By the Numbers and Notes: Duke's Mayo Bowl

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Wake Forest football team is two days away from making its fifth straight bowl game against Wisconsin.

Before the Deacs travel to Charlotte for the third bowl game since 2007, below are some numbers and notes on the game:

By the Numbers

3 - The Demon Deacons five consecutive bowl game appearances rank third in the ACC just trailing Clemson and Miami (FL) in the conference.

27 – The Deacs have played more neutral site games in Charlotte than any other place. The Duke's Mayo Bowl against Wisconsin on Dec. 30 will mark the 27th time with Wake Forest holding a 15-11 record.

21 - Over the last two seasons, Wake Forest has had 21 All-ACC honors, which is tied for third in the conference, trailing just Clemson (40) and North Carolina (26). The Deacs 29 honorees over the past three seasons also ranks top five in the league.

21 - In the last seven games, the Demon Deacons have 21 rushing touchdowns. Wake Forest had 18 rushing touchdowns during the entire 2019 campaign.

12 - The Deacs 12 interceptions this season which leads FBS and leads the ACC by two. Nick Andersen and Ja'Sir Taylor are the only two Wake Forest players with multiple picks this year.

13 - Wake Forest leads FBS with a +13 (+1.63 per game) turnover margin.

5 - Sam Hartman's streak of 258 passes without an interception came to an end on Saturday. The streak was the fifth longest in ACC history.

Notable
RACK IT UP ROBERSON

THREE IN A ROW: Redshirt junior wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson became the first Wake Forest player since Chris Givens in 2011 to have back-to-back-to-back 100-plus yard receiving games. Most recently, he had a nine-catch, 138-yard performance at Louisville. It also marked the third consecutive game the Murfreesboro, N.C. native found the endzone, scoring on a 37-yard pass from Sam Hartman in the third quarter.
AMOUNG THE LEAGUE'S BEST: Heading into the bowl game, Roberson ranks second in the ACC in reception yardage per game, posting a 99.4 yard average this season. Despite having just eight games this season he also ranks sixth in total yardage (795) and eighth in total receptions (54) in the league.
NAME IN THE RECORD BOOKS: The second team PFF All-American member enters the final regular season game needing just 72 yards to move into the top-10 in program history for single-season receiving yards. Marshall Williams currently ranks 10th with 867 yards during the 2009 season.

SECURE THE BAG

INTERCEPTING THE OPPOSITION: Last season, the Demon Deacons finished the year with 14 interceptions by 10 different players. Through eight games, Wake Forest is on pace to break that mark as nine different players have accounted for the Deacs' 12 total interceptions. After week 14 of the FBS season, Wake Forest is the one of just five teams in the country to have three or more interceptions returned for touchdowns. Ja'Sir Taylor and Zion Keith have both returned their interceptions 45 yards for TDs while Gavin Holmes touchdown at Syracuse was from 32 yards out.
STREAKING: Wake Forest's streak of 16 consecutive games with a forced turnover ended against Louisville. It was the first time the Demon Deacons failed to force a turnover since against Elon on Sept. 21, 2019.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: Through eight games, Wake Forest has only turned the ball over three times this season and the Deacs are the only FBS schools who has played more than five games yet to throw one or zero interceptions and the only ACC school to do so. The Demon Deacons +13 turnover margin this season ranks first nationally and leads the ACC.

KICKING INTO HISTORY

Nick Sciba is on his way to becoming the most accurate kicker in ACC history. Through three seasons, he is 57-of-64 (.891), the best mark for any kicker in conference history (min. 50 attempts).

ACC Career Field Goal Percentage
1. Nick Sciba (2018-present)                 WF 89.1
2. Roberto Aguayo (2013-15)                  FSU 88.5
3. Nate Freese (2010-13)                         BC 86.4
4. Christopher Dunn (2018-present)       NCST 86.2
      Andre Szmyt (2018-present)                SYR 86.2

CHARLOTTE: HOME AWAY FROM HOME

The Demon Deacons have played more neutral site games in the Queen City than any other place. The Duke's Mayo Bowl against Wisconsin on Dec. 30 will mark the 27th time with Wake Forest holding a 15-11 record.
Three of the last eight bowl games have come inside of Bank of America Stadium, claiming wins in the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl over Connecticut and in the 2017 Belk Bowl over Texas A&M.
Additionally, Wake Forest is the only ACC school with a satellite campus in Charlotte.

RECORD BREAKING OFFENSES

2017-2019 have produced the three highest scoring seasons in school history with each club surpassing 400 points. The Deacs are equally as explosive in 2020.
Wake Forest's 1,300 points scored during that three-year period is the highest-scoring three-year period in Deacon history.

Season          Total Points             Points per game
2020               296                             37.0
2019               414                             31.8
2018               427                             32.8
2017               459*                            35.3*
* Wake Forest program record

Season          Total Yards             Offense average
2020               3,482                         435.3
2019               6,032                         464.0
2018               5,847                         449.8
2017               6,055*                         465.8*
* Wake Forest program record

Season          Total Plays               Plays per game
2020               603                             75.4
2019               1,055                         81.2
2018               1,067*                         82.1*
2017               963                             74.1
* Wake Forest program record

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE

One of the points of emphasis for the Wake Forest football team is winning the turnover battle. They have been one of the best teams in the country in that category since the start of the 2016 season.
In three of the last four seasons, the Demon Deacons have finished inside of the top 25 in turnover margin while placing in the top three of ACC in each of those seasons.
Over the past five season combined Wake Forest has a combined +34 turnover margin. Only 2018 saw the Deacs finish with more turnovers lost than gained:

Season    TO Gained    TO Lost          TO Margin
2020         16                    2                      +13
2019         25                    17                    +8
2018         16                    19                    -3*
2017         21                    13                    +8
2016         27                    19                    +8
*Only season in Wake Forest history where the Deacs reached a bowl game with a negative turnover margin.

Winning the turnover battle has been a key to victory for the Demon Deacons since Dave Clawson arrived on campus ahead of the 2014 season:

Turnover Margin             Record When
Even                                 9-10
+1 or better                      27-10
+2 or better                      16-3
+3 or better                      10-0

Wake Forest Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Nick Andersen

Sam Hartman

Gavin Holmes

Zion Keith

Jaquarii Roberson

Nick Sciba

Ja'Sir Taylor

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