
Football Gameday - Music City Bowl Preview
12/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 21, 2011
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Wake Forest Game Notes ![]() ![]() ![]() Live Blog | TV: ESPN (ESPN3 Online Stream) |
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - After a two year hiatus, Wake Forest is back in a bowl and will take on Mississippi State in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be played on Friday, Dec. 30 at 6:40 p.m. at LP Field and will be televised on ESPN. The game can also be heard on the Wake Forest Sports Network from IMG College.
The Deacons finished the regular season with a 6-6 overall record and were 5-3 in ACC play. That marks just the fourth time in school-history that Wake Forest has won five ACC games in a season.
Wake is looking to finish the season on a high note after ending the regular season with a 41-7 setback at the hands of SEC foe Vanderbilt on Nov. 26. The Deacs took a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter but the Commodores then reeled-off five unanswered touchdowns.
Senior running back Brandon Pendergrass finished the day with 74 yards on 12 carries or an average of 6.2 yards per carry. Sophomore quarterback Tanner Price was 16 of 34 for 157 yards and hit senior Terrence Davis for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Price has had a tremendous season, throwing for 2,803 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is just the second quarterback in school history to throw for more than 2,800 yards and his 20 touchdowns are the third-most in a single-season in school-history.
Price's favorite target this year is junior Chris Givens. Givens has caught 74 passes for a school-record 1,276 yards. He has also recorded seven 100-yard receiving games this season, which is one-shy of the school-record.
Defensively, seniors Cyhl Quarles and Kyle Wilber have been the stalwarts. Quarles leads the team with 96 tackles on the year and Wilber has notched 10.5 tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks.
Freshman cornerback Merrill Noel has also had a great season as he leads the country in passes defended with 20. His 19 pass breakups have also set a new school-record.
Quickie Notes
- This is Wake Forest's 10th bowl appearance. The Deacs are 6-3 in their previous nine bowl games and have won two straight and five of its last six. Wake last appeared in a bowl in 2008 when they posted a 29-19 win over Navy in the EagleBank Bowl.
- This is the second time that Wake Forest has played a bowl game on Dec. 30. The Deacons defeated Oregon 38-17 in the 2002 Seattle Bowl.