Wake Forest Athletics
By the Numbers and Notes: VMI
8/31/2022 6:14:00 PM | Football
Here are some key numbers and notes heading into Opening Night presented by Pepsi.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest football team hits the field for the first time in 2022 on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. against the VMI Keydets. The Demon Deacons return after tying the program record with 11 wins en route to both Atlantic Division and Gator Bowl Championships.
Before the Deacs open their season against the Keydets, below are some numbers and notes on the game:
By the Numbers
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3 - The Demon Deacons six consecutive bowl game appearances rank third in the ACC just trailing Clemson and Miami (FL) in the conference.
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38 - The Demon Deacons 38 wins since the start of the 2017 season is third among all ACC teams.
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81 - Wake Forest returns 81 percent of its record-breaking offensive production from last season. This mark ranks third in the ACC and includes 68 percent of rushing yards and 63 percent of receiving yards.
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41.0 - Wake Forest smashed the school scoring record set in 2020 (36.0 PPG) in addition to a number of offensive marks.
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250 - The Wake Forest assistant coaches have a combined 250 years of coaching at the college level with seven coaches with 20-plus seasons of experience.
EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
• The Demon Deacons finished the season with 574 points, becoming the first Wake Forest team to cross over the 500-point mark in school history while also setting the school record with 41.0 points per game.
• Wake Forest became just the 20th ACC team in the college football modern era (Post-WWII) to cross over the milestone of 500 points scored in a single season. The Deacs finished seventh in ACC scoring history :
ACC Single-Season Scoring
723 - Florida State (2013)
664 - Clemson (2018)
659 - Clemson (2019)
588 - Clemson (2016)
580 - Pitt (2021)
577 - Clemson (2015)
574 - Wake Forest (2021)
• AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Wake Forest finished fifth in the nation in scoring per game at 41.0 PPG.
• The Demon Deacons held the lead at the halfway mark in all but three games last season. They had a combined lead of 322-223 (+99) in the first halves of the season.
CLAWSON ERA OPENERS
•DEACS SEASON OPENERS: Over the last decade, Wake Forest is 8-3 in season openers including a 6-2 record in head coach Dave Clawson's tenure. Additionally, The Deacs hold a mark of 7-1 in home openers in the Clawson era.
• SEPTEMBER STRONG: Since the start of the 2016 season, Wake Forest holds a record of 17-5 in September. This includes seven of eight seasons in the Dave Clawson era with multiple wins in the month, the most recent coming in 2021 when the Deacs went a perfect 4-0 en route to a 8-0 start to the season while ranking as high as No. 9 nationally, the highest ranking in school history.
ALL-AMERICAN WIDE RECEIVER
• With his pair of touchdown receptions in the ACC Atlantic clincher against Boston College, A.T. Perry caught his 12th and 13th TDs of the season to set the single season touchdown reception record, breaking the previous school mark set by Kenny Duckett (12) in 1980. Perry went on a five-game streak of finding the endzone with seven scores of that period. Perry posted a trio of multi-touchdown games during the regular season. After TDs in the ACC Championship and Gator Bowl, he finished the season with 15 TD receptions.
Single Season Touchdown Receptions
1. A.T. Perry (2021)..........................................15
2. Kenny Duckett (1980) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3. Sage Surratt (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Ricky Proehl (1989) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
WINNINGEST PROGRAM IN NORTH CAROLINA
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Since the turn of the century, the Demon Deacons boast a record of 32-21 against UNC, NC State and Duke. In addition, during that time, Wake Forest is 46-21 against all in-state opponents. The Deacs lead the Big Four in winning percentage against each other during that period.
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Since the start of the 2016 season, the Deacs are tied for the second-most wins in the ACC not counting the COVID-shortened 2020 season:
• Clemson --65
• Wake Forest -- 41
• Virginia Tech -- 39
• Pitt- 39
• Miami- 39
• NC State- 38
• Three tied (UL, FSU, BC) -- 33
• Additionally over the last five years, the Deacs have recorded the most wins in a single five-year period:
• 38 (2017-21)
• 36 (2004-08 & 2006-10)
• 34 (2016-20)
• 33 (2015-19)
• 31 (1944-48)
• 30 (1940-44)
BEEF BOYS RETURN UP FRONT
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Wake Forest goes into the season with a veteran bunch of offensive linemen led by starters Je'Vionte Nash, DeVonte Gordon, Sean Maginn, Loic Nya and Michael Jurgens all returning up front.
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The Demon Deacons are one of just eight FBS teams to return five starters along the offensive line.
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The starting Beef Boy unit has combined to play in 172 games in their career the most in FBS by six combined games:
Wake Forest 172
Pitt 166
Georgia State 156
NC State 152
Utah State 145
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In the ACC, Wake Forest is also one of the most veteran units returning from a season ago with Green Bay Packer fourth-round selection Zach Tom as the only absence from last season's starting unit:
1 Pitt - 98.6%
2 Louisville - 83.5
3 Wake Forest - 82.9
4 Syracuse - 82
5 NC State - 80.5
