Wake Forest Athletics
The Deacs are Going Bowling
11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Under the power vested in him by Athletics Director Ron Wellman, President Nathan O. Hatch and the Trustees of Wake Forest University, Dave Clawson restricted his players' freedom of speech with regard to one four-letter word recently. Starting with a B, it was not to be said until the Demon Deacons earned their sixth win of the season.
On Saturday evening, the profane became permissible. Beautiful, even.
Bowl. There it is. A comeback 27-20 win over Virginia has elevated Wake Forest (6-3, 3-2 ACC) to postseason eligibility for the first time in five years.
"Now," Clawson said, "we can talk about it. That was sweet."
The win came as it must for these Deacons: unconventionally. Two of the Deacons' three touchdowns came on a 64-yard run by the quarterback and an interception return. The latter, Jessie Bates III's 39-yard, tie-breaking score with 7:46 to play, was aided and abetted by a poor decision by Cavalier quarterback Kurt Benkert, who elected to throw the ball deep and down the middle. But the rest of the Deacon defense deserves some credit there for making Benkert run for his life – as it did for much of the second half.
There will come a day when Wake Forest has the potential for explosive offense to complement a solid defense, but injuries have delayed the synergy. For now, Clawson's team must rely on opportunism, positive turnover margin and a credible, time-consuming running game to win. The three boxes were checked on Saturday.
"When you control the line of scrimmage like that and play for the lead for most of the game and create turnovers, it's hard to lose," said quarterback John Wolford, he of the scramble up and down and through the middle for the 64-yard TD.
Wolford wasn't supposed to be on the field Saturday. Kendall Hinton was until he aggravated a knee injury in Tuesday's practice. So Wolford was still in the saddle. The junior from Jacksonville, Fla., who started as a true freshman, never has never griped even though Hinton and others were recruited behind him and he has taken an almost inhuman beating behind a developing offensive line in his time here. He has simply gone out and followed the game plan.
And that plan changed considerably from the previous week's contest, a surprising loss to Army in which Wolford threw 43 passes, three of which the Black Knights intercepted. Against the Cavaliers, Clawson and his offensive staff wanted to play ball control and make better use of true freshman bulldozer and running back Cade Carney. In other words, they weren't afraid to toss the playbook in the recycling bin.
This time, Wolford threw only 10 passes, nine of which he completed. The attempt total was the program's lowest since the Deacs went 3-for-8 in a loss at Miami on Oct. 25, 2008.
It wasn't scintillating, but it was successful. The Deacons committed no turnovers, which is why they're at six wins and able to breathe again.
The next two games – at No. 5 Louisville and home against third-ranked Clemson – are considerable challenges. Unless the homestanding Tigers lose to Pittsburgh on Nov. 12, Wake Forest will become only the third team in ACC history to face teams ranked in the AP poll's Top 5 in consecutive games of the same regular season and only the second to do so in consecutive weeks. The Demon Deacons can now approach the gauntlet with bowl eligibility in hand.
Respiration and rhetorical freedom are back to normal.
The win over the Cavs continues a trend for Clawson, whose third year at his previous program rehabilitation efforts at Fordham, Richmond and Bowling Green has also delivered clear evidence of turnaround. Say what you want the bowl game market, which more saturated than the summertime air in this region. Making the cut still represents a threshold crossed for the program, which went 3-9 in 2014 and 2015 and was probably lucky to snag a couple of those wins.
The Deacons' ultimate postseason destination is uncertain. Here's what is certain: It's out there somewhere.
