Deacons Direct - Wake Forest-Duke Gameday Blog
11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2008
6:52 p.m. - Thaddeus Lewis' pass is intercepted by Alphonso Smith and the game is over. Wake Forest wins 33-30 to improve to 5-3 and 3-2 in the ACC while Duke drops to 4-4 and 1-3 in conference play. The interception was the 20th of Smith's career and second of the game.
6:49 p.m. - Shane Popham's 28-yard field goal is good and Wake Forest leads 33-30. The key play was a conversion on 3rd-and-10. A deflected pass by a Duke player was caught by Devon Brown for a first down. Duke is getting ready for its first possession of the overtime.
6:45 p.m. - Duke wins the toss and will play defense. Wake Forest will be going toward the north endzone in the first overtime period.
6:42 p.m. - Nick Maggio's kick from 42 yards out and we will have overtime. This is Wake Forest's first overtime game since September 22, 2007, when the Deacons defeated Maryland 31-24.
6:40 p.m. - Duke is setting up for a field goal that would win the game. The attempt will be from approximately 42 yards out. Duke has called timeout with two seconds left in the game.
6:36 p.m. - 1:52 left in the ballgame. Duke is getting ready for a 4th-and-3 at the Wake Forest 34-yard line. One more first down for the Blue Devils and they should be in field goal range.
6:33 p.m. - Riley Skinner's pass intended for Marshall Williams falls incomplete and Duke will take over at its own 33-yard line.
6:30 p.m. - Riley Skinner finds Marshall Williams on a 36-yard pass play on 3rd-and-7 to extend the Wake Forest drive. The Deacons are getting ready for a 4th-and-5 at the Duke 33-yard line.
6:25 p.m. - We're tied for the second time today. Thaddeus Lewis hits Clifford Harris on a 20-yard touchdown pass to even the score at 30. The drive takes 3:28 off the clock as the Blue Devils use seven plays over 45 yards for the tying drive.
6:22 p.m. - Duke is driving, looking for the tying touchdown. The Blue Devils have the ball at the Wake Forest 22-yard line. Duke started the drive with good field position after a 19-yard return to the Wake Forest 40-yard line and a 15-yard late hit penalty on Dominique Midgett.
6:12 p.m. - The Deacons turn the Blue Devil mistake into a touchdown. Riley Skinner hits D.J. Boldin on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give Wake Forest a 28-23 lead. The touchdown pass was the 29th of Skinner's career, putting him in fifth place all-time in Wake Forest history. A great effort by Boldin on the two-point conversion gives the Deacons a 30-23 lead with 10:16 left in the game.
6:10 p.m. - Wake Forest catches a break as Donovan Varner muffs the Shane Popham punt. Greg Bechtel recovers the punt at the Duke 33-yard line as Wake Forest gets the ball back.
6:03 p.m. - A 20-yard field goal by Nick Maggio gives Duke a 23-22 lead with 12:23 remaining in the game. A pass interference call on 3rd-and-10 kept the Blue Devil drive alive and on the next play Thaddeus Lewis found Eron Riley on a 52-yard pass play to the Wake Forest 10-yard line. The Wake Forest defense stiffened from there, keeping Duke out of the endzone.
5:56 p.m. - We're at the end of the third quarter with Wake Forest holding a 22-20 advantage. Duke has the ball 3rd-and-10 at its own 30-yard line.
5:53 p.m. - The Wake offense is unable to move the ball, forcing a 44-yard field goal attempt from Shane Popham. Popham's kick is good and Wake retakes the lead 22-20 with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
5:52 p.m. - Duke attempts a surprise onside kick and recovers the kick, but the referee penalizes the Blue Devils 15 yards for kick catch interference and the Deacons take over at the Duke 26-yard line.
5:48 p.m. - Duke has its first lead of the day as Jay Hollingsworth scores from six yards out to give the Blue Devils a 20-19 lead with 2:47 left in the third quarter. Duke's two-point conversion attempt fails. The Blue Devil drive goes 10 plays for 70 yards and takes 3:26 off the clock.
5:45 p.m. - The Duke offense is threatening again with 3:57 left in the third quarter. The Blue Devils have the ball 1st-and-10 at the Wake Forest 27-yard line.
5:38 p.m. - Wake Forest goes 3-and-out and Shane Popham punts the ball 45 yards out to the Duke 30-yard line.
5:30 p.m. - The Duke offense answers the Wake Forest touchdown with one of its own. Thaddeus Lewis hits Clifford Harris on a 33-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 19-14 with 7:24 left in the third quarter.
5:22 p.m. - Brandon Pendergrass pounds the ball into the endzone from two yards out to give Wake Forest a 19-7 lead with 8;45 remaining in the third quarter. Pendergrass has a career-high 59 yards on a career-best 15 carries. The scoring drive goes 10 plays on 46 yards and takes 3:59 off the clock.
5:15 p.m. - Duke has forced its first turnover of the day. Riley Skinner was stripped of the ball by Glenn Williams and Kinney Rucker recovered the fumble. However, on the very next play, Thaddeus Lewis throws an interception to Alphonso Smith to give Wake Forest the ball back at the Duke 46-yard line. The pick for Smith was his school-record 18th interception of his career.
5;10 p.m. - Second half is underway. Wake Forest will open the third quarter with the football.
5:05 p.m. - Some halftime stats for your enjoyment.
First Downs - Wake Forest 7, Duke 6
Rushing (att-yards) - Wake Forest 20-29, Duke 13-31
Passing - Wake Forest 111, Duke 69
Total Offense - Wake Forest 140, Duke 100
Time of Possession - Wake Forest 14:32, Duke 15:28
Individually, D.J. Boldin leads Wake Forest with six catches on 71 yards. Riley Skinner is 11-of-14 passing with 111 yards. Brett Huffman leads Duke with three catches on 44 yards.
Defensively, Aaron Curry has eight tackles with one tackle for loss to lead Wake Forest. Chip Vaughn has five tackles.
4:48 p.m. - We've reached the half at BB&T Field and Wake Forest leads 12-7.
4:38 p.m. - Duke is unable to take advantage of the good field position as the Wake Forest defense forces a 3-and-out. Wake Forest will get the ball back at its own 15-yard line with 4:34 left in the second quarter.
4:35 p.m. - Wake Forest goes 3-and-out on its next possession. The Deacons were whistled for kick catch interference on the punt, setting Duke up with great field position at the Wake Forest 39-yard line.
4:26 p.m. - Duke picks up a couple of first downs on its next drive but a pass from Thaddeus Lewis to Johnny Williams is incomplete on third down forcing a punt. The incomplete pass was the first of the game for the Blue Devils. Wake Forest takes over at its own 19-yard line with 8:14 left in the first half.
4:18 p.m. - Wake Forest extends its lead to five as Shane Popham splits the uprights from 24 yards out to give the Deacons a 12-7 lead with 11:52 left in the second quarter. The drive was 10 plays on 23 yards and took 5:07 off the clock.
4:15 p.m. - The punt blocked by Wake Forest was the first punt block since the game against Virginia last year. The punt against the Cavaliers was also blocked by Alphonso Smith. Smith now has five career blocked punts.
4:12 p.m. - We're reached the end of the first quarter. Wake Forest has the ball at the Duke 18-yard line. The Deacs converted a 3rd-and-13 on a pass from Riley Skinner to Marshall Williams.
4:10 p.m. - Another excellent special teams play for Wake Forest as Alex Frye returns the kickoff after the safety 57 yards to the Duke 30-yard line.
4:07 p.m. - After the Wake Forest defense stops Duke 3-and-out, the Deacon special teams comes up big as Alphonso Smith blocks the punt and the Duke punter falls in the endzone to force a safety. Wake Forest takes a 9-7 lead with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
4:05 p.m. - Wake Forest stalls in the Blue Devil redzone. The Deacons go for it on 4th-and-3 at the Duke 5-yard line and Riley Skinner's scramble comes up just short of the 2-yard line and the Blue Devils take over on their own 3-yard line.
4:03 p.m. - The Wake Forest offense is back on the move. After a 34-yard punt return by Alphonso Smith, Riley Skinner hit D.J. Boldin on a 27-yard pass play to move the ball into Duke territory. Wake is back in the Blue Devil redzone, currently at the Duke 13-yard line.
4:00 p.m. - Here's a look at Wake Forest's starters for today game.
Offense
QB - #11 Riley Skinner
TB - #22 Brandon Pendergrass
WR - #88 Chip Brinkman
WR - #8 Marshall Williams
WR - #4 D.J. Boldin
TE - #80 Andrew Parker
LT - #76 Joe Birdsong
LG - #78 Joe Looney
C - #72 Russell Nenon
RG - #61 Barrett McMillin
RT - #64 Jeff Griffin
Defense
DE - #42 Matt Robinson
NG - #96 Boo Robinson
DT - #51 John Russell
DE - #97 Kyle Wilber
LB - #59 Aaron Curry
LB - #43 Stanley Arnoux
LB - #39 Chantz McClinic
CB - #2 Alphonso Smith
FS - #9 Chip Vaughn
SS - #10 Kevin Patterson
CB - #25 Josh Bush
3:55 p.m. - Duke has evened the game at seven. Zack Asack found Donovan Varner on a 2-yard pass play to even the game at seven. The drive was 10 plays on 74 yards and took five minutes.
3:50 p.m. - Duke is moving the ball well after fumbling the opening kickoff. The Blue Devils have picked up four first downs on the drive and currently have the ball at the Wake Forest 8-yard line.
3:40 p.m. - Duke fumbles the opening kickoff. The fumble was recovered by Lee Malchow. Wake Forest converts the turnover into a quick seven points as Riley Skinner sneaks the ball into the endzone from one yard out to give Wake Forest a 7-0 lead with 12:07 remaining in the first quarter.
3:35 p.m. - Today's Game Captains
A trio of defensive players will serve as game captains for Wake Forest today. Stanley Arnoux, Aaron Curry and Matt Robinson will be the captains for the Deacs today. Wake Forest won the toss and deferred the option to the second half. Duke will receive to start the game.
3:20 p.m. - Today's Weather
The Spirit of the Old Gold & Black is on the field and we are just under 20 minutes from kickoff at BB&T Field. It's a beautiful day for football here in Winston-Salem. Gametime temperature is 72 degrees and there is not a cloud in sight. There's hardly any wind to speak of as the wind is from the WSW at 3 mph. There's a nice turnout of fans on Deacon Hill today taking advantage of the beautiful weather.
3:10 p.m. - Number & Position Changes for Wake Forest
You may notice a couple of Wake Forest players lined up at different positions this week. Junior LB Lee Malchow has been moved to tight end, and his number has changed from 35 to 98. Junior Ted Randolph will move from defensive tackle to tight end. His number will remain 87.
2:40 p.m. - A few quick notes
Just under 60 minutes before kickoff here at BB&T Field. The specialists for both teams are on the field getting ready for the game. For the Deacs, Shane Popham and Andrew Wright are attempting kicks. It looks like Wake will be without Sam Swank for the third straight week.
A few notes for today's game: -Today's game marks the first time since 1971 that both Wake Forest and Duke have met with each team having a winning record. The Deacs posted a 23-7 win in that meeting.
-Wake Forest has won nine straight games over in-state opponents since 2005. Three of those wins have come against Duke.
-The Deacons have won five straight ACC home games dating back to the start of the 2007 season.
-Wake Forest has done a good job of not turning the ball over as the Deacons only have one turnover in the last three games. Wake is ninth in the nation in turnover margin with a +1.14 per game average.
2:00 p.m. - Uniform Watch
Players from both teams are on the field beginning their warmups prior to today's game. Wake Forest is expected to be decked out in all black uniforms for the second time this season. The Deacs have been successful in all black, winning their last six games in that uniform combination. Wake defeated Clemson earlier this year in the all black uni's and also beat Connecticut in the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl while wearing all black.
1:45 p.m. - The Fifth Quarter Photo Gallery
As promised, here are some pictures taken by Media Relations Assistant Gary Petit from the filming of The Fifth Quarter that took place before the game. To take a look at the gallery, click here.
12:45 p.m. - Hollywood Comes to BB&T Field
As we speak, filming is taking place on the field for The Fifth Quarter. Written by Rick Bieber, The Fifth Quarter tells the story of Jon Abbate and his family during Wake Forest's 2006 run to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and ensuing trip to the FedEx Orange Bowl.
There are a group of 30 actors on the field, dressed in actual Wake Forest uniforms from the 2006 season. There are also a group of about 50 fans seated behind the Wake Forest bench area. Gary Petit from media relations is currently snapping a few pictures of the filming and we'll have a photo gallery up before gametime.
The film crew is here all day filming the actors as they react to Wake's success on the field against the Blue Devils. Immediately following today's game, the crew will re-create several Deacon football games from the 2006 season and fans at the game are being encouraged to remain in the stadium to help add to the authenticity of the film.
12:38 p.m. - Wake Forest set to Host Duke
After dropping two straight games on the road, Wake Forest (4-3, 2-2 ACC) returns home on Saturday to face the Duke Blue Devils (4-3, 1-2 ACC). The game is a pivotal one in the ACC race for both teams. The Deacons sit just one game behind Florida State and Maryland in the ACC Atlantic Division, while a victory for the Blue Devils would improve them to 2-2 in the Coastal Division and get them back in the division race.
We'll be back with more as we get closer to kickoff, including more information on The Fifth Quarter filming at BB&T Field today.
All blog posts by Chad Crunk, WFU Media Relations
