Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Football Hosts No. 11 Wolfpack
9/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 1, 2003
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WAKE FOREST FOOTBALL
NEWS & NOTES
Game #2
Sept. 6, 2003
#16/11 NC State (1-0) at Wake Forest (1-0)
Groves Stadium (31,500)/Winston-Salem, NC
Kickoff: 12:00 noon (EDT)
Television: Broadcast regionally by ABC. Dr. Jerry Punch calls the action with Mike Mayock providing analysis.
Radio: Broadcast by the Wake Forest ISP Sports Network, heard on 16 stations across North Carolina and in Virginia. Voice of the Deacons Stan Cotten calls the play-by-play with former WFU great Ed Bradley serving as color analyst.
On the Internet: With the purchase of a paid subscription, the radio broadcast can be heard live over the web via WFU's athletics homepage: www.WakeForestSports.com.
The Series: Saturday's game marks the 97th meeting between WFU and NC State. The 'Pack leads the series 59-31-6 and has won three straight and 13 of the last 15.
Records: Both teams posted wins in their season openers last week. WFU defeated Boston College on the road, while NC State topped Western Carolina in Raleigh.
Rankings: In the most recent polls, NC State is ranked 16th by AP and 11th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. WFU picked up four votes in this week's coaches poll.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe owns a 14-11 mark in his third season with the Deacs. Entering his ninth season as a head coach, Grobe's career record stands at 47-44-1. NC State's Chuck Amato is in his fourth year as a head coach - all with the 'Pack - and owns a 27-12 career record.
Seven-Game Home Slate Begins Sept. 6 with NC State
Fresh off a thrilling, come-from-behind-twice victory at Boston College to kick off the 2003 campaign, the Wake Forest football team returns to Groves Stadium for a three-game homestand. First up is a tilt with 16th/11th-ranked NC State on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for 12 noon, with the game being televised regionally by ABC.
The outing with NC State marks the earliest ACC contest for Wake Forest since a Sept. 5 date with North Carolina back in 1992. That game, a 35-17 Tar Heel win, was the earliest conference start for WFU since the formation of the league in 1953.
Saturday's game also marks the second straight season, and third time in the last 10 years, that the Deacs have opened ACC play against the Wolfpack. WFU lost 32-13 in Raleigh last Sept. 14.
NC State comes into Groves Stadium with a 1-0 record after pouncing on the Catamounts of Western Carolina, 59-20, last Saturday. Although NC State has won 13 of the last 15 meetings, WFU's two victories in that stretch (1997 and '99) both took place at home.
Last Time Out
Quarterback Cory Randolph completed 4-of-5 passes on his final drive, including a 43-yard scoring strike to Chris Davis, and the Deacon defense created a key turnover in the closing seconds as Wake Forest escaped Chestnut Hill with a 32-28 victory over Boston College. It was the season opener for both teams.
The Wake Forest offense struggled in the first half, gaining just 46 total yards and no points. The first TD of the season came with 1:12 left in the second quarter on 53-yard fumble recovery for a score by safety Warren Braxton. The Eagles led 14-6 at the break.
On WFU's opening drive of the half, redshirt freshman Willie Idlette, on his first career touch, ran for a 75-yard touchdown and the comeback was underway. BC, however, responded with a touchdown of its own, taking a 21-12 lead into the final quarter.
Deacon RB Cornelius Birgs, playing on a sprained ankle, cut it to two, 19-21, with a 25-yard romp into the endzone. WFU then took its first lead of the game when Randolph found Jason Anderson for a four-yard touchdown with 6:44 remaining.
The lead was short-lived, however, as BC's Derrick Knight ran five of his game-high 144 yards to score and give the Eagles a 28-25 lead with 2:24 to go. At that point, Randolph directed an impressive, game-winning drive to the endzone. After nearly getting intercepted on 1st-and-10, Randolph reeled off four straight completions, with his longest of the day, 43 yards, finding Davis en route to the endzone with 1:47 on the clock. WFU took a 32-28 lead.
The game still was not over, however. On the ensuing kickoff, BC's Will Blackmon made it to midfield and the Eagles got to the Deacs' 24 in the next three plays. On 2nd-and-2, quarterback Quinton Porter's pass was batted back to him. He caught it but was hit by WFU's Caron Bracy, forcing him to fumble. Deacon Dion Williams scooped up the ball to seal the WFU victory and cap a wild series of fourth-quarter events.
More Notes From The Boston College Game
* The four-point margin of victory marked the 16th (of 25) games in the Jim Grobe era at WFU decided by seven points or less.
* It was the 58th straight game for WFU without being shutout.
* WFU has won three of its last four road season openers (also 1999 at Army, 2001 at ECU).
* On offense, seven players earned their first career starting nod: Cory Randolph (QB), Chris Barclay (RB), Chris Davis (WR), Josh Warren (TE), Wesley Bryant (LT), Steve Vallos (RG) and Greg Adkins (RT). Only three players on defense started for the first time in their careers at BC - all three along the line: Jerome Nichols (LE), Cori Stukes (NT) and John Finklea (RE).
* The Deacon running back corps took hits early and often, as the No. 1, 2 and 3 backs on the depth chart all exited the game with injuries in the opening quarter. Starter Chris Barclay sprained an ankle on his first carry and did not return until the fourth quarter. Back-up Cornelius Birgs also sprained an ankle on his opening carry, but returned and was able to play most of the game. Third-string Dominic Anderson suffered a twisted left knee and did not return to the game.
* Wake Forest's victory marked the second straight win on an artificial playing surface. The Deacs won the 2002 Seattle Bowl in Seahawks Stadium (which has FieldTurf) last December.
* He didn't touch the ball until the fourth quarter, but Jason Anderson made two key catches - one on an important third-down play deep in BC territory and again when he caught a four-yard touchdown pass, the ninth of his career. Anderson extended a streak of nine straight games with at least two catches, and has scored three touchdowns over the last two outings (two in the Seattle Bowl).
* Anderson's scoring catch also marked the first career TD toss for Cory Randolph. The quarterback threw his second to Chris Davis on the game-winning touchdown later in the quarter.
Defense Scores First
Wake Forest's first touchdown of the 2003 season was scored by the Deacon defense, when Jamaal Argrow caused a QB fumble and Warren Braxton picked it up and had 53 yards of open field into the endzone at Boston College. Coming up with the turnover is not unfamiliar territory for either of these players, as Argrow played a role in four opponent fumbles last season and Braxton had two interceptions in addition to being involved in four fumbles as well.
For WFU, Braxton's TD was the first defensive score since the Duke game on Oct. 12, 2002, when Kellen Brantley had a 29-yard interception return for a TD. It was the first fumble recovery for a TD since Bryan Ray fell on the ball in the endzone versus UNC in 2000.
Idlette Makes First Touch Memorable
The first time he touched the ball as a collegian, redshirt freshman Willie Idlette ran for 75 yards and WFU's first offensive touchdown of the season on the team's first drive of the second half. The rush goes down as the eighth-longest rush in school history; the seventhlongest scoring run in school history; the longest rush since a 76-yarder by Kito Gary at East Carolina in 1997; and the second-longest rush by a freshman (true or redshirt) in school history. (Rookie Morgan Kane had an 80-yarder in 1996.)
Interestingly, Idlette had 29 more yards on that one run than the entire WFU offense had in the first half (46 yards). Idlette finished the day with 138 all-purpose yards.
Randolph Takes The Helm at QB
Jim Grobe has often said that a team's most visible improvement should come between its first and second games of the season. In the case of Deacon quarterback Cory Randolph, his improvement was evident between the first and second halves of his first career start last Saturday at Boston College.
After completing 3-of-8 passes for 14 yards and an interception in the opening half against the Eagles, Randolph went 10-of-15 for 135 yards after the break, throwing another interception but also tossing two touchdown strikes. He directed the game-winning drive for WFU, completing 4-of-5 passes, including a 43-yard bomb to Chris Davis for the game-winning score.
Wake Forest is the only school in the ACC that does not return its starting quarterback from 2002, although not all of those returning QBs started in the season's opening weekend.
In 2002, Randolph served as a backup to James MacPherson, completing 24-of-48 passes for 333 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. His 78-yard strike to Jax Landfried at Maryland last year is the longest non-scoring pass in school history, and third-longest pass overall.
Backing up Randolph in 2003 will be redshirt freshman Zac Taylor and sophomore Anders Larson. The highly-touted freshmen duo of Ben Mauk and Bruce Hall looked impressive in the preseason, but coaches hope to redshirt both in 2003.
Seven-Game Slate at Groves This Fall
In addition to playing a 12-game regular season schedule for the second straight year, Wake Forest will host seven home games in 2003 -- the largest home slate in the history of Groves Stadium. The Deacs also had seven home games scheduled in 1996, but moved its matchup with Florida State to Orlando.
The 2003 season will mark the third time in school history WFU has played at least a 12-game schedule. The Deacs posted a 6-5-1 record in 1929. Including the Seattle Bowl, WFU's 13-game season in 2002 was the longest on record.
Plackemeier Leads Nation in Punting
Sophomore punter Ryan Plackemeier certainly proved against Boston College that he deserved to be on the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, annually given to the nation's top punter. After averaging 50.6 yards over five punts against the Eagles, Plackemeier ranks first nationally. His longest punt of the day was a 56-yarder that was subsequently fumbled and recovered by WFU.
Plackemeier was the beneficiary of a favorable roll, when, punting out of his own endzone in the first half, he slipped on a piece of a pretzel that was thrown from the stands. He got the punt off, but it only went about 20 yards in the air. However, it then rolled at least 30 yards past midfield to go down in the books as a 55-yard boot, his second-longest of the day.
Plackemeier also took on placekicking duties in the second half, as starting kicker Matt Wisnosky missed a first-half PAT and struggled on the ensuing kickoff. Plackemeier missed a 44-yard field goal attempt but made good on two extra points.
Thrown into action as a true freshman in 2002, Plackemeier showed steady improvement over the course of the season. His punting average of 43.2 yards would have ranked first in the ACC had he attempted just a few more punts to meet the minimum qualifying standards. Plackemeier also received first-team preseason All-ACC kudos from Lindy's magazine.
Did You Know?
Over the last two seasons, Wake Forest has won away from home against teams from four BCS conferences -- Big Ten (Purdue), Big East (Boston College), Pac 10 (Oregon) and ACC (Georgia Tech).
The Series With NC State
* NC State is Wake Forest's second-oldest rival behind North Carolina. The Deacs and the 'Pack will meet for the 97th time on the gridiron Saturday, with NC State leading the series 59-31-6.
* NC State is the highest ranked opponent to visit Groves Stadium since No. 3 Florida State paid a visit on Nov. 11, 2000.
* NC State has won three of the last six and 13 of the last 15 meetings.
* The Wolfpack own a 21-11-1 series lead in games played on WFU's home turf. Wake Forest, however, has prevailed in two of the last three contests at Groves Stadium (1999, '97).
* Wake Forest's last win in the series was a 31-7 victory at home over the 25th-ranked Wolfpack in 1999. It marked the Deacons' first-ever victory over a ranked ACC opponent at Groves Stadium. It was also the last time NC State served as Wake's home opener.
* WFU has defeated NC State 31 times over the years, the second-most wins against any ACC rival.
* It won't happen this year, but the Deacs and 'Pack have played to a tie (6) more times than any other rivalry in WFU history.
* NC State will be the first ranked opponent the Deacons face since falling to 23rd-ranked Maryland last Nov. 30.
* WFU head coach Jim Grobe is 0-3 versus the Wolfpack, with two losses as Wake's coach and one with Ohio University -- a 34-31 loss in Raleigh in the 1998 season opener.
* NC State's Chuck Amato is 3-0 against WFU as the Wolfpack's head coach.
* Wake Forest and NC State share one common non-conference opponent in 2003 - Connecticut. The Wolfpack host the Huskies Oct. 11 while UConn visits Groves Stadium Nov. 15.
* Wake Forest and NC State were the only ACC teams to post non-conference wins in the season's opening weekend -- WFU over Boston College and NCSU over Western Carolina.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest remains at home for the next two weekends, hosting Purdue in another 12 noon televised contest next Saturday, Sept. 13. The following week, the ECU Pirates make their second straight trip to Groves Stadium. Game time is TBA.
