Opponent Preview - Wake Forest
Wake Forest Facts:
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Stadium: Truist Field
Field Type: Turf
Capacity: 31,500
Enrollment: 5,441
2024 Record: 4-8 (1-7 MAC)
Last Bowl: 2022 Gasparilla Bowl (27-17 W Missouri)
All-Time Bowl Record: 11-6
2023 Attendance: 30,498 (72nd nationally)
All-Time Series: 2-1
Last Meeting: 24-10 L 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl
Returning Starters: 8 Off, 7 Def
Lettermen: 45 Returning, 18 Lost
Schedule:
8/29- North Carolina A&T
9/7- Virginia
9/14- Ole Miss
9/28- Louisiana
10/5- at NC State
10/12- Clemson
10/19- at UConn
10/26- at Stanford
11/8- Cal
11/16- at North Carolina
11/23- at Miami (FL)
11/30- Duke
Last Time Here:
The Demon Deacons came to East Hartford in the return game of the home and home in 2006. The Huskies were coming off a 5-6 season, while the Deacs were coming off a 4-7 season. The 2006 season would ultimately end very differently for each team, as the Huskies would finish 4-8, while Wake Forest finisehd 11-3, including an ACC Atlantic Division title, as well as a 9-6 victory over Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship. They would go on to lose to Big East champion Louisville in the Orange Bowl, but a huge turnaround for Jim Grobe in his fifth year.
For those who were around for these years, this was one of the more offensively-challenged Huskies teams, although they had put up 52 against FCS URI the week prior. This team would finish 81st out 119 FBS teams at the time with 21.4 points per game. That’s not to say Wake Forest’s offense was much better this day, because it definitely wasn’t. The Demon Deacons would finish with just 209 yards, on the back of QB Riley Skinner’s 110 yards on 7-16 passing. But they would get the scoring going with an 86 yard pick six early in the first quarter. UConn would get those points with a (my guy) Brandon Young TD pass from DJ Hernandez. A six yard Wake Forest rushing TD would put them ahead 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, and would not relinquish the lead.
Lou Allen would get a TD with 3:23 to go in the half, but Matt Nuzie would miss the XP and the score would be 14-13 going into the half. UConn would not be able to muster any more points, and a punt-fest would ensue in the second half. A late Wake TD put the game away, a 24-13 victory. Terry Caulley led the Huskies with 81 yards on 15 carries, while Hernandez would throw for 197 yards on 19-32 passing.
Last Meeting:
The Huskies and Demon Deacons would meet once more, in the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl (now the Duke’s Mayo Bowl) in Charlotte, NC. The Huskies turned around their 4-8 record from the year before on the back of a stingy defense that allowed just 19 points per game, that number buoyed a bit by the disaster in Morgantown to end the season, where they allowed 66 points. Wake, on the other hand, would finish the regular season 8-4, tying for second in the Atlantic Division with Clemson, a game behind BC.
This was a tale of two halves, as the Huskies led 10-0 going into the half, behind a Larry Taylor punt return for a score and a FG. The vibes weren’t great in this one, though, as the Huskies only mustered 213 yards, just 98 through the air. The second half was all Deacons, behind Skinner, who threw for 268 yards on 29-38 passing, and Micah Andrews’ 64 yards on eight carries. It was a disappointing end to the season, but UConn fans were still feeling pretty good about the turnaround.
2024 Wake Forest:
This team is tough to pin down. Sure, they went 4-8 last season, a big disappointment after going 8-5 in 2022, and 11-3 in 2021. They started off 3-0 with wins over Elon, Vanderbilt, and Old Dominion, but lost their ACC opener to Georgia Tech, then lose a 17-12 matchup on the road against Clemson. They really struggled after losing QB Sam Hartman to Notre Dame, and the Demon Deacons have brought in former highly touted QB Hank Bachmeier, who committed to Boise State out of HS, but transferred to Louisiana Tech last season. In four years in Boise, Bachmeier started 29 games and threw for 6,605 yards with a TD:INT ratio of 41-19. Last season in Ruston, he started eight games and threw for 2,058 yards with a 10:5 ratio. He will compete with returnee Michael Kern, who threw for 647 yards on 57-92 passing backing up Mitch Griffs. Neither QB lived up to expectations last year.
Leading rusher Demond Claiborne returns after rushing for 586 yards on 137 carries with five TDs last season, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Claiborne’s committee partner, Justice Ellison, departed for Indiana, after rushing for 548 yards on 120 yards, for an average of 4.6 yards per carry. Backup Tate Carney returns, as does sophomore David Egbe, so it stands to reason that Claiborne will be the workhorse, but also seems that Carney could move up to replace Ellison in the RB by committee approach. Either way, Wake is hoping for a stronger rushing game, as they averaged 130 rushing yards per game as a team, their lowest total since 2015.
After losing 1st team All-ACC WR A.T. Perry after 2022, Wake needed to reload last season, and they got terrible news in August, when they lost Donavon Greene for the year. Greene had 642 yards in 2022, and will return this season to lead the receiving corps. 2023’s leading receiver, Jahmal Banks departs, but 2nd leading receiver Taylor Morin returns, after catching 41 passes for 617 yards. They don’t have a ton else of returning production, with 7th leading receiver Horatio Fields likely rounding out the starters, although they do return TE Cameron Hite (13 catches for 160 yards).
As mentioned earlier, Wake only averaged 130 rushing yards per game in 2023, and maybe even more concerning, allowed 49 sacks. This unit struggled with injuries, leading to these numbers, so they presumably should improve if they stay healthy. The OL returns three starters in Luke Pettibon, Matt Gulbin, and DeVonte Gordon (69 career starts among them), and look to RG Nick Sharpe, who missed all of last season, and RT Erik Russell to step up.
Like UConn, Wake returns a strong, veteran, defensive line. All four starters return, including 2nd team All-ACC Jasheen Davis, the 5th leading tackler on the 2023 defense with 49 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 9.5 TFLs. The four starters are seniors and have accumulated a lot of starts. Interestingly, none of the starting D-linemen are over 300 lbs, so perhaps that can help the Husky run game, but this is still obviously a productive unit, that is probably the strongest unit on the team.
At linebacker, Wake returns its leading tackler from a year ago in Dylan Hazen (86 tackles, 7.5 for loss), as well as everyone else but one. That one, was 2nd leading tackler Jacob Roberts (83 tackles), so that was a sizable loss. They do add 2nd team All-MVC (Missouri Valley Conference) performer Branson Combs from Southern Illinois, who started 27 games and totaled 176 tackles, including 12 for loss in four years for the Salukis. They also add DII tranfser DeMarcus Rankin, who notched 47 tackles for Notre Dame College. This is an experienced unit, but it remains to be seen who else can step up, besides Hazen.
The secondary loses 3rd and 4th leading tacklers in Malik Mustapha, and Chelen Garnes, respectively (80 and 61 tackles), but they add Kent State transfer Capone Blue, who started 11 games for the Golden Flashes. Opposite Blue at the other CB spot should be Jamare Glasker, who made two starts last season. The strength of the secondary lies with the safeties. Evan Slocum returns, after starting ten games last season, totaling 29 tackles and one INT. They also return Nick Anderson, who, after missing 2022, made one start last season with 33 tackles and four pass breakups. The Deacs also have Davaughn Patterson, who made a start as a true freshman. This is a unit that needs to make big strides this season, after allowing 232 passing yards per game, and a 61.6% completion percentage.
Wake returns both kicker and punter, in Matthew Dennis, and Ivan Mora, respectively. Dennis had a strong 2022 season, going 12-14 on FGs with a long of 46, but took a step back in 2023, going 14-20 on FGs, 5-9 from 30-39. Mora punted 57 times for a net of 38.2, and downed 16 punts inside the 20. In the return game, Claiborne should continue to return kicks after averaging 28.4 yards per return last year with a 96 yard TD. Morin should keep returning punts, after averaging 9.9 yards per return last year with a long of 34.
Prediction:
This is an interesting game to predict as the Demon Deacons had a rough 2023, but unlike many teams, didn’t add a ton of players through the transfer portal. They do return 15 starters, which is huge, and have a lot of veteran players. QB and OL play will be the key with this team. Can Bachmeier live up to his hype coming out of HS? Can the OL stay healthy and keep Bachmeier’s pocket clean? We will see, but I think this is a tough matchup for UConn, and Wake is always well-coached with Dave Clawson. I think the Demon Deacons take this one, but a Husky upset wouldn’t be a huge shock.
Wake Forest 30 UConn 17
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