Three years ago, when I told people that I was going to school at Wake Forest they responded with high praises for the state of Illinois. That’s right- the Lake Forest suburb of Chicago was more recognizable than a U.S. News & World Report Top 30 School. So much has changed during my undergraduate years and I am proud to say that Demon Deacon fans have now infiltrated the Northeast. Wake’s rising recognition on the national stage has coincided nicely with the success of the football program. The Deacs have gone to three bowl games in three years. The team’s accomplishments since my freshman year have included an ACC Championship, an ACC Coach of the Year, an ACC Rookie of the Year, and a trip to the Orange Bowl. Coach Jim Grobe has developed the fledgling program to be able to compete with the nation’s top teams and this season promises to be as exciting as ever. The fact that high school friends have now heard of my school is merely a sweet bonus.
That being said, Baylor has yet to enjoy a similar budding national reputation. Unfortunately for Wake, this could soon be the case as the Bears’ program is definitely on the rise. The Demon Deacons opened the 2008 season with a 41-13 road win against Baylor. While Wake should be able to duplicate the feat this year- especially playing at home- the season opener won’t be a cupcake. If the Deacs want to be a serious contender for the ACC Championship, it needs to begin the season at least 5-0 as the latter half of the program is definitely more challenging.
The theme of Baylor football under Head Coach Art Briles as he enters his second season is ‘rebuilding.’ Although Briles only went 4-8 in his first season at Baylor, the Bears accumulated some promising statistics. Chief among them is the 336 total points scored in 2008, the most since scoring 362 in 1994. Aiding the program’s reconstruction in 2009 is the return of 18 starters (9 offense and 9 defense). With so few losses, the program should definitely be able to build on 2008’s successes. After getting destroyed by Wake 41-13 at home, this year’s game will be a litmus test for how far Baylor really has come.
However, yet another indicator of Baylor’s improvement is in the caliber of recent recruiting classes. Sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin III shows a lot of potential and Wake’s Riley Skinner knows all too well not to underestimate the potential of a young quarterback. (Luckily, Skinner was named ACC Offensive Back of the Week after 2008’s Baylor game, proving that he knows how to get the best of Griffin.) Overall, Skinner outperformed Griffin in the 2008 season. He has a 63.9 completion percentage versus Griffin’s 59.93 and completed 2347 passing yards as Griffin completed 2091. However, as a Wake fan, young Griffin’s statistics are alarming and Skinner will need to rely on the Deacon defense to halt Griffin’s offensive advances.
Unfortunately, the team is only returning 4 defensive starters. In Tuesday’s press conference, Head Coach Jim Grobe acknowledged that “the expectations are that this is a young defense and that we’ll probably start slow and come up at the end of the year.” The plan is to keep the offense on the field for long as possible. In other words, the more first downs, the better. “A big part of playing good defense is having an offense that can hang on to the football for a while and spend more time than the defense out there.” Luckily, the Deacon offense is in good shape with the return of Skinner, running backs Brandon Pendergrass, Josh Adams, and Kevin Harris and left tackle Chris DeGeare. Wake should feel pretty confident with one of, if not the, best offenses in the conference. (Check out more comments on the Deacon offense at http://www.theroadtotampabay.com/blogs/wf/2009/08/08/12-days-of-acc-football-wake-forest-preview/.) And, senior defensive tackle John Russell is working to instill more confidence in Wake’s defense. “We’ve all talked about taking that perspective of being a weakling and changing it from day 1.”
The entire senior class is hungry for another ACC Championship. Our Wake experience would then come full-circle. If nothing else, the excitement at BB&T Field should make for a Deacon win at home. More than likely, however, the Demon Deacons will clearly showcase their talent and send the Bears on a long trip back to Texas.