Wake Forest Athletics
Weathering the Storm
10/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Brad S. O'Neil - With the fringes of a hurricane pelting the Triad on Saturday night, winning with grace or style was going to be impossible. So for Wake Forest, defeating Syracuse was going to be a matter of avoiding catastrophe, a seemingly minimalist goal that's harder than it sounds.
Just ask Notre Dame about that.
The Demon Deacons got a lead and relied on their defense and the weather's ancillary assistance against the Orange's pass-happy offense for the 28-9 victory. And on this night, reliance on defense meant simply not screwing it up. Wake Forest improved to 5-1 on the year – one win short of bowl eligibility – by prevailing in what was a tense affair until the final minutes.
"A beautiful night in Winston-Salem," quipped coach Dave Clawson, his attempt to dry off an unequivocal failure. "I want to thank all the fans – every single one of them – who came out during the storm and supported their Deacons.
"It started out rough, but it just seems that every time we had to respond, we responded. On offense, if we needed a drive, we got it. On defense, if we needed a stop, we got it."
The Deacs' only turnover of the night was a deflected pass that could have happened under any weather conditions, and the safety the team permitted could have been worse. At least one of the punt teamers fell on the loose ball on the end zone, preventing a touchdown.
"I think we did as well as we could have done," said freshman running back Cade Carney, who carried 29 times for 104 yards and scored the touchdown that made it a two-score game with 3:59 left. "We held onto the ball, and watching the games earlier today, you saw teams putting it on the ground left and right and giving it to each other. I really think we didn't let that be an excuse to have turnovers, and we bought into the fact that we wouldn't turn over the ball, and we believed we would not turn over the ball. I think we did an all right job with that."
The defense, burned for several long pass plays in a win at Indiana two weeks earlier, didn't need Saturday's ills-cleansing result to gain a measure of vindication. It was surely helped by the elements, but weather can't fully explain why the Orange ran 20 fewer plays than their pregame average of 86.
Aside from Steve Ishmael's 33-yard catch, the Deacs allowed nothing of consequence through the air and often limited quarterback Eric Dungey to second and third options. Linebacker Marquel Lee had the night of his life, contributing 15 tackles, 5.5 of which were for losses.
Amari Henderson intercepted a Dungey pass on the goal line to end the first half, and the Deacs held Syracuse to three-and-out possessions on their first three attempts of the third quarter.
"Huge," Clawson said of the Henderson play. "You're going from a lead at the half and you're about to go down two. When I saw that guy open, I'm like ‘Oh man, they got it,' and he just jumped up and made a play. So visions of Indiana's Hail Mary were in my mind and he caught the sucker this time though. So that was good."
Generally speaking, the Demon Deacons rebounded after the previous week's loss at NC State.
"Coach always talks about being 1-0 every week, and we want to that mentality," Lee said. "Last week, the feeling was that we let them get one over on us and that we had to practice better. Way better. And that's what we did."
Carney's battering-ram style was made for this night. If a runner can absorb an initial hit on a wet field, the two or three extra yards he generates can be vital because passing is challenged and often discouraged entirely. If you get a pair of four-yard gains instead of two-yarders, you're in position third-and-short. That's Carney's game, which had been missing from the offense the three previous weeks because of the rookie's knee injury.
The Deacons are closing in on postseason eligibility, and they've secured wins they hoped for in advance of a back-loaded schedule that includes this week's game at Florida State and later contests with Clemson and Louisville. One more win against anybody would guarantee a holiday trip somewhere. Another – against one of the big three Atlantic Division powers, for example -- would rattle cages and make Wake Forest a relevant player in this whole postseason chase storyline in one form or another.
And that sounds downright sunny and 65 degrees with no clouds in sight.
