An Unstoried History: A Wake Forest Dynasty

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Unsurprising Blowout
Written by Alex Flight on September 13th, 2014.

Wake Forest would blowout FCS opponent Gardner-Webb 49-14 despite three first half interceptions.

The Demon Deacon's home opener was not necessarily an exciting one, as they hosted a lower tier FCS school in the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs. The biggest obstacle in this game would be running Quinn Morris' TE Raid offense with only 3 tight ends for a second straight week as Brendan O'Neil was ruled out of the game after injuring his shoulder last week. The injury is not anything to worry about long term as head coach Jim Grobe described the move as "a cautionary rest week."

The outstanding freshman tight end's presence was not missed, and on the first drive of the game Patrick Thompson would go 6/6 for 71 yards and find All-American Matt James for a 6 yard touchdown. James has had a relatively quiet start to the season after an outstanding 2013 as he has split time with O'Neil and fellow freshman stud Tyrone Everett.

Gardner-Webb would be forced to punt, to nobody's surprise, but they were able to get a long punt that flipped field position. Alan Walters would start the next drive off well, as he spun out two defenders on his way to gaining 14 yards. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion on the play and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Later in the drive, DeAndre Martin was stuffed in the backfield on 3rd and 5. The Deacons would try to convert the 4th down, and Patrick Thompson tried to get everything on one play and the deep pass was intercepted by Azziz Higgins. Gardner-Webb would go 3 and out giving the Deacons the ball right back.

Patrick Thompson would take a 12 yard sack early in the drive, but then find Jared Crump on the next play for 26 yards and a 1st down. Thompson would break a sack and find Orville Reynolds on the sideline, and one play later DeAndre Martin would score from 7 yards out. Gardner-Webb would utilize some long passes and get into field goal range, but miss the 39 yard kick. Thompson would sail a pass intended for a wide open Andy Miller, but he would make up for it as he found Tyrone Everett from 6 yards out to take a 21 point lead.

Gardner-Webb would go 3 and out once again, but got the ball back right away as Thompson tried to thread a pass to James between two defenders. Linebacker Chad Geter would jump the pass and run it all the way back for a touchdown. DeAndre Martin would pick up 56 yards on the first play of the next drive, putting the Deacons in prime position to score right before the half. The opportunity was wasted when Matt James dropped a pass on first and goal, and Thompson would try to hit Andy Miller in the back of the end zone on the following play. Kenyatta Dunbar was right behind him and jumped in front of it for the interception. The score would stay at 21-7 heading into halftime.

Gardner-Webb would start off the half with a decent drive as they got into Wake Forest territory, but they stalled out at the 47 yard line and had to punt. DeAndre Martin would take a counter for a 38 yard gain, and Thompson would find Jared Crump in the end zone for a 38 yard TD on a wheel route on the next play.

Gardner-Webb would go 3 and out on their next drive, and as the Deacons offense returned to the field Patrick Thompson was nowhere to be seen. Tyler Cameron would lead the offense, but not for long as the offense went 3 and out. Gardner-Webb would make it three and a row and punt right back. The Deacons would drive back down the field, and Matt James would drop another pass in the end zone. But Andy Miller would score on a screen pass from 7 yards out on the next play. Gardner-Webb would go 3 and out once again.

The next drive was a quick one and included a Tyler Cameron scramble for 22 yards and a pass that he dropped right over Crump's shoulder for a 38 yard touchdown. Gardner-Webb would break into their bag of tricks and it paid off. With 4 receivers in a diamond set to the right and Deonte Swinton as the lone receiver on the left side of the field, Lucas Beatty took the snap and fired a lateral to Mike Estes at the bottom of the diamond. Estes took 2 steps forward before firing another lateral to Beatty, who turned and immediately found Swinton left completely alone for a 71 yard touchdown.

Despite giving up points, Wake Forest elected to bring in their backups including 3rd string QB Kevin Sousa. Sousa would lead a touchdown drive that was capped by finding Matt James from 14 yards out. Gardner Webb once again went 3 and out, and the Deacons would return to the field to run out the clock. The game would end with a final score of 49-14.

The Demon Deacons defense was once again stifling, only allowing 6 first downs all game. However, the real story was the quarterback play. Patrick Thompson came out of the game before the rest of the starters after he threw 3 first half interceptions. He seemed to be forcing passes and he paid the price. After the game the coaches quickly shot down the competition rumors: "Patrick did not play as well as he should have, but that doesn't mean their is a competition. Tyler [Cameron] came in because we were comfortable with the lead and didn't want to risk an injury," said offensive coordinator Quinn Morris when questioned post game. The offense did show another new wrinkle with Tyler Cameron and Kevin Sousa in. They ran a lot of triple option from the I-Formation. Both Cameron and Sousa are much more mobile than Thompson, and it may have just been something that Morris has always had in his playbook but just never broke out. He declined to comment after the game. Wake Forest hosts Army next weekend, who they blew out last season in Patrick Thompson's first start.

Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Sep 13, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (1-2)	0	7	0	7	14
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-0)	14	7	14	14	49

Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Lucas Beatty 7/27 181 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Juanne Blount 7 21 3.0 0 Lucas Beatty 2 8 4.0 0 Khalil Lewis 1 1 1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Deonte Swinton 3 120 40.0 1 Mike Estes 3 48 16.0 0 Juanne Blount 1 3 3.0 0

Wake Forest Demon Deacons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Patrick Thompson 20/28 273 3 3 Tyler Cameron 6/8 80 2 0 Kevin Sousa 2/2 18 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD DeAndre Martin 16 153 9.5 1 Joshua Wilhite 5 52 10.4 0 Tyler Cameron 4 31 7.7 0 Kevin Sousa 2 11 5.5 0 Patrick Thompson 1 -12 -12.0 0 Daniel Vogelsang 1 4 4.0 0 John Armstrong 1 3 3.0 0 Andy Miller 1 1 1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tyrone Everett 6 66 11.0 1 Andy Miller 5 46 9.2 1 Jared Crump 5 138 27.6 2 Matt James 4 49 12.2 2 Orville Reynolds 3 27 9.0 0 Joshua Wilhite 3 27 9.0 0 Alan Walter 1 14 14.0 0 DeAndre Martin 1 4 4.0 0

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2014 Week 4 Preview
Recruiting Board
Tyson Scott commits and scouted
Brad Richard scheduled for visit week 4 vs Army
Johnnie Wilcox scheduled for visit week 4 vs Army
Jeff Rogers scheduled for visit week 4 vs Army
Johnny Martinez scheduled for visit week 4 vs Army
Andy Dunn to 200 points (max)
Craig Newman to 400 points (max)
David Mitchell to 0 points
Brent Wesley to 0 points
Jeremiah Hall to 0 points
Reggie Williams to 0 points
Jeff Turner to 0 points
Josh Coleman to 0 points
Chauncey Ford to 0 points
Aaron Battle to 75 points (625 remaining)
Jamal Reese to 75 points (275 remaining)
Shane Ford to 150 points (550 remaining)
Michael Baker to 120 points (30 remaining)

Top 5 Week 3 Game Results
1. #15 Arizona State beats #19 Stanford 42-24
2. #24 Florida beats #16 Ole Miss 27-22
3. #6 UCLA beats Texas 49-30 (neutral site)
4. Georgia beats #11 South Carolina 31-17
5. #3 Clemson beats Penn State 41-13

Top 5 Upset Alerts of Week 3
1. Army upsets #18 Oklahoma State 23-10
2. Maryland upsets #23 Wisconsin 37-31 in OT
3. Navy survives Texas State 27-21
4. Tennessee upsets #25 Arkansas 24-20
5. Arkansas State survives Montana 31-24

Games of the Week
1. #11 Michigan State @ #4 Oregon
2. #13 Virginia Tech @ #7 Ohio State
3. #17 Missouri @ #1 Alabama
4. #20 Ole Miss @ #21 Georgia
5. Miami @ #12 Nebraska

Players of Week 3
National
Offensive-Tyler Rouse, Boston College HB: 44 carries, 268 yards, 5 TDs
Defensive-AJ Johnson, Tennessee MLB: 9 TFL, 3 sacks, FF, FR

ACC
Offensive-Tyler Rouse, Boston College HB: 44 carries, 268 yards, 5 TDs
Defensive-Manuel Asprilla, Boston College CB: TFL, 2 INTs, FR, TD

Wake Forest Injury Report
Jonathan Williams, WR: ACL, season
Blake Moody, OLB: back, season
Alan Walters, WR: concussion, out
Teddy Matthews, MLB: leg, 2 weeks

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Things Get Interesting
Written by Alex Flight on September 20th, 2014

Wake Forest would blow out their opponent for the third straight week and set the stage for a possibly epic week 5 match-up with #2 Florida State.

Coming into their second straight home game, this time hosting Army, Wake Forest had looked dominant to start the season. They played a close game in week 1 versus UL Monroe, but were averaging 39.3 PPG and allowing 16.3 PPG on the season. They would improve both en route to a 44-10 blowout victory over Army.

The Deacons would start early by stopping Army's option attack on three straight plays forcing a punt. On the second offensive play of the drive, Patrick Thompson would find a wide open Jared Crump for a 50 yard touchdown. Crump, who was getting the start due to the concussion suffered last week by freshman Alan Walters, had burnt his corner after easily beating the press coverage. After another Army three-and-out Thompson would go right back to Crump. This time, however, the sophomore wide receiver dropped the pass. Ultimately it would not matter as Orville Reynolds would drag a defender into the end zone for an 18 yard touchdown after a good offensive drive.

Army would finally move the chains getting down to midfield. The drive would still stall out, and they would punt for the third straight drive. A rare mistake by Wake Forest's offense would force them to burn a timeout to avoid a penalty for having too many men in the huddle. In a close game this may have mattered, but this was not a close game. The Deacons would bounce back and Thompson found Brendan O'Neil for a 21 yard touchdown on the next play. The seam route that O'Neil was on was the perfect play call to beat the Cover 2 defense Army was running.

Unable to get a stop on defense or move the ball on offense, Army needed a spark and they needed it fast. They got it on the ensuing kickoff as Ejay Tucker took the ball out of the end zone and found a lane on his way to a 104 yard touchdown. Unfortunately for Tucker, he will only get credit for a 100 yard return due to NCAA rules, as the end zone is never included in yardage. This shrunk the deficit 21-7 for the Black Knights, and they hoped it would shift the momentum in their favor.

It did not. Wake Forest would put another great drive together that was highlighted by Andy Miller making a defender look silly on his way to a 16 yard touchdown. Miller was the 4th different receiver found by Thompson for a touchdown on four straight drives. On a day where the offense and defense both looked outstanding, the special teams did not and Chad Hedlund would miss the extra point attempt.

Army would go three-and-out once again, and it looked like Wake Forest would make it five touchdowns in a row before half as Thompson found Crump on a 30 yard post to get the ball inside the 10 yard line. On the next play, Thompson did not have a receiver open, and so he tried to redirect running back DeAndre Martin up field. Martin did not go up field and so instead of throwing to where a receiver should have been Thompson threw to where Army defender Geoffrey Bacon was. Army's offense would finally capitalize on some momentum and drive all the way down to the 1 yard line with 4 seconds left in the half. Army coach Rich Ellerson elected to take his points and head to half down 27-10.

The Deacons would come out of halftime and continue to move the ball at will. Once again in scoring position, Thompson thought he had a receiver open in the end zone. Army strong safety Shaquille Tolbert had other plans as he laid out for the pass and got the interception at the 1 yard line. Army was unable to capitalize and punt once again. The following Deacons drive started very poorly. A holding call on first down erased a long gain, and Thompson would later take a sack. As the rest of the offense went to huddle back up, Thompson remained on the ground. When he did finally get up he was visibly impaired, and he would leave the game. Thompson was later diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out for at least the rest of the game.

Tyler Cameron came in and made sure the offense did not skip a beat, and he found O'Neil in the end zone from 26 yards out for yet another score. Army would answer with a drive of their own, and they got all the way down to the red zone. Back-to-back penalties quickly derailed the drive, and the Black Knights would fail to convert their 4th and 13 attempt. Cameron would lead another drive into scoring position, but the Deacons had to settle for three after Tyrone Everett and Tyree Harris both dropped passes on back-to-back plays. Hedlund would bounce back from his missed PAT earlier and nail the 48 yard field goal attempt. Brandon Chubb would end any chance of Army's offense scoring a touchdown as he intercepted Angel Santiago's pass at the 13 yard line. Wake Forest would begin milking the clock on their long drive, but Andy Miller was able to tack on another touchdown on a 4 yard rush on 3rd down with a minute left. It would cap another great performance by the Deacons, who exited with a 44-10 victory.

The win moves the Deacons to 4-0, their best start since 2006 when they would go on to win the ACC. While they have not played the most difficult opponents to start the season, that will change next week as they face a National Title favorite in #2 Florida State. That ranking may change as the Seminoles are currently tied up unranked North Carolina in the 4th quarter. Whether the Seminoles win or lose, next week will be a great challenge for the Demon Deacons. Florida State embarrassed Wake Forest last year, and the Deacons will seek revenge.

The degree to which the Deacons compete with the Seminoles will probably depend heavily on the health of senior QB Patrick Thompson. After suffering a concussion in the 3rd quarter Thompson's status for Saturday is uncertain. Asked whether his starting quarterback would be ready for the big test Quinn Morris said: "We don't know and we won't know until Friday. We want Patrick back obviously, but his health comes first and if he can't pass concussion protocol he will not play." If Thompson can't go, the Deacons will roll out sophomore Tyler Cameron who has looked exceptionally well in limited action this season. However, he has not faced any adversity as he has only played with the lead against lesser teams. Thompson brings in a level of experience that would be extremely important.

Army Black Knights at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Sep 20, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Army Black Knights (3-1)	0	10	0	0	10
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-0)	14	13	7	10	44

Army Black Knights PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Angel Santiago 13/26 216 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Angel Santiago 11 35 3.1 0 Larry Dixon 8 24 3.0 0 Trenton Turrentine 4 12 3.0 0 Terry Baggett 1 -3 -3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Patrick Laird 4 80 20.0 0 Ejay Tucker 4 92 23.0 0 Terry Baggett 2 12 6.0 0 Chevaughn Lawrence 2 23 11.5 0 Larry Dixon 1 9 9.0 0

Wake Forest Demon Deacons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Patrick Thompson 24/29 366 4 2 Tyler Cameron 5/7 67 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD DeAndre Martin 22 131 5.9 0 Joshua Wilhite 5 43 8.6 0 Tyler Cameron 2 20 10.0 0 Patrick Thompson 1 -8 -8.0 0 Jordan Garside 1 6 6.0 0 Andy Miller 1 4 4.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Andy Miller 7 122 17.4 1 Jared Crump 7 123 17.5 1 Orville Reynolds 5 53 10.6 1 Tyrone Everett 4 59 14.7 0 Brendan O'Neil 4 68 17.0 2 Matt James 1 2 2.0 0 DeAndre Martin 1 6 6.0 0

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2014 Week 5 Preview
Recruiting Board
Tyson Scott scouted
Jordan Kaplan visit scheduled week 9 vs Boston College
Chris Williams visit scheduled week 9 vs Boston College
Aaron Battle visit scheduled week 9 vs Boston College

Top 5 Week 4 Game Results
1. #11 Michigan State beats #4 Oregon 24-17
2. #13 Virginia Tech beats #7 Ohio State 20-17
3. #1 Alabama beats #17 Missouri 41-3
4. #20 Ole Miss beats #21 Georgia 52-24
5. Miami beats #12 Nebraska 24-7

Top 5 Upset Alerts of Week 4
1. North Carolina upsets #2 Florida State 38-31 in OT
2. Southern Illinois upsets Purdue 27-25
3. #3 Oklahoma survives Tulsa 31-28
4. Arkansas upsets #15 Northern Illinois 29-24
5. Utah upsets #25 Michigan 24-21

Games of the Week
1. #1 Alabama @ #17 Ole Miss
2. #2 Clemson @ #19 Miami
3. #8 Louisville @ #20 Georgia Tech
4. Wisconsin @ #12 Ohio State
5. USC @ #10 Oregon

Players of Week 4
National
Offensive-Cody Fajardo, Nevada QB: 19/30 for 317 yards and 6 TDs, 89 rushing yards
Defensive-Chris McCain, Cal RE: 9 TFL, 4.0 sacks

ACC
Offensive-Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville QB: 19/23 for 302 yards and 4 TDs, 41 rushing yards
Defensive-Kendall Fuller, Virginia Tech CB: INT, 2 PD, TD

Wake Forest Injury Report
Jonathan Williams, WR: ACL, season
Blake Moody, OLB: back, season
Teddy Matthews, MLB: leg, 1 week
Patrick Thompson, QB: concussion, out
Neil Basford, RT: Suspended

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Around The Nation: Week 5
Written by Alex Flight on September 24th, 2014

This week we take a look around the nation after a quarter of the season has already passed by.

Coaches Top 25 Poll

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 24, 2014
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Alabama (34)	3	0	1498
2	3	Clemson (24)	3	0	1379
3	5	Oklahoma (1)	3	0	1295
4	6	UCLA (1)	4	0	1231
5	8	Auburn (1)	3	0	1147
6	11	Michigan State	2	0	1107
7	9	Texas A&M	3	0	1082
8	10	Louisville	3	0	1047
9	13	Virginia Tech	3	0	1008
10	4	Oregon	1	1	981
11	2	Florida State	2	1	887
12	7	Ohio State	3	1	845
13	14	Arizona State	2	0	834
14	18	UCF	3	0	634
15	NR	North Carolina	3	0	596
16	19	Florida	3	1	559
17	20	Ole Miss	3	1	552
18	12	Nebraska	3	1	445
19	NR	Miami	2	0	402
20	23	Georgia Tech	3	0	384
21	15	Northern Illinois	2	1	361
22	17	Missouri	1	2	337
23	24	Cincinnati	2	1	301
24	NR	Arizona	3	0	263
25	NR	Iowa	2	0	184

Analysis: The Top 25 saw quite the shakeup this week after an eventful weekend that saw three top 10 schools fall. While two of those losses, namely Ohio State and Oregon, came to top 25 opponents, Florida State's loss to unranked North Carolina had perhaps the largest effect on the poll. Florida State fell 9 spots to #11 and North Carolina jumped all the way up to #15.

Another ACC team filled Florida State's #2 spot as rival Clemson slid up one spot off after a bye week. #1 Alabama had the most impressive win of the weekend as they beat a ranked Missouri team 41-3 on the road. If they can keep that going, it is unlikely they will lose a game this season. As of right now their games with #7 Texas A&M and #5 Auburn will probably be the best matchups of the season.

Heisman Watch
1. Brett Hundley, UCLA QB: 76/116 for 1025 yards and 15 passing TDs to 3 interceptions. 46 rushes for 162 yards and 2 TDs. 4-0 Record.
2. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M QB: 54/80 for 811 yards and 8 passing TDs to 0 interceptions. 33 rushes for 141 yards and 3 TDs. 3-0 Record.
3. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska HB: 86 rushes for 540 yards and 5 TDs. 9 receptions for 137 yards and 2 TDs. 3-1 Record.
4. Ka'deem Carey, Arizona HB: 61 rushes for 464 yards and 7 TDs. 10 receptions for 119 yards and 1 TD. 3-0 Record.
5. Marquise Williams, North Carolina QB: 55/102 for 939 yards and 6 TDs to 4 interceptions. 45 rushes for 274 yards and 5 TDs. 3-0 Record.

Analysis: Johnny Manziel does not hold the top spot on the Vegas Heisman Odds for what seems like the first time since his freshman season. It's not because he's played poorly, but it is early and his main competition to this point has played more games. Both Brett Hundley and Manziel are dual threats who will put up dazzling numbers. If they are still the two leading quarterbacks at the end of the season it may come down to whose team finishes better. The other QB in the top 5 is likely just enjoying a large surge of hype after knocking off Florida State. Marquise Williams has put up good rushing numbers, but his passing numbers to this point leave a lot to be desired. Running backs Ka'deem Carey and Ameer Abdullah both have large hills to climb but have looked great to start the season. With the Heisman being dominated by quarterbacks in recent years, their competition with each other may instead be on what player wins the Doak Walker Award.

SPARQ's Focus Five

The fifth of fifteen episodes in season one of "SPARQ's Focus Five" was released yesterday morning. For those who have not watched, the following section contains spoilers for the first five episodes.

The episode opened with Jarvis King opening a letter. No it was not a scholarship offer, it was instead a court date for his ongoing homicide trial. King will find out whether or not he will have the opportunity to play college football on November 5th. As of right now he has one scholarship offer from a major school, Florida State, and he has dominated in his first handful of high school games. After 4 games King has already surpassed 1500 yards rushing and also has 14 touchdowns. Both are absolutely insane numbers in Georgia's highly competitive 7A division. If he can keep this up, and assuming he is found not guilty in November, he can expect to be flooded with scholarship offers the first week of November.

Unfortunately to this point Kings one offer is the best of any featured players on the show. Marques Brown is still waiting on his first major offer, and right now his best option is a scholarship to UTSA. Brown has put up good numbers to start the year, but his accuracy has been hit or miss. Blake Harmon showed no accuracy issues, at least through the first 3 episodes. After suffering a concussion in his second game of the year he has missed the last two games and will return this week.

Harmon's teammates at Blinn College have also not helped themselves. Joseph Glover got into a fist fight with a teammate in episode 3 and has only increased concerns about his character issues. Lonnie Ross, the receiver opposite of Glover, already has 7 touchdowns on the season. However, he still leads all JUCO players in drops and almost all of his touchdowns have come on go routes or end zone fades. All four junior college players are awaiting their first major offer, and all three Blinn players still have 0 FBS offers.

The shows producers have expressed frustration with the lack of offers the players are receiving, and are uncertain a second season will happen if changes don't occur.

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Wake Forest vs. Florida State Preview
Written by Alex Flight on September 26th, 2014

While the Florida State @ Wake Forest game tomorrow may not be getting mass national attention, it could prove to be the dawn of a new era for Wake Forest football.

After starting 4-0 for the first time since 2006 the Demon Deacons have fans buzzing with excitement. While none of those wins came against Power 5 schools they have looked impressive regardless. They have put up the 4th most yards per game in the country and allowed the 6th fewest yards defensively.

Meanwhile, Florida State is 2-1 coming off an overtime road loss to North Carolina. Their two wins have come over an 0-3 Oklahoma State team and an 0-4 Washington State team. Florida State came into this season with National Championship expectations as they have one of the best rosters in the sport. They will be led by sophomore Heisman candidate Jameis Winston on offense. 3 senior running backs who can expect to be taken at some point in this upcoming NFL Draft will join Winston in the backfield. The Seminoles will have matchup advantages on the outside also as 6'5" Kelvin Benjamin, 4.3 40 slot receiver Levonte Whitfield, and a top tight end prospect Nick O'Leary will challenge Wake Forest's defense. While Florida State also has a good offensive line, it is not as great as it was last year and features an inexperienced freshman at left tackle in Wilson Bell. This will have to be something that Wake Forest will have to take advantage of as it is the weakest part of this potentially deadly Seminole offense.

Florida State absolutely dominated Wake Forest last season and a large part of that was their defense. While it is still great and features future NFL players--like end Mario Edwards, tackle Timmy Jernigan, corners P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby, and star sophomore Jalen Ramsey--the defense did lose a lot of talent from last season's team.

The biggest reason for the Deacons to be uneasy is that they will be rolling out sophomore quarterback Tyler Cameron for his first start as Patrick Thompson was ruled out with a concussion this morning. Cameron has looked good in limited action and allows Wake Forest to run a different type of offense as he has mobility that Thompson greatly lacks. The Deacons will also be without linebacker Teddy Matthews and backup offensive lineman Neil Basford. Basford was unlikely to play at all but will not be dressed after it was announced earlier this week he would be suspended for a violation of team rules. Florida State has no injuries or suspensions for this week.

The Seminoles may hold the talent advantage at every position, but after a draining game last week they might not be up to their highest standard. They may also look down on Wake Forest, who they handled easily last season, and be looking ahead to a road game with former ACC rival Maryland next week and what will be their 3rd straight road game.

If the Deacons can pull out the win, or even keep it close, they will show the rest of the country that this team is on the rise and deserves respect. If Tyler Cameron could pull out the win it is hard to imagine the coaches would go back to Patrick Thompson. Thompson has played well to start the season, but has been a little reckless with the ball and is not the running threat Cameron is. The game is scheduled for 12:30 pm EST kickoff and will be broadcast regionally on ESPN2 and on ESPN3 for those who are unable to watch the game on TV.

Matchup Preview *|* September 27, 2014
	@
#11 Florida State Seminoles (2-1, 0-1 Away)		Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-0, 2-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 35.7 (21) Points Per Game 40.5 (8) 499.3 (9) Total Offensive Yards 541.3 (4) 269.7 (11) Passing Yards 381.5 (1) 229.7 (21) Rushing Yards 159.8 (84) 78 (23) First Downs 108 (1) 73% Red Zone Percentage 78% Defensive Stats Comparison 75 (67) Points Allowed 59 (40) 351.7 (65) Total Yards Allowed 257.0 (6) 128.3 (23) Rushing Yards Allowed 55.8 (1) 223.3 (91) Passing Yards Allowed 201.3 (73) 7 (65) Sacks 9 (37) 1 (91) Fumble Recoveries 2 (59) 5 (22) Interceptions 3 (47) 66% (20) Red Zone Percentage 50% (5) Injury Report Jonathan Williams, ACL (Season) Blake Moody, back (Season) Teddy Matthews, leg (1 week) Patrick Thompson, concussion (out) Neil Basford, suspension (1 week)

Additional Note: Wake Forest announced 3 future games this week as part of an effort to increase their strength of schedule. Those games include a visit to Georgia in 2016 and a home-and-home series with UCF in 2016 and 2017. It is expected that UCF will travel to Wake Forest in 2016 and host the Deacons in 2017. UCF and Georgia join a 2016 schedule that features a trip to Indiana and a home game against Army in what will be the first season in a long time where the Deacons do not play an FCS opponent. A trip to Notre Dame and a home game against Utah State are already scheduled in 2017, and the Deacons will be looking to add one final game.

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Overtime Thriller
Written by Alex Flight on September 27th, 2014

Today's Florida State-Wake Forest game lived up to the immense hype as the game came down to the final play in overtime.

While this game may not be talked about nationally as much as it is around the Wake Forest campus it still will play an important role in shaping the ACC this season. Coming into the game at 4-0, Saturday's match-up with #11 Florida State was the biggest game for the Deacons in nearly a decade. While they had looked fantastic to begin the season some were skeptical as the teams they had beat were nowhere near the Seminoles level. When starting QB Patrick Thompson was ruled on on Friday morning, many chalked this up as an easy game for Florida State, and the Vegas lines shifted from Florida State -9.5 to Florida State -20.5.

The Deacons were not intimidated by this and used this doubt as motivation. Jared Crump, who was recently promoted to WR1 after a strong start to the season, shared some words with me before the game, "No one expects us to compete but us, and that's all we need." He also said this game would come down to playing mistake free football and that he knew they would.

The defense which had been stifling all season looked good as they forced Florida State into a 3rd and 7 after several plays. But sophomore QB Jameis Winston dropped back and found Christian Green for a 25 yard gain, and after that pass the Seminoles would run the ball all the way down to the 10 yard line. The Seminoles finally went back to the air as Winston faked the handoff and turned and found Kelvin Benjamin for a touchdown. The Deacons would answer with a drive of their own. Facing 3rd and inches almost immediately, the Deacons hurried back to the line and Tyler Cameron picked up the first on a sneak. Alan Walters would find room in the middle of the field and pick up 34 yards on a catch and run, and Joshua Wilhite would move the ball inside the 10 with a 13 yard reception. A perfect drive, which featured an occasional no huddle and more runs than typical for a Quinn Morris offense, ended as Cameron found Brendan O'Neil in the end zone for a 5 yard touchdown.

As the Seminoles once again drove all the way down the field they looked unstoppable. James Wilder would get hit by Ali Lamot at the 26 yard line and try to push forward for more yards. Brandon Chubb took advantage of the held up runner and was able to rip the ball out of the FSU senior's hands. Cameron would throw a risky pass that was caught by Andy Miller for a 12 yard gain but should have been intercepted. These FSU mistakes would not matter as they would force a punt from the 34 yard line, however it was likely a large momentum boost for the Deacons.

Winston would find Benajmin on first down for a gain of almost nothing and then threw two straight incompletions to go three-and-out. DeAndre Martin would take a late option pitch for a 15 yard gain for a big gain on the first play of the drive. Later, Cameron would see Crump open in the end zone but underthrow the pass allowing it to be broken up. Martin would pick up 5 on the next play but get hurt on the run, leading him to be limited for the rest of the game. Cameron would find O'Neil for a 13 yard gain on 3rd and 5, and then cap the drive by motioning Alan Walters into the backfield from a 5 wide set and hand him the ball for a two yard touchdown. With only a minute left Florida State would elect to go conservative and go 3 and out. Wake Forest chose to just run the clock out and head to halftime up 14-7.

To start the second half Tyler Cameron would take a sack on 3rd and 5 in the Deacons first real mistake of the game. Looking to capitalize the Seminoles were instead stopped a yard short on 3rd and 2 and have to punt. Cameron would make up the yards lost in the sack and more as he kept the ball on an option and picked up 17 yards. On the next play he would find the middle of the field vacated after a play action fake and this time he would hit Jared Crump in stride en route to a 62 yard touchdown.

Looking to get another 3rd down stop, defensive end Tylor Harris would beat the weakest link of Florida State's offense, Wilson Bell, and sack Winston to force another punt. Tyler Cameron would almost suffer the same fate on the ensuing drive but just get rid of the ball on 3rd and 2. The ball was incomplete and the Deacons would punt right back. A hands to the face penalty on Harris would jump start a Seminole drive where Winston would go 6 for 6 and 67 yards that included a touchdown to Green from 11 yards out. Cameron continued to look impressive on the next drive, but after throwing the ball away on 2nd down he would face a 3rd and 9. Florida State would sniff out the swing pass and Cameron was forced to throw the ball at Crump's feet. Chad Hedlund would miss the 46 yard field goal attempt off the left upright keeping the lead at 21-14 in the 4th quarter.

With time ticking down the Seminoles stuck with a run heavy drive. It would pay off as Devonta Freeman would score from 9 yards out. It was the star seniors only carry of the game.

After Wilhite was stopped at the line on 2nd and 3, the Deacons went back to the swing that the Seminoles had just sniffed out. However, instead of throwing to his motioning wide receiver Cameron would throw the ball to Wilhite on a cross screen that Florida State was not expecting. The play would pick up 26 and put the Deacons at FSU's 40 yard line with 2 minutes left. After getting into field goal range Cameron would take an 11 yard sack and the Deacons would have to punt with about a minute left. Alexander Kinal's punt downed the Seminoles inside the 10 yard line and it looked like the game would head to overtime. After Kevin Johnson nearly intercepted a pass on 2nd and 7, Winston would throw underneath to Isaiah Jones who would just move the chains. He would throw underneath again as he felt the pressure, but Benjamin was tackled short of the marker. Winston would hurry to the line and drop back once again, once again feeling pressure. He would narrowly avoid a sack and scramble for a 12 yard gain, sliding down at his own 40 with 4 seconds left. The Seminoles came out in their Hail Mary set after the timeout, but Winston would be sacked before he could throw the ball and the game would head to overtime 21-21.

FSU would win the toss and to no ones surprise chose to defer. Joshua Wilhite would spin away from a defender in the backfield and pick up a crucial 4 yards to set up a 3rd and 3. Tyrone Everett was left alone on the play and could have had a walk in touchdown if Cameron had seen him earlier. Instead he threw it late and the officials ruled that Everett had been unable to get a foot inbounds forcing a 4th and 3. As Chad Hedlund trotted onto the field the referee blew his whistle and announced the play was under review. After what seemed like an eternity, the officials came back and reversed the call on the field. 1st and goal for Wake Forest from the 2 and a half yard line. Jordan Garside would take the dive handoff for a touchdown on the first play to take a 28-21 lead and force the Seminoles to match.

A screen pass on first down would pick up 5 yards, but on the preceding play Winston saw no one open and went to scramble yet again. Brandon Chubb was able to shed his block and meet Winston before he could reach the LOS for a 4 yard sack. Florida State would go back to the screen but it was sniffed out by backup NT Shelldon Lewinson for his only tackle of the game forcing a 4th and 12 with the game on the line. The pressure would once again intimidate Winston, and the sophomore forced a pass toward the end zone. Wake Forest free safety Kevis Jones was the only one in the area and intercepted the pass at the 5 yard line before sliding down to seal the 28-21 upset victory.

The upset victory was the first Deacons win over a ranked opponent since 2011, which also happened to be a home win over Florida State. The win can be attributed to a nearly flawless game as the Deacons played mistake free football and spread the ball around to everyone. While the run game was stifled for most of the game a few big runs were all the Deacons needed to get the win. "Everyone did exactly what we asked them to do, and it worked," said head coach Jim Grobe after the game. Grobe had been on the hot seat entering the season, but after the first 5-0 start since 2006 he looks like he will be safe this offseason.

While the game plan for the Deacons was designed and executed to perfection, the same cannot be said about Florida State. Questionable coaching is a major reason they lost today despite having a massive talent advantage. "We didn't get the ball in our play-makers hands enough and we played too conservatively on defense against an inexperienced quarterback that we should've attacked," said FSU coach Jimbo Fisher. Fisher will be under pressure the rest of the season after dropping back-to-back games to less talented ACC opponents, likely missing out on another national championship opportunity despite having arguably the most talented roster in the country.

Wake Forest has two consecutive bye weeks before traveling to Duke on October 18th. The Deacons will likely use this extended time off to hold a quarterback competition after Cameron excelled where Thompson has struggled: holding onto the ball. The Deacons should find themselves in the top 25 next week for the first time since October 2008.

Florida State Seminoles at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Sep 20, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
#11 Florida State Seminoles (2-2)	7	0	7	7	-	21
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-0)	7	7	7	0	7	28

Florida State Seminoles PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jameis Winston 20/29 194 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD James Wilder 21 86 4.0 0 Jameis Winston 7 24 3.4 0 Devonta Freeman 1 9 9.0 1 Levonte Whitfield 1 1 1.0 0 Karlos Williams 1 3 3.0 0 Kelvin Benjamin 1 6 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kelvin Benjamin 5 41 8.2 1 Nick O'Leary 4 57 14.2 0 Isaiah Jones 3 33 11.0 0 James Wilder 2 11 5.5 0 Devonta Freeman 2 2 1.0 0 Christian Green 2 36 18.0 1 Freddie Stevenson 1 2 2.0 0 Levonte Whitfield 1 12 12.0 0

Wake Forest Demon Deacons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tyler Cameron 20/27 303 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Joshua Wilhite 12 29 2.4 0 DeAndre Martin 6 33 5.5 0 Tyler Cameron 6 6 1.0 0 Jordan Garside 4 23 5.7 1 Jared Crump 1 0 0.0 0 Alan Walters 1 2 2.0 1 Matt James 1 5 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brendan O'Neil 6 71 11.8 1 Jared Crump 3 90 30.0 1 Joshua Wilhite 3 43 14.3 0 Andy Miller 2 23 11.5 0 Tyrone Everett 2 27 13.5 0 Alan Walters 2 40 20.0 0 DeAndre Martin 1 8 8.0 0 Matt James 1 1 1.0 0

Note: The game occurred on September 27th, not September 20th.

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2014 Week 6 Preview
Recruiting Board
Brad Richard commits and scouted
Jeff Rogers commits and scouted
Josh Coleman commits to ULL
Tyson Scott scouted
Derek Everett scheduled for visit week 9 vs Boston College
Keon Greene scheduled for visit week 9 vs Boston College
Josh Fenner scheduled for visit week 6 on bye
Shane Ford scheduled for visit week 6 on bye
Aaron Battle to 500 (200 remaining)
Jamal Reese to 250 (100 remaining)

Top 5 Week 5 Game Results
1. #17 Ole Miss beats #1 Alabama 37-30 in OT
2. #19 Miami beats #2 Clemson 40-16
3. #8 Louisville beats #20 Georgia Tech 37-7
4. #12 Ohio State beats Wisconsin 45-14
5. USC beats #10 Oregon 31-27

Top 5 Upset Alerts of Week 5
1. Wake Forest upsets #11 Florida State 28-21 in OT
2. Cal upsets #13 Arizona State 24-21
3. #4 UCLA survives Oregon State 24-21
4. Mid Tenn State upsets NC State 34-31
5. #7 Texas A&M survives Arkansas 41-35

Games of the Week
1. #4 Michigan State @ #16 Nebraska
2. #8 Virginia Tech @ #15 Miami
3. #1 Oklahoma vs Texas (Red River Rivalry)
4. Navy @ Air Force
5. Georgia @ Tennessee

Players of Week 5
National
Offensive-Brett Smith, QB Wyoming: 22/29 for 338 yards. 13 carries for 121 yards and 5 total TDs
Defensive-Brandon Chubb, MLB Wake Forest: TFL, Sack, FF, FR, PD, 6 tackles

ACC
Offensive-Tyler Rouse, HB Boston College: 30 carries for 189 yards and 4 TDs
Defensive-Brandon Chubb, MLB Wake Forest: TFL, Sack, FF, FR, PD, 6 tackles

Wake Forest Injury Report
Jonathan Williams, WR: ACL, season
Blake Moody, OLB: back, season
Teddy Matthews, MLB: leg, limited
DeAndre Martin, HB: abdominal, limited