Wake Forest Athletics News - Wake Forest University Athletics

Gold Rush: 100% COTTEN

Nov. 12, 2002

by Stan Cotten

Record Check

Through the Florida State game, Wake Forest sports a 5-5 record pointing toward the Navy game Nov. 23 at Groves Stadium - a game that will follow a quite unusual two week layoff after back-to-back open dates on Nov. 9 and 16.

I would venture a guess that most Deacons fans felt that Wake would be 5-5 - maybe 6-4 at this point. But if I were a betting man (and I'm not), I'd wager a dollar to a Krispy Kreme doughnut that, although the 5-5 record is maybe what most anticipated, the Deacs did not get this point via the route that many would have thought.

I'm guessing that most Wake fans back in mid-July (yes, even after the failed Tarence Williams dismount) would have checked off wins against Northern Illinois, East Carolina, Virginia, Duke and North Carolina. That would have meant that losses were anticipated against North Carolina State, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Florida State.

Am I close? Be honest.

If I am close, then many of you got the record right, but you missed on four games, which is nearly half of the season to date. You figured the Deacs to beat Northern Illinois, a MAC team that Wake beat in 2001 at Groves Stadium. You thought that winning at Purdue was probably too much to ask. You hoped that the Deacs would follow the emotional win over Virginia from last year with another one over the Cavaliers and maybe even start a ridiculous win streak over Coach Grobe's alma mater like the nearly two-decade streak Wake halted at Charlottesville in 2001. And nobody wins at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Right? Not exactly.

And that's one thing that makes college athletics so alluring. Games are too hard to predict. Many times what you think will happen won't. And what you figure will certainly happen often times does not. Yet, most of you have already gone through the Wake Forest basketball schedule and figured out the Deacs' ACC record and seed in the ACC Tournament.

It's fun. It's human nature. And for those of you boasting now that you had Wake's 5-5 start predicted way back in the summer, don't forget how you got there - by missing four games!

Men In Black

Were you surprised when the Demon Deacons took the field against Florida State decked out in all black? Did you like the new look?

It was the first time since a home game against Duke back in 1994 that the Demon Deacons looked the part and came out in all black dress. You might recall the Deacs were black and blue after that game, losing to the Blue Devils 51-26. That recall, coupled with the loss to the Seminoles, may keep the combination of black pants and black jerseys packed for the winter.

I'm not a gambler, and I'm not superstitious - especially when it comes to uniform colors. But on the same day the Deacs were black-clad and losing to Florida State, Notre Dame put its unbeaten record on the line in green jerseys worn for the first time since the mid-80's and got shown the door at its own house by unheralded Boston College.

And for you Dallas Cowboys fans, I don't have to tell you about your team's record when choosing or forced to wear the dark blue jerseys rather than the ever-popular whites. But it's not good.

And the answer is...

Last time we teased you a bit with a question regarding a list of states from which calls had been made to Deacon SportsPage - the weekly call-in show with Coach Jim Grobe and yours truly. The states are: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Does one state stand out? I'm sure they all do in some respects, but Pennsylvania is the only one that does not have a salt water beach.

I know - get a life.

See you on the radio.

Stan Cotton is the "Voice of the Deacons."