A Vision is Being Realized
11/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
On a day populated with absurdly uncompetitive matchups – particularly in a conference that claims It Just Means More – there was at least one that could not be placed in the "Cupcake Saturday" narrative. What went down at BB&T Field was not easily consumable pastry, but it was certainly sweet.
Wake Forest's 30-24 win over NC State was in many ways what Dave Clawson envisioned when he took the helm of the Demon Deacon program nearly four years ago.
Although the decibel level was aided by red-clad visitors, the place was rocking and engaged. That's what can happen when your season now includes seven wins of your own, five of which are against other bowl-eligible teams.
Wake Forest has now secured seven regular-season wins for only the seventh time in the ACC era. Beating Duke in the finale will deliver the fourth regular season with eight triumphs.
The Deacon offense continued to put points on the board. And even as injuries mounted, a common occurrence across the sport in November, Wake Forest prevailed. That's what can happen when you build depth.
When game-breaking Greg Dortch went out for the season after a four-touchdown game against Louisville on Oct. 28, suggestions of imminent decline would have been reasonable. Dortch was leading all FBS freshmen in touchdown receptions with nine, and he's still tied for the top spot. He's still third among freshmen in receptions with 53. He was on pace to break the ACC's single-season records for TD catches and catches by a rookie.
What happened then? Tabari Hines, who had made 18 catches for 250 yards in his first seven games, has responded with 21 grabs for 315 in the three games without Dortch. With apologies to the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pitt Panthers, the Deacs' home turf was Hines' Field on Saturday, when he caught three TDs from resilient QB John Wolford.
The running game has relied heavily on Matt Colburn II, who began as the third-string tailback but who has a knack for getting four yards when only one seems possible initially.
As a result, Wake Forest has scored 30 or more points in four straight games of the same season for only the second time in its history. The first such stretch came in the final four contests of 2001.
Everybody's vision was obscured at first. Wolford, on his way to perhaps the finest season in school history, couldn't see much of anything his first two years because pass-rushers were taking up residence inside his facemask. To his perpetual credit, he didn't complain or transfer, two of the more common responses to substandard support. He took the beatings and waited until help arrived.
Now he and his mates look unstoppable at times. Clawson said the increased talent pool has helped coordinator Warren Ruggiero run the kind of offense he always hoped for: a fast-paced, versatile package that thrives on keeping the defense guessing.
Defensively, the Deacons missed leading pass-rusher Duke Ejiofor, out with an injury, on Saturday. The Wolfpack ran 76 plays to the Deacs' 54. And this whole thing was close. Perhaps inches. Demetrius Kemp's strip of the ball as a Pack receiver was about to cross the goal line in a six-point game in the final two minutes will be scrutinized by some like the Zapruder film. In the absence of a camera angle directly on the goal line, however, the replay crew determined there was no way to overtu the original call of a fumble recovery by the Deacons in the end zone.
Did they get lucky there? Perhaps. But were they lucky when they lost Dortch and top running back Cade Carney for a majority of the season?
So this team is 7-4 and trying to play its way into the most desirable bowl destination possible. A vision is being realized.
