Wake Forest Athletics
WFU Football Weekly Release
9/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 30, 2002
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WAKE FOREST FOOTBALL
NEWS & NOTES
Game #6
Saturday, Oct. 5
Wake Forest (2-3, 0-2 ACC) at Georgia Tech (4-1, 1-1 ACC)
Bobby Dodd Stadium (42,000)/Atlanta, GA
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
Television: Televised regionally on ABC. Tim Brant will announce the action with Ed Cunningham providing the color and Samantha Ryan on the sidelines. Chris Pfeiffer is the producer and David Kiviat will direct the telecast.
Radio: Broadcast by the Wake Forest ISP Sports Network, heard on 20 stations across North Carolina and in Virginia. 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 dropped to 2-3 and 0-2 in the ACC with a 38-34 loss to Virginia last week. Georgia Tech is now 4-1, 1-1 in the league after winning at North Carolina, 21-13, in its last outing.
The Series: Saturday??s game marks the 25th meeting between these conference rivals, with Georgia Tech leading the series 18-6. The Yellow Jackets are currently riding a two-game win streak.
Rankings: Neither team is ranked. Georgia Tech is receiving votes in both polls.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is in his second season in Winston-Salem, posting an 8-8 record with the Deacs. Entering his eighth season as a head coach, Grobe??s overall career record stands at 41-41-1.
Georgia Tech??s Chan Gailey is 4-1 in his first year with the Yellow Jackets. In his fourth overall season as a head coach, his career record stands at 28-12.
Tickets: Contact the Georgia Tech Ticket Office at 1-888-TECH-TIX.
Deacs Still Searching For First ACC Victory
After dropping to 0-2 in ACC play following a heartbreaking 38-34 loss to Virginia, the Wake Forest football team (2-3 overall) heads to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The game will be regionally televised by ABC.
At home against the Cavaliers last week, the Demon Deacons totaled nearly 500 yards of offense, tallied 29 first downs, and committed no turnovers, but were unable to preserve a victory. Wake built a 34-17 lead midway through the third quarter before Virginia rallied, scoring 21 unanswered points over the last 20 minutes to win the game by a four-point margin.
Georgia Tech, despite recent losses of key players due to injuries, defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill last week, 21-13, to improve to 4-1 on the season, 1-1 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets, under first-year head coach Chan Gailey, are undefeated at home this season with wins over Vanderbilt and BYU.
Wake Forest Leads Nation in Turnover Margin
Wake Forest ranks first among NCAA leaders in turnover margin (+13 overall/+2.6 per game). Through five games this season, the Deacons have forced 17 turnovers while committing just four of their own. Wake is tied with Wisconsin for the top spot, as the Badgers have gained 16 turnovers while committing three.
The Deacs also rank tied for fifth nationally in turnovers gained and tied for sixth 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 five games in 2002 -- Northern Illinois, East Carolina and Virginia.
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.
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.
A Balanced Rushing Attack
After leading the ACC in rushing last season (221.6 ypg), the Deacon ground game continues to pace the league in that category this season (254.2 ypg). However, it??s not the usual suspects putting up the big numbers so far this season. Last year??s leading rusher, Tarence Williams (1,018 yards) is gradually returning to action after suffering a broken foot this summer. His top backup in 2001, Fred Staton (583 yards), is sitting out this season for academic purposes.
Instead, the Deacons have employed a ??running back by committee??, as five different players have lined up in the backfield so far this year. Junior Nick Burney is the starter and is averaging a team-best 61.4 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry on 56 attempts. True freshman Chris Barclay has emerged as a force as of late, carrying the ball 48 times for an average of 44.6 yards per game. Barclay broke out for three touchdowns at Purdue and added a fourth against Virginia. Redshirt freshman Cornelius Birgs has 190 yards and four touchdowns as well. All-purpose threat Fabian Davis, a senior, has 24 touches for 262 yards, averaging an impressive 10.9 yards per carry. Williams has made a gradual comeback over the course of the season, and is contributing 29.0 yards per game.
Senior fullback Ovie Mughelli perhaps was the earliest surprise of the season. After recording no rushing stats last season, Mughelli scored four touchdowns at Northern Illinois - tying a school record - and finished the night with 74 yards. He added another TD versus East Carolina and two more against Virginia to rank fourth among ACC leaders in scoring (8.4 ppg).
The committee approach has worked well so far. In addition to leading the ACC, the Deacs rank sixth nationally among team rushing leaders. Wake has recorded two 300-yard rushing games this season -- including 344 yards at NIU and 349 versus Virginia. The figures are the highest single-game rushing totals since tallying 396 versus Maryland in the 1993 season.
Individually, two Deacs are listed among the ACC leaders in rushing -- Burney ranks seventh while Fabian Davis is 10th.
Davis Does It All
Wake Forest lost a key player from the 2001 squad -- wide receiver/kick returner John Stone -- who set a school record with three kickoff returns for touchdowns during his career in addition to tallying 2,933 all-purpose yards.
But Stone??s graduation has opened the door for senior wide receiver/kick returner Fabian Davis in 2002. Davis has been piling up the all-purpose yardage, averaging 154.6 yards per game, a figure that ranks second in the ACC and 16th nationally.
Davis, who has lined up a receiver his entire career prior to this season, is currently the Deacs?? second-leading rusher with 52.4 yards per game. He recorded the teams?? top single-game rushing performance of the season with 90 yards versus Virginia.
Davis also leads the receiving corps with 19 catches and 53.2 yards an outing. He ranks third in the ACC with a 12.0 punt return average, and has also taken five kickoff returns, averaging 22.6 yards per return.
Davis has totaled 773 all-purpose yards through five games this year and, with a 12-game season, is on track to break the school??s single-season all-purpose yardage record of 1,730 yards, set by John Zeglinski in 1975. With 2,737 career all-purpose yards, Davis needs 293 more yards to crack Wake??s top 10 chart.
Head Coach Jim Grobe
Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is in his second season with the Demon Deacons and eighth overall season as a head coach with a 41-41-1 career record. Grobe led the Deacs to a bowl-eligible 6-5 ledger in 2001, becoming just the eighth coach in WFU history to post a winning record in his first season at the helm. His career record at WFU now stands at 8-8.
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.
After beginning his collegiate career at Ferrum Junior College, Grobe went on to the University of Virginia, starting two seasons for the Cavaliers and earning Academic All-ACC honors. He earned both a bachelor??s and master??s degree from Virginia.
One More Note From the Virginia Game
* Wake Forest??s 29 first downs and 495 yards of total offense were the most since gaining 30 first down and 577 yards at Navy on Nov. 18, 2000. On the flip side, Virginia??s 349 passing yards were the most gained on the Deacons since North Carolina tallied 361 last season (Nov. 10, 2001).
"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, 13 of 16 games have been decided by a touchdown or less, including 11 of the last 12. Six of those 13 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 last Saturday??s 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.
The Series With Georgia Tech
* The two teams meet for the 25th time on Saturday. Georgia Tech leads the series 18-6 and has won two straight and six of the last seven meetings.
* The Deacons are looking for just their third overall win in Atlanta and first since a 20-13 victory in 1994.
* Five of the last eight meetings have been decided by seven points or less.
* Jim Grobe is 0-1 versus Georgia Tech in his career, while the Jackets?? Chan Gailey will coach against the Demon Deacons for the first time.
* The last five meetings have all been high-scoring affairs, as each team has put up at least 20 points in each meeting since the 1997 season.
WFU-Georgia Tech Connections
* Wake Forest??s Jim Grobe once moved into Chan Gailey??s house in Colorado Springs after Gailey left an assistant coaching position at the Air Force Academy.
* Both Grobe and Gailey both spent considerable time as assistant coaches at Air Force, although at different times. Grobe served as an assistant at Air Force under Fisher DeBerry from 1984 to 1994. Gailey was at the Academy from 1979-82.
* Deacon assistant head coach, Billy Mitchell, was on the same Air Force coaching staff with Gailey from 1979-82. When Gailey left Air Force, Mitchell remained and eventually served on the same staff with Grobe.
MacPherson Still Interception-Free
Wake starting quarterback James MacPherson enters Saturday??s game with Georgia Tech 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 19 quarters and thrown 113 passes without a pick.
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 five games, MacPherson has completed nearly 56 percent of his passes (54 of 97) for 693 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.
MacPherson Earns National Honor
WFU senior quarterback James MacPherson was named to the prestigious 2002 American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team in September.
MacPherson, recognized for his involvement in the Winston-Salem community, was one of 11 Division I-A players nationwide selected to the Good Works Team, which honor players for their dedication and commitment to community service.
MacPherson, a three-year starter at quarterback for the Demon Deacons, has continuously been involved with various community programs, including Athletes Care Team (ACT), Santa??s Helper, and the Wake Forest Catholic Community (WFCC). The Tucson, Ariz., native is a board member for Santa??s Helper, a non-profit organization that raises money to buy, wrap and deliver gifts to local underprivileged kids at Christmas. Last Christmas, MacPherson recruited student-athletes to help wrap and deliver presents to almost 900 children in 172 families in the Winston-Salem community.
With ACT, MacPherson has organized activities for student-athletes, spoken to local school children about having goals in life, participated in activities with local school children that come on campus and visited children at Brenner Hospital.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest returns to Groves Stadium to host Duke for Homecoming next Saturday, Oct. 12. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm. The Deacs have won two in a row over the Blue Devils and are looking to make it a three-game win streak for the first time since the 1970-72 seasons.
