the gridiron in 1978. The Deacs and the Boilermakers have faced each other three previous times -- all in West Lafayette -- with Purdue winning all three meetings.
Wake looks to get back on the winning track after suffering its worst loss in nearly a year at NC State last Saturday, 32-13. The loss halted a streak of nine straight games decided by seven points or less for the Demon Deacons and was the worst since a 48-24 score at Florida State last Sept. 29. The nationally-ranked Wolfpack, behind the nation's most efficient quarterback, Philip Rivers, dropped Wake's record to 1-2 and an 0-1 start in conference play.
Two And Two
A win at Purdue will give Wake Forest a 2-2 start to its season for the fifth time in seven years. The Deacs posted an even record through four games in the 1996, '97, '98 and 2001 campaigns. In 1999, Wake opened the year 3-1 and went 0-4 through the first four contests of 2000.
A loss at Purdue on Saturday will gave Wake its first 1-3 start to a season since 1995. The Deacs actually opened the season 1-3 for five straight years from 1991-95.
On Pace to Break the Record
Senior defensive end Calvin Pace has his eye on Wake Forest??s career sack and tackles-for-loss records. The current record of 30 career sacks is held by Michael McCrary, who played at WFU from 1989-92 and is a two-time Pro Bowl player for the Baltimore Ravens.
With two sacks so far this season, Pace owns 23 career sacks and is eight shy of breaking McCrary's record. Pace recorded 10 last season, tying as the second-best season total in school history. He is also currently tied for third on the career tackles-for-loss list with 40, six behind McCrary's school-record 46. Last season, Pace tallied 18 TFLs and has eight through three games this year.
On the national scale, Pace's 21 career sacks ranked third among active Division I players entering the 2002 season, behind Georgia Tech's Greg Gathers (30) and Louisville's Dewayne White (27).
Pace currently leads the team and ranks fourth in the ACC with 30 total tackles so far this season. He also ranks first in the league in TFL and seventh in sacks.
More Notes From the NC State Game
* Senior defensive end Calvin Pace continued his climb up the career tackles-for-loss chart. His four versus the Wolfpack (including a sack) moved him up to a tie for third (with former Deac Nate Bolling) with 40 career TFL.
* Two Deacons got their first career starts versus the Wolfpack ?V linebacker Dion Williams and strong safety Warren Braxton. In addition, redshirt freshmen Derek Tharpe (WR) and Cory Randolph (QB) saw their first collegiate action. Both entered the game in the first half.
* Wake Forest??s 14-point halftime deficit marked the first time it has trailed at the half since the Georgia Tech game on Nov. 17 of last season (24-17). It was the biggest halftime deficit for the Deacs since being behind 24-0 at UNC the week prior (Nov. 10).
* True freshman placekicker Ryan Plackemeier saw his first action of the season when he was successful on a PAT in the third quarter. He missed a 36-yard field goal attempt in the fourth. Plackemeier becomes the third true freshman to play this season, in addition to Chris Davis and Chris Barclay.
* Quarterback James MacPherson??s 53-yard touchdown pass to Jax Landfried in the third quarter was the second-longest TD toss of his career, and the longest career reception for Landfried. It is the second time the duo has connected on a 50+ yard scoring play, as they recorded a 51-yarder versus Virginia in 2000.
* Wake Forest??s offense committed its first turnover of the 2002 season against the Wolfpack, and it was a costly one. In the third quarter, MacPherson fumbled the ball while being sacked deep in Wake??s territory, resulting in an NC State touchdown that made the score 29-13. Randolph added another turnover with he threw a fourth-quarter interception.
* Although running back Tarence Williams only gained 20 yards on the ground versus the Wolfpack, it was enough to pass Deacon great Brian Piccolo and move into 10th place on Wake??s career rushing chart. Williams now has 1,751 career yards.
* Wake's loss marked Jim Grobe??s first loss east of Winston-Salem as the Deacons?? head coach. It was also his second-worst loss at WFU, behind a 24-point loss at Florida State last season. The NC State game also halted a streak of nine straight games decided by seven points or less.
"Cardiac Deac" Streak Halted By Wolfpack
Although it was halted last week with the loss to NC State, Wake Forest owns an ACC record with nine consecutive games decided by seven points or less.
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 are losses to two nationally-ranked teams -- No. 15 Florida State (48-24) on Sept. 29, 2001 and last Saturday's loss to No. 19 NC State (32-13).
In the 14 games played during the Jim Grobe era at Wake Forest, 11 have been decided by a touchdown or less.
Despite all those 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.
Scouting the Boilermakers
Purdue, under sixth-year head coach Joe Tiller, is off to a 2-1 start this season with wins over Illinois State and Western Michigan. The Boilermakers?? loss came against 23rd-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend. Purdue's last two games have been decided by a touchdown or less, with a 24-17 loss to the Irish and a four-point win (28-24) over WMU.
The Boilermakers' defense has been impressive through the first three games of 2002, allowing opponents just 19.3 points and 274.7 yards per game. Their pass efficiency defense rating leads the Big Ten and ranks 13th nationally, the scoring defense ranks 33rd and their total defense ranks 20th among NCAA leaders.
Among the leaders on the Purdue defense is junior free safety Stuart Schweigert, who became the school's career leader in interceptions when he picked off his 12th career pass last Saturday versus Western Michigan. Although he missed the season opener with Illinois State, Schweigert ranks fourth on the team with 15 tackles and two TFL.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Boilermakers are led by running back Joey Harris, who ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 37th nationally with just over 100 yards rushing per game. Purdue can go to the air as well, as sophomore quarterback Kyle Orton has completed 50 percent of his passes (44 of 88) for 637 yards and five touchdowns through three games. His favorite target, junior John Standeford, is averaging 113 receiving yards per game with four TDs.
Punt Coverage, Beware
Saturday's game should provide a look at two of the top punt returners in the nation in WFU's Fabian Davis and Purdue??s Anthony Chambers. Both players lead their respective conferences in that category, with Davis averaging 18.4 yards per return and Chambers with 18.8. Chambers ranks 10th among NCAA leaders while Davis is 11th.
Both players have returned a punt for a touchdown this season, as Davis went 82 yards to the house at Northern Illinois and Chambers returned one 76 yards for the score against Notre Dame. Coincidentally, both players' returns ranked as the third-longest punt return in each school??s history.
Versus the Big Ten
v Wake Forest is facing a squad from the Big Ten conference for the first time in five seasons. Although the Deacs are just 2-8 all-time against the league, they do bring a two-game win streak against Big Ten opponents into West Lafayette this weekend. Wake defeated nationally-ranked Northwestern at home in 1997 (27-20) and in 1996 (28-27).
The Series With Purdue
* Saturday's game with Purdue renews a series that hasn??t been played in 24 years.
* The Boilermakers have won all three previous meetings, all of which have taken place in West Lafayette, Ind.
* The last time these two teams met (1978), John Mackovic was in his first season as the head coach at Wake Forest.
* All three games in the series have been decided by a single-digit scoring margin.
* The series continues next season, with the Boilermakers making their first trip to Winston-Salem.
Tale of the Turnover
Wake Forest currently ranks first in the ACC and fifth among NCAA leaders in turnover margin (+8 overall/+2.67 per game). Through three games this season, the Deacons have forced 11 turnovers while committing three of their own.
The WFU offense did not commit a turnover until last Saturday??s game 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.
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. 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.
Watching the Record Book
Several Deacons have the opportunity to make their marks in the WFU record book this season. On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback James MacPherson already ranks 10th in career passing yards (3,306), sixth in career completion percentage (.541) and 10th in career attempts (477). Tarence Williams now ranks 10th in career rushing yards (1,751 yards). Williams already ranks sixth in career rushing touchdowns (17) and is fourth in the record book with nine 100-yard games. He also ranks 21st on the career scoring list with 102 points. Williams is also looking to become the first Deacon in school history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
Defensively, in addition to Calvin Pace's attack on the sack and TFL charts, safety Quintin Williams needs two more pass breakups to crack the career top 10.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest returns home on Sept. 28 in search of its first ACC victory of the 2002 season. The Deacs host the Virginia Cavaliers at Groves Stadium, with kickoff set for 6:30 pm. UVa coach Al Groh will make his first return to Groves Stadium after coaching the Demon Deacons from 1981-86. Wake Forest is looking to defeat Virginia in consecutive years for the first time since the 1969-70 seasons.
