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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Week 9
vs 
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
Sometimes a game comes down to two elite players going back and forth on the field. Usually such clashes are reserved for the hardwood or other sports where individuals can shine. But if there's one position in football that can have an affect on the whole game, it's quarterback. Today, Wake Forest's Curtis Jenkins and Clemson's James Walker put on a clinic for anyone watching.
In a Quarterback Duel, both Jenkins and Walker gave everything they had.
It wasn't that the defenses took a day off, but instead that neither quarterback could be stopped. The Deacons were the ones that struck first. In the first quarter, Jenkins was able to conduct drives down the field but only managed seven points. But the second score was more from a one of the few blunders of the games.
Pierre Williams had a great day punting today, and for the first of 3 times on the game he pinned the Tigers within their own 5 yard line. Clemson attempted to run the first two plays and almost got caught behind the goal line both times. But on 3rd down, Walker dropped back for a screen pass. Not only was Wake Forest prepared, but HB Russ Witherspoon, for whatever reason, was not. The pass hit Witherspoon on the shoulder, and it bounced straight into Maurice Evan's hands on the 3 yard line.
Safety Maurice Evans catches a pass off of Russ Witherspoon's pads for an easy score.
But 14-0 was not all she wrote for Clemson. Instead, it woke up Walker and the Tigers started to move. They worked their way down the field, and almost any time there was a 3rd down Walker would will the Tigers forward with his feet instead of his arm.
Justin Wilson breaks up a pass for the end zone and almost comes up with the INT.
Despite Clemson's inability to go deep, Wake Forest had no answer for Walker himself. The Clemson QB ran in for two scores. Soon it was 14-14, and the #26 and #27 teams were all square late in the 1st half. Of course, that officially marked the beginning of the scoring frenzy, started by Blake Parrish grabbing a TD on a WR Mid Screen.
Blake Parrish takes a screen for the score to highlight a scoring flurry at the end of the 1st half.
But that was not the end. Walker once again moved his team down the field, this time capping off the quick drive with a bomb to John Francis. With a minute left, Wake decided to go for the score instead of running out the clock to receive the ball in the 2nd half. Although Trey Lewis had been running the ball fairly well in the first half, Wake Forest went to the air with their three time outs. Jenkins continued to find Super-Freshman Kevin Williams to keep moving the chains. Unfortunately for Wake Forest, a promising drive was killed by penalties, and despite moving the ball very well they were forced to settle for a field goal at the end of the half.
Wake Forest drove back down the field, but was forced to settle for a 29 yard Charlie Miller chip shot.
The defenses woke up in the 2nd half after getting scorched in the 2nd quarter. Wake Forest started by trying to establish the ground game, but the drive sputtered to a halt once the Deacons reached Clemson territory. Pierre Williams once again downed Clemson inside their 5, and an option play was blown up in the end zone on the very next play. "I'm not sure why they called the option in that situation," Coach Shapiro remarked, "Pinned deep you want to run plays that develop quickly. That put their offense in a bad spot there."
Down 26-21, Wake Forest knew their lead was tenuous but could not get their offense going. Instead, it was Clemson who forced the 3 and out and got the ball back. The Tigers quickly took control, this time running over the Deacons both with Walker and Witherspoon. After ignoring the absence of All-American DT Carl Benjamin in the first half, Clemson finally began to take advantage by running the ball up the middle through Carter and Scales. The young Wake defense had done well to keep pace so far this game. But as the clock wore on, Clemson's series of sustained drives began to wear them down. Eventually the Tigers would take the lead on a simple toss play to Witherspoon 28-26. Wake would answer right back at the beginning of the 4th quarter with another Charlie Miller field goal to take a 29-28 lead.
Yes, this would be another back and forth game between Wake Forest and Clemson. And although the Deacons were finally getting something from the kicking game, the game would come down to the quarterbacks.
James Walker had his shot first and made the best of it. The Tigers took their time, working the outside routes and making their 3rd downs manageable. The plan worked to perfection. With their no huddle ball control attack, the Tigers gassed the Wake defense by refusing to allow defenders to sub out off the field. Walker only missed one pass on the entire drive, and once the Tigers made it to the red zone the QB gained a first down with a nice 13 yard scramble. After that was the coup de grâce, with Walker standing back in the pocket and finding a receiver open streaking over the middle on the drag route. The whole defense was too exhausted to keep up.
James Walker splits the defense for the go-ahead score with 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
After a run up the middle was stuffed for the two point conversion, Clemson had a 34-29 lead with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. The pressure was on Wake Forest. More specifically, the pressure was on Jenkins to win it in front of the home crowd.
After Parrish returned a kickoff to the 33, Shapiro's first call was a screen play -- unfortunately a screen that was sniffed out by the defense. So instead, Jenkins ran past the blockers, took the ball to the outside, and worked the ball down the field himself. Yet after getting out of bounds the clock kept running. Jenkins was forced to hurry, and would find both Kevin Williams and Blake Parrish to make quick first downs. Jenkins also ran for another first down after the left side of the defensive line got knocked down while trying to rush the passer. Down five, the Deacons needed a touchdown, and they were driving strong until they hit the red zone.
On first down, Jenkins looked for Matt Peters over the middle but he was double covered. Instead of forcing the ball, Jenkins wisely threw it away. Second down ended quickly with Jenkins getting slammed to the ground on a corner blitz. And although Jenkins was able to hook up with Jason Hale on 3rd down, there were still 7 yards between the line of scrimmage and the end zone.
Shapiro called a quick slant on 4th down. With Clemson's tendency to bring pressure, the coach felt that someone would come open. But on this play the Tigers were not fooled and dropped everyone back. Peters was covered over the middle, and neither Parrish nor Williams could shake their coverage. With everyone spread out, there was only one thing to do.
With 17 seconds left, Curtis Jenkins runs for the goal line.
Jenkins tucked the ball and tried to cut through a hole in the right side of the pocket. Following a monstrous block by Daniel Pennington, Jenkins had a clear running lane and took off. Clemson was not fooled, and if this were another QB maybe they would have caught him. But Jenkins was too fast, and the Tigers' MLB Cody Johnson could not recover in time. Instead, Jenkins crossed the goal line untouched to put the Deacons up 35-34.
With 17 second left and after the Deacons failed on a 2 point conversion, Clemson still had time to win it with a field goal. But despite having 2 time outs the Tigers went too deep too often instead of trying to work the sidelines for a field goal. Instead, the Tigers ran out of time and Wake Forest holds on for a 35-34 victory.
Clemson Tigers at Wake Forest Demon Deacons Oct 19, 2013 1 2 3 4 F Clemson (5-1) 0 21 7 6 34 Wake Forest (5-2) 7 17 2 9 35 Player of the Game C. Jenkins – 20-42, 284 Yds, 14 Car, 63 Yds, 2 Tot TD, 2 INT Clemson Top Performers OFF: J. Walker – 15-33, 246 Yds, 15 Car, 36 Yds, 4 Tot TD, 2 INT DEF: S. Atkinson – 11 Tckl, TFL, SCK, INT, FREC Wake Forest Top Performers OFF: K. Williams – 9 Rec, 156 Yds DEF: M. Evans – 5 Tckl, 2 TFL, INT, FF, TD Team Stats Comparison CLEM WAKE First Downs 14 24 3rd Down Efficiency 4-10 9-15 4th Down Efficiency 2-2 0-1 Total Yards 340 447 Passing Yards 246 313 Rushing Yards 94 134 Penalties-Penalty Yards 3-32 1-10 Turnovers 3 3 Time of Possession 10:41 21:19 Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING CLEM WAKE 4:19 (WAKE) A. Bullock, 1 Yd Run 0 7 SECOND QUARTER SCORING CLEM WAKE 7:28 (WAKE) M. Evans, 3 Yd INT Return 0 14 5:36 (CLEM) J. Walker, 5 Yd Run 7 14 3:53 (CLEM) J. Walker, 1 Yd Run 14 14 1:37 (WAKE) B. Parrish, 12 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 14 21 1:11 (CLEM) J. Fancis, 59 Yd Pass from J. Walker 21 21 0:31 (WAKE) C. Miller, 29 Yd FG 21 24 THIRD QUARTER SCORING CLEM WAKE 4:55 (WAKE) Safety, J. Walker Tackled in End Zone 21 26 1:42 (CLEM) R. Witherspoon, 12 Yd Run 28 26 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING CLEM WAKE 6:53 (WAKE) C. Miller, 42 Yd FG 28 29 2:23 (CLEM) D. Burgess, 6 Yd Pass from J. Walker (2 Point Failed) 34 29 0:17 (WAKE) C. Jenkins, 10 Yd Run (2 Point Failed) 34 35 Clemson Tigers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Walker 15-33 246 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Walker 15 36 2.4 2 R. Witherspoon 8 44 5.5 1 J. Francis 1 14 14.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Francis 4 90 22.5 1 D. Burgess 3 37 12.3 1 R. Witherspoon 3 24 8.0 0 A. Greer 2 61 30.5 0 E. Riley 2 33 16.5 0 J. Daniels 1 1 1.0 0 Wake Forest Demon Deacons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 20-42 284 1 2 M. White 2-2 29 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD T. Lewis 18 63 3.5 0 C. Jenkins 14 63 4.5 1 A. Bullock 3 8 2.6 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD K. WIlliams 9 156 17.3 0 B. Parrish 5 71 14.2 1 M. Peters 4 51 12.7 0 J. Hale 3 30 10.0 0 T. Lewis 1 5 5.0 0
Coach's Take: When we recruited Jenkins, these were the kind of games we were looking to win. Clemson has some elite players and were able to make play after play after play. But after all we went through we were able to come out on top at the end. I'm not comfortable with blowing a 14 point lead early in the game. I am glad about our team's resiliency. We're continuing to find ways to win.
What's Next: Wake Forest (6-2) has its bye week, and then it takes on Virginia. Meanwhile, Clemson (5-2) faces Florida State.
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Close, close game against the Tigers! Much needed conference victory.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Week 10 Recruiting Update
With the bye come and gone, here's a look at what is shaping up to be one of Wake's best recruiting classes ever. Well, at least one of the highest rated. Last year's BCS victory gave the Deacons a lot of good exposure, and that carried over into the new season with some early, marquee wins.
Wake Forest Midseason Update Recruiting - 2013 NAME POS CLASS HOMETOWN HT WT CALIBER Steve Peterson SS HS Ahoskie, NC 6'1" 195 
Michael Weaver HB HS Covinton, TN 6'0" 184 
John Powell DE HS Bloomingdale, TN 6'7" 262 Cornelius Thompson MLB HS Spring Lake, NC 6'3 240 
Darrell Ransom DT HS Kings Mountain, NC 6'4" 280 Mike Harwell TE HS Hampton, PA 6'1" 219 Will Lambert ATH HS Erwin, TN 6'2" 194 Andrew Miller TE HS Leesburg, VA 6'2 227 Dan Fowler CB HS Southlake, TX 6'1" 171 Clay Smith CB HS Lake Ridge, VA 6'1" 175 Brandon Jennings MLB HS Lanett, AL 6'1" 230
Biggest Get: Talking literally, it would have to be John Powell (DE #13). Although he was recruited heavily for basketball by schools across the nation, the Bloomingdale, TN prospect has declared that he's sticking with football only once he gets to Wake Forest. The Deacons will have to be excited not only about Powell's NFL ready size, but also his elite speed.
Candidates for Early Playing Time: Although Trey Lewis will be a Senior next season, Coach Shapiro has indicated in multiple interviews that he might not be the answer at Halfback. Enter Michael Weaver (HB #6), who was close to heading to the Volunteers before jilting the SEC for the ACC. Weaver has a good combination of speed, size, and lateral movement, plus he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Meanwhile, Mike Harwell (TE #7) likely will not start over Matt Peters at Tight End. Harwell is built more like an H-Back, and could see plenty of time on the field early in Wake's 2 Tight End sets. He will need to work on his blocking to get more playing time. John Powell's size may also lead him to early playing time at the DE position, but with Wake being so deep on the D-Line he might not get his shot for a few seasons.
Developmental Projects: Although Wake is continuing to lose some of its experienced players in the defensive backfield, they probably will not look for Will Lambert (ATH #13) to fill the void immediately. He plays both HB and CB for the Unicoi County High School Blue Devils, but with such a logjam at the HB position Lambert will likely end up somewhere in the secondary. He's fast enough and skilled enough to compete for a spot in the Nickle and Dime packages, but what has Coach Shapiro most excited is his soft hands. Another player who could make an impact down the road is Brandon Jennings (MLB #88). The Deacons have some up-and-coming linebackers, but Jennings brings good coverage skills to the middle of the field because he used to play Safety. Expect Jennings to Red Shirt -- not play basketball in Italy.
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Solid recruiting this week. I see a couple of recruits that could be solid contributors right away.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Good read so far, tough losses man, Glad you pulled it out on Clemson!!Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Matchup Preview | October 1, 2013 
@ 
#21 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
(6-2, 3-1 Away)Virginia Cavaliers
(3-5, 2-2 Home)Offensive Stats Comparison 27.5 Points Per Game 29.2 2595 Total Offensive Yards 3366 628 Rushing Yards 1363 1967 Passing Yards 2003 Defensive Stats Comparison 3252 Total Yards Allowed 3437 1148 Rushing Yards Allowed 1634 2104 Passing Yards Allowed 1803 +3 Fumble Recoveries -3 Injury Report HB P. Mitchell
SeasonNone WR M. Woods
9 WeeksGame Notes Coming off a bye week, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons find themselves with a very winnable game on their schedule. After having their heart ripped out by Boston College, and then nearly ripped out again by Clemson, the Deacs travel to Charlottesville, VA to take on the Cavaliers.
The Cavs have been a mixed bag this season. Although their running game has been very effective throughout the season, QB James Payne has done a poor job of taking care of the football. In order for the Cavaliers to have a chance, they will have to take advantage of Wake's young secondary. CB Justin Wilson might be a veteran presence, but everyone else in the secondary still seems to be trying to gel even this late in the season.
If the Deacons took the bye week to regain their early season form they should be able to handle Virginia easily. But if the last two weeks are any indication, don't count the Cavs out. Just the same, I'm picking a blow out here: Wake Forest wins 42-10.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Week 11
#21 vs
How Did That Happen?
Never underestimate the power of the big play. A team can have negative passing yards. A team can turn the ball over again and again. But as long as there is still time on the clock, don't count them out.
The Deacons got to see a lot of the back of this jersey today.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons were the model of efficiency all game. They controlled the clock with some powerful running by Trey Lewis. They took care of the ball and avoided costly turnovers. But as the dust settled and the 4th quarter started, they still found themselves trailing in the 4th quarter. How? Drive killing penalties? The inability to punch the ball into the end zone? Untimely sacks? But most of all, it was because Virginia had made more big plays than the Deacons.
Of course, that was not how the game started. Virginia was pinned near its own goal line thanks to a sack and a completely ineffective screen pass. For the second week in the row, Wake's defense earned the easiest two points in football.
Virginia's first drive ended in the end zone. Their own end zone.
Someone watched the Miami tape and tried to get clever by running to the right on their own goal line.
Even though Wake Forest took the early lead, the story of the game was Wake's secondary's inability to stop Virginia's receivers. Sure, the Deacons managed to kill drives by getting interceptions, but the tackling was atrocious.
Blown coverage? Blown tackle? Of course there is.
As a result, Wake was able to score points by moving slowly and methodically down the field, but Virginia usually only needed a few plays to get right back on the board. The game was very back and forth. Although the Deacons are showing signs that they have learned how to play without Patrick Mitchell, their offense is not nearly as explosive without him.
At least not until the end of the first half.
Jenkins cannot find an open space to scramble, but good things happen when you extend the play.
Jenkins put an exclamation point on the end of the half on a busted play. No one was open on a deep route, and he had been spied out by the defense and had no room to run up the field. Sometimes it's easy to forget that Jenkins is a Sophomore QB, and despite already guiding Wake Forest to a BCS victory his game still has room to grow. Once upon a time he might have tried to bull over the defenders, but this time he scanned down the field as he was running and saw a defender break away from Kevin Williams. The resulting touchdown sucked the sound right out of the stadium.
DT Corey Benjamin finds his way into the backfield for a sack.
Wake may have entered the half with a tenuous 15-14 lead, but it did not take Virginia long to take control of the game again with another long touchdown pass featuring blown coverage and blown tackling. And after exchanging punts and not being able to do much of anything on offense, the Deacons found themselves down 15-20 to start the fourth quarter. The Deacons were barely able to eek out a field goal but again they found themselves down a score with time running out. Virginia attempted to run the clock out but got stuffed at around their own 40, leaving the door open for Wake to make one last drive.
That was when Jenkins went to work. Although he had struggled with accuracy in the 2nd half, he was perfect on the whole drive, including two third down conversions. Virginia was so intent on taking away Jankins' scrambling lanes that at times they forgot to defend the passing lanes. For the 2nd time during the game, Wake's hurry up offense seemed to jump-start the offense.
With the clock running down for the 2nd game in a row, a fantastic individual effort by Junior TE Michael Purcell puts the Deacons in the lead.
With over a minute left, Jenkins had a number of options near the end zone. He went for Michael Purcell, who was running wide open with no one around him. However, for the first time the whole drive Jenkins was off target and threw the ball well behind the streaking Tight End. Fortunately for the Deacons, Purcell made a great play to stop course and go back to the ball. The touchdown catch put Wake Forest up 25-20.
Virginia still had time to get back on the board, and their final drive started promising because they stuck to what had worked all game: attacking the middle of the field with crossing routes and slants. But the strategy required UVA to take two quick time outs. The Cavaliers had been obliterating the Deacon defense over the middle all game due to shoddy tackling and lackluster coverage, but with the game winding down all it took was one more big play...
A well timed interception seals the game for Wake Forest.
The interception let Wake kneel it down and notch another come-from-behind victory. It's no one point victory filled with Sports Center highlights, but the Deacons prevail 25-20.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Virginia Cavaliers Nov 2, 2013 1 2 3 4 F #21 Wake Forest (6-2) 2 13 0 10 25 Virginia (3-5) 7 7 6 0 20 Player of the Game C. Jenkins, 18-33, 243 Yds, 11 Car, -11 Yds, 3 Tot TD Wake Forest Top Performers OFF: T. Lewis – 27 Car, 112 Yds, 1 Rec, 10 Yds DEF: L. Crawford – 3 Tckl, 3 TFL, 2 SCK, SFTY Virginia Top Performers OFF: M. Smith – 4 Rec, 152 Yds, TD DEF: J. Lowe, 9 Tckl, 2 TFL, 2 DEFL Team Stats Comparison WAKE UVA First Downs 21 6 3rd Down Efficiency 11-18 4-7 4th Down Efficiency 1-2 0-0 Total Yards 354 247 Passing Yards 243 254 Rushing Yards 111 -7 Penalties-Penalty Yards 3-39 1-15 Turnovers 0 3 Time of Possession 24:14 7:46 Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING WAKE UVA 4:58 (WAKE) M. Cain Tackled in End Zone, Safety 2 0 3:05 (UVA) M. Brown, 66 Yd Pass from J. Payne 2 7 SECOND QUARTER SCORING WAKE UVA 2:37 (WAKE) C. Jenkins, 7 Yd Run (2 Pt Failed) 8 7 1:06 (UVA) M. Cain, 2 Yd Run 8 14 0:24 (WAKE) K. Williams, 73 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 15 14 THIRD QUARTER SCORING WAKE UVA 3:36 (UVA) M. Smith, 81 Yd Pass from J. Payne (2 Pt Failed) 15 20 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING WAKE UVA 6:04 (WAKE) C. Miller, 31 Yd FG 18 20 1:49 (WAKE) M. Purcell, 8 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 25 20 Wake Forest Demon Deacons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 18-33 243 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD T. Lewis 27 112 4.1 0 A. Bullock 4 20 5.0 0 C. Jenkins 11 -18 -1.6 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B. Parrish 5 57 11.4 0 K. Williams 3 88 29.3 1 M. Peters 3 33 11.0 0 J. Hale 3 31 10.3 0 M. Corbett 1 12 12.0 0 T. Lewis 1 10 10.0 0 M. Purcell 1 8 8.0 1 E. Stone 1 4 4.0 0 Virginia Cavaliers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Payne 8-19 254 2 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD M. Cain 6 17 2.8 1 B. Stanley 1 10 10.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Smith 4 152 38.0 1 M. Brown 2 80 40.0 1 B. Stanley 2 22 11.0 0
Coach's Take: So we had no turnovers, we held them to negative rushing yards, and we still had to come back for the win? A W might be a W, but we've got a lot of work to do. This isn't going to cut it.
What's Next: Virginia (3-6) stays home to take on Georgia Tech. Wake Forest returns to Winston Salem (7-2) to face winless Duke.Last edited by waytofailself; 10-01-2011, 11:05 AM.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Matchup Preview | November 9, 2013 
@ Duke Blue Devils
(0-9, 0-4 Away)#19 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
(7-2, 3-1 Home)Offensive Stats Comparison 20.8 Points Per Game 27.2 3152 Total Offensive Yards 2949 1096 Rushing Yards 739 2056 Passing Yards 2210 Defensive Stats Comparison 3471 Total Yards Allowed 3499 1966 Rushing Yards Allowed 1141 1505 Passing Yards Allowed 2358 -2 Turnover Differential +6 Injury Report C T. Carter
SeasonHB P. Mitchell
SeasonROLB L. Ryan
2 WeeksWR M. Woods
8 WeeksGame Notes Saying "How the mighty have fallen" may be too much of a stretch, but Duke's bowl winning season in 2012 must feel like a distant memory. The Blue Devils sit at 0-9, and it has a lot to do with quarterback play. Gone is their star quarterback of the last few years, and in is a struggling Sophomore. The Blue Devils have faced stiff competition lately, including recent games at Virginia Tech and Florida State. But the Blue Devils also could not take advantage of a four game home stand earlier in the year.
With Wake Forest on the calendar next, things aren't looking any rosier for Duke. For the first time in weeks, Wake Forest found their running game with a 100+ yard performance by Junior HB Trey Lewis. They can play the kind of ball control game that keeps Duke's no huddle offense off the field. Not to say Duke's offense has been very potent: they have not eclipsed 14 points in the past 5 games.
DT Carl Benjamin's return will give a shot in the arm to Wake's defense, but they won't exactly need it for this match up. Expect the Deacons to win big 44-7.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Wow, tough win vs Virginia.
That was nuts!
And Clemson. Congrats on pulling those out, they looked brutal.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Nice win against Virginia. It seems that the ACC is giving you some good competition this year!
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Week 12
vs #19
Nearly Snake-Bit
Rivalry Game
Winless Duke went into Winston Salem as long shots against the Demon Deacons. They left wondering what could have been after four second half turnovers derailed their upset bid and turned this game into a blow out.
CB Justin Wilson runs with an interception with plenty of green space in front of him.
For the first time in Coach Shapiro's tenure, the Deacons broke out their gold uniforms to play host to their friends down I-40. The rivals started the game largely by feeling each other out before Wake Forest took a long drive far down the field. But if there was a story line for the first half, it was missed opportunities. Both teams had chances in the red zone but could not convert either because of penalties, sacks, or miscues.
Another sack, but this time on a busted play action pass.
The home crowd had to do a double take at the end of the first quarter, with Duke leading 7-3. It defied all expectations, but Wake's young defense could not keep pace with the Blue Devil's methodical no huddle offense. QB Cameron Sampson's passes were true, and he joined a long line of quarterbacks this season who have torn up the young secondary -- at least in the first half.
WR Blake Parrish reaches for the sky to make a grab.
Jenkins and Co. could move the ball from time to time, but had trouble putting drives together. The game was turning tight and tense, and every drive where Wake couldn't capitalize was another opportunity for Duke to get the ball down the field. Wake would manage a touchdown to take the 10-7 lead, but Duke was looking hardly helpless. Instead, the Blue Devils were consistently a play away from taking control of the game.
Yet you can knock and knock at the door all you want. But if you never take advantage of the opportunities, eventually things are going to break the other way.
A pick six to start the 2nd half changed the tenor of the game.
Sampson had struggled with consistency throughout all of Duke's winless season. Although he did not throw a touchdown in the first half, Sampson was still efficient and mistake free. That changed on Duke's very first drive in the 2nd half. Sampson slightly floated a pass on an out route but did not see Matt White was in the flat. White had no one around him as he took the ball to the house and went up 17-7. It was the spark Wake needed to awaken the offense.
WR Kevin Williams outruns the defense in the second half.
Another interception, another touchdown.
In the second half, Wake's best offense was its defense. Sampson totally broke down after his first interception and proceeded to throw 4 interceptions in the second half. And what's worse, all four of them were returned for touchdowns -- with only score being called back by a questionable holding penalty.
Sampson's third Pick-Six of the game seals it.
Duke could have come back into the game, especially when they pulled to within 13 points in both the 3rd and 4th quarters. But once again Quarterback play self destructed the team. The Deacons take this one thanks to their secondary by a "closer than it looks" 48-21 margin.
Duke Blue Devils at Wake Forest Demon Deacons Nov 9, 2013 1 2 3 4 F Duke (0-9) 7 0 7 7 21 #19 Wake Forest (7-2) 3 7 17 21 48 Player of the Game C. Jenkins, 18-33, 262 Yds, 2 TD, 6 Car, 8 Yds Duke Top Performers OFF: A. Johnson – 4 Rec, 100 Yds, TD DEF: J. Hall - 5 Tckl, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks Wake Forest Top Performers OFF: K. Williams – 4 Rec, 92 Yds, TD DEF: R. Alexander – 7 Tckl, 2 TFL, INT, TD Team Stats Comparison DUKE WAKE First Downs 14 16 3rd Down Efficiency 7-14 6-13 4th Down Efficiency 0-0 1-2 Total Yards 331 356 Passing Yards 215 262 Rushing Yards 116 94 Penalties-Penalty Yards 4-25 3-35 Turnovers 4 1 Time of Possession 11:01 20:59 Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING DUKE WAKE 3:29 (WAKE) C. Miller, 29 Yd FG 0 3 1:43 (DUKE) A. Johnson, 17 Yd Pass from C. Sampson 7 3 SECOND QUARTER SCORING DUKE WAKE 6:57 (WAKE) M. Peters, 3 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 7 10 THIRD QUARTER SCORING DUKE WAKE 6:39 (WAKE) M. White, 72 Yd INT Return 7 17 3:57 (WAKE) C. Miller, 22 Yd FG 7 20 2:37 (WAKE) K. Williams, 55 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 7 27 2:03 (DUKE) A. Johnson, 40 Yd Pass from C. Sampson 14 27 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING DUKE WAKE 7:30 (WAKE) T. Lewis, 1 Yd Run 14 34 5:41 (DUKE) B. Gaither, 7 Yd Pass from C. Sampson 21 34 2:21 (WAKE) R. Alexander, 34 Yd INT Return 21 41 1:55 (WAKE) J. Wilson, 57 Yd INT Return 21 48 Duke Blue Devils PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Sampson 15-38 198 3 4 J. Bailey 1-1 17 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. Fuller 16 101 6.3 0 P. McCoy 3 14 4.6 0 S. Smith 1 8 8.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD A. Johnson 4 100 25.0 2 J. Wright 3 25 8.3 0 T. Jackson 2 31 15.5 0 B. Gaither 2 25 12.5 1 M. McBride 2 15 7.5 0 D. Fuller 2 13 6.5 0 B. Mitchell 1 6 6.0 0 Wake Forest Demon Deacons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 18-33 262 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD T. Lewis 22 80 3.6 1 C. Jenkins 6 8 1.3 0 E. Stone 1 4 4.0 0 A. Bullock 1 2 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B. Parrish 6 77 12.8 0 K. WIlliams 4 92 23.0 1 C. Blair 4 60 15.0 0 M. Peters 3 23 7.6 1 J. Hale 1 10 10.0 0
Coach's Take: They handed the game to us. I don't like how inconsistent we were on offense in the first half, but at least our defense played a stand-out effort throughout the game. Sometimes it's one phase that has to pick up the others' slack. We did not put Duke away as early as I'd like, but at least we were able to.
What's Next: Wake Forest (8-2) travels to Raleigh to take on NC State in a pivotal ACC match up. Meanwhile, the hapless Duke Blue Devils (0-10) face Virginia.
Last edited by waytofailself; 10-07-2011, 06:23 PM.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Ouch, tough start for the Duke Blue Devils! Regardless, good win.Comment
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Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
I've been saving a lot, but still managed to lose one or two key save files. I'll get stuff posted soon but it might not have the same breadth of coverage.Comment
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