Wake Forest Athletics
Nationally-Ranked Deacs Host Purdue At Groves Stadium
9/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 8, 2003
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WFU FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #3/Sept. 13, 2003
Purdue (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at #20/21 Wake Forest (2-0, 1-0 ACC)
Groves Stadium (31,500)/Winston-Salem, NC
Kickoff: 12:00 noon (EDT)
Television: Broadcast nationally on ESPN. Mark Malone calls the action, with Bob Davie providing analysis and Holly Rowe on the sidelines.
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 will be the fifth meeting between WFU and Purdue, and the first meeting in Winston-Salem. Purdue leads the series 3-1 but Wake won in West Lafayette last season.
Records: WFU is 2-0 with wins over Boston College and NC State. Purdue is 0-1 after opening the season last week with a one-point loss to Bowling Green.
Rankings: For the first time in over 10 years, WFU is nationally ranked (20th by AP, 21st by coaches). Purdue was ranked prior to its loss last weekend, and is still receiving votes in both polls.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe owns a 15-11 mark in his third season with the Deacs. Entering his ninth season as a head coach, Grobe's career record stands at 48-44-1. Purdue's Joe Tiller is 85-59-1 in his 13th season as a head coach, and 46-29 in his seventh year with the Boilermakers.
Nationally-Ranked Deacs Host Purdue
Off to an impressive 2-0 start with wins at Boston College and over a nationally-ranked NC State squad, the Wake Forest football team enters this week's tilt with Purdue appearing in both national polls (20th in AP, 21st in ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll). Kickoff for the nationally-televised ESPN contest is set for 12 noon at Groves Stadium.
Saturday's game with Purdue marks the Boilermakers' first-ever trip to Winston-Salem. The Deacs have played Purdue four previous times, but all in West Lafayette. After a 25-year hiatus, the series was renewed last fall. WFU came away with a 24-21 victory, its first over the Boilermakers.
Purdue is 0-1 in 2003 after an upset loss to Bowling Green at home, 27-26, last weekend. The Boilermakers were nationally ranked going into that game, and are still receiving votes in both polls.
WFU Appears in the Polls
The Wake Forest football team will take the field at Groves Stadium next Saturday as a nationally-ranked squad for the first time in over 10 years. Following their stunning 38-24 victory over 11th-ranked NC State last week, the Demon Deacons found themselves checking into both major polls on Sunday -- 20th in the Associated Press poll, and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll.
WFU is currently the second-highest ranked ACC team. Florida State, also 2-0, is 10th in both polls. The Wolfpack dropped to 24th in the AP, 22nd in the coaches' poll.
Wake Forest has not been ranked since January of 1993, when it appeared in the final polls for the 1992 season. Following its win over Oregon in the 1992 Independence Bowl, WFU closed out the year ranked 25th by AP, 17th in the coaches' poll. It is the only other time Wake Forest has appeared in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Prior to 1992, Wake's last national ranking came back in 1979, when it was ranked for four straight weeks and reached as high as 14th in the AP poll.
WFU's win over NC State last week marked the first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since defeating No. 14 Georgia Tech, 26-23, on Nov. 20, 1999.
Last Time Out: Deacs Shock NC State
In a performance that was impressive from the offense's initial drive to defensive stops in the fourth quarter, Wake Forest posted an exciting 38-24 win over NC State before a standing-room-only crowd of 35,741 at Groves Stadium. The Wolfpack entered the game ranked 14th and 11th in the national polls.
Although NC State is known for its high-octane offense, it was WFU which marched down the field and found the endzone three times in the first 22 minutes of the game. All three drives were capped by one-yard TD runs, two by fullback Nick Burney and one by Chris Barclay. The third touchdown was set up by a 42-yard pass from Nate Morton to quarterback Cory Randolph.
Wake held a 21-3 lead when the Wolfpack was forced to punt. Deacon freshman Willie Idlette caught the ball at midfield and went the distance -- a 50-yard return that lifted the score to 28-3.
NCSU quarterback Philip Rivers directed a touchdown drive just before halftime, but the Deacon defense did not allow that momentum to carry over, holding NC State scoreless in the third quarter. Wake Forest, meanwhile, added a 34-yard field goal from Ryan Plackemeier to build on its lead, 31-10.
The 'Pack cut it to 31-17 early in the fourth, and was threatening again in WFU territory. But on a 4th-and-30, cornerback Eric King broke up a Rivers' pass, giving WFU the ball at its own 31. The Deacs then ran six straight rushing plays, capping the drive with a 16-yard romp into the endzone by Cornelius Birgs to seal the Deacon victory. NC State tacked on a late touchdown for the final 14-point margin, but it was too little, too late. Deacon fans rushed the field to celebrate WFU's first win over a ranked opponent since the 1999 season.
Stats Don't Always Tell The Story
Wake Forest defeated NC State despite totaling 136 less yards of offense than the 'Pack (511 to 375). NCSU also had more first downs (27-21) and completed 27 more passes than WFU even attempted (38-of-49 to Wake's 9-of-11). Despite a stagnant offense in the first half, Philip Rivers finished with a career-best 433 yards in the air to become NC State's all-time passing leader. His 38 completions also tied a WFU opponent record.
One stat that did figure into the outcome: penalties. NC State was penalized 10 times for 90 yards, often at crucial points of the game. Wake Forest, meanwhile, had just two penalties for 15 yards. The Deacs, in fact, rank first in the ACC after two games, averaging just 20.0 penalty yards an outing.
Turnovers, such a key to WFU's success a year ago, also played an important role in Wake's victory. The Deacs did not turn the ball over at all, while Rivers threw two interceptions.
Standing Room Only at Groves Stadium
The WFU-NC State game was expected to be a sellout, and it was all that and more last Saturday at Groves Stadium. A total of 35,741 spectators passed through the gates, making it the third-largest crowd -- and biggest in 21 years -- in the history of Groves Stadium.
Only the WFU-North Carolina games in 1980 (37,411) and 1982 (36,200) produced bigger turnouts.
Saturday's game was the largest crowd ever at Groves Stadium to witness a Demon Deacon victory, surpassing the 34,060 fans who saw WFU upend Auburn, 42-38, in 1979.
Randolph, Plackemeier Pick Up Weekly Honors
Two Demon Deacons were named ACC Players of the Week following WFU's win over NC State:
Quarterback Cory Randolph was named Offensive Back of the Week after completing 8-of-10 passes for 131 yards and no interceptions. The sophomore was also on the receiving end of a trick play in which he handed the ball to Nate Morton, then caught a 42-yard pass from Morton to the Wolfpack 2-yard line, setting up a Wake Forest touchdown. Randolph also rushed four times for 39 yards, including a long rush of 19 yards. In all, Randolph compiled 212 yards of total offense in the Deacs' first win over a ranked opponent since 1999.
Sophomore Ryan Plackemeier had to punt only twice in Wake Forest's 38-24 win over NC State, but he put both of them inside the 20 yard line - one to the NC State 3-yard line and the other to the 17. The 6-3, 230-pounder's long punt of the day was 57 yards, which is also his longest of the year thus far. Plackemeier was 5-5 in extra-point attempts and also connected on a 34-yard field goal versus NC State.
Randolph and Plackemeier join last week's Defensive Back of the Week Warren Braxton as WFU's second and third such honorees this season.
2-0 Start Not So Unfamiliar...
Wake Forest's 2-0 start in 2003 has generated quite a bit of excitement, and rightfully so, but the Deacons also got off to a 2-0 start in 2001, head coach Jim Grobe's first season with the program. WFU defeated East Carolina on the road, then topped Appalachian State that season before hitting a three-game losing skid (Maryland, FSU, NC State). The Deacs went on to finish 6-5 in 2001.
WFU also started 2-0 in 1996, defeating Appalachian State and No. 13 Northwestern, before ending up 3-8 on the season.
...But A Three-Game Win Streak is Rare
Including the 2002 Seattle Bowl victory, the Demon Deacons are currently riding a three-game win streak. It is the longest such streak since Wake Forest won six in a row in the middle of the 1992 campaign.
Randolph Off To Strong Start
Wake Forest entered the 2003 season as the only ACC school that did not have a returning starter at quarterback on its roster. But Deacon starter Cory Randolph appears comfortable in his new role, as he is Wake's first signal caller since Jay Venuto in 1979 to go 2-0 in his first two career starts. Venuto, a senior in '79, began his career as a starter with wins over Appalachian State and 12th-ranked Georgia.
Jim Grobe has often said that a team's most visible improvement should come between its first and second games of the season. In Randolph's case, his improvement was evident between the first and second halves of the season opener 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. His continued development was visible versus NC State as well, as Randolph completed 8-of-10 passes and kept the Wolfpack defense out of sorts all afternoon.
While Randolph isn't putting up huge passing numbers, he does rank 38th nationally (3rd in the ACC) in pass efficiency. 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 is 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.
Tough Schedule Includes Eight Bowl Teams
Saturday's game with marks the fifth straight contest in which Wake Forest faces a team who played in a bowl game in 2002. Dating back to last year's Maryland game, the Deacs have faced the Terps (Peach Bowl champs), Oregon (their Seattle Bowl opponent), Boston College (Motor City Bowl champs), NC State (Gator Bowl champs) and now Purdue (Sun Bowl champs). Wake Forest is 3-1 in those games, with the lone loss against Maryland.
Wake Forest's overall schedule in 2003 is a tough one, laden with eight opponents which participated in post-season bowl games last fall, compiling a 5-3 record. According to NationalChamps.net, Wake Forest's schedule ranks as the nation's 28th-toughest this fall.
In fact, five 2002 bowl teams -- NC State, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Maryland -- will pay a visit to Groves Stadium this fall. In an unofficial survey, the Deacs ranked tied for second nationally with the most bowl opponents on its home schedule.
Idlette Two-For-Two on Big Plays
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 at Boston College. The rush goes down as the eighth-longest rush in school history; the seventh-longest 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.)
To follow that up, Idlette scored a touchdown versus NC State on a 50-yard punt return. He is now averaging 62.5 yards on his two scoring plays.
Only two other players in program history -- Bill Barnes (1956) and Dickie Davis (1949 & 1951) -- have both a 75-yard touchdown run and a punt return for a touchdown to their credit. Idlette is the only freshman to accomplish such a feat and he did it in his first two college games.
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).
* Head coach Jim Grobe is 8-1 versus non-conference opponents since arriving at WFU. That record includes wins over East Carolina (twice), Appalachian State, Boston College, Navy, Northern Illinois, Oregon and Purdue. The lone blemish was an overtime loss in the second meeting with NIU in 2002.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest the final date of a three-game homestand next Saturday, hosting in-state rival East Carolina on Sept. 20. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. WFU has won two straight over the Pirates, as ECU makes its second trip in as many seasons to Groves Stadium.
