Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!
Snow blanketed the Triad the night before and kept falling throughout the game.
With a beautiful snow cascading onto the field, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons charged on the field ready to put a stamp on their 12-0 regular season. But a funny thing happened on the way to an unblemished record. Lowly Vanderbilt actually showed up, and they came to play every bit of the role "spoiler."
HB Sam Chapman shows the Deacons the 'Dores are no pushovers.
Tim Huggins beats the corner and outruns the rest.
Although Wake Forest is considered a distant 4th in terms of talent of the remaining undefeated teams (or, depending on who you ask, 6th behind Nevada and Fresno State), they did not earn their #4 ranking by laying down when the going got tough. Instead, the Deacons took Vanderbilt's best punch and counted with a number of body blows. Wake started its roll by Jenkins finding the increasingly reliable Tim Huggins on a bomb to close out the 1st quarter. Soon into the second quarter the game became the Patrick Mitchell show, with the star HB finding space in the Vanderbilt defense both running and receiving.
Patrick Mitchell beats the last defender, thanks to a timely Tim Huggins block, to score on an 80 yard screen.
Patrick Mitchell follows his blockers and beats Vanderbilt around the edge.
The defense would also get into the act with a fumble return for a touchdown by Brian Graham. And what started as an 11 point deficit turned into a 17 point advantage with four straight touchdowns. The Deacons were on a roll midway through the third quarter leading 31-14.
Unfortunately for the Deacons, the potency of the offense disappeared when Mitchell went down. He suffered an injury while getting tackled on his last touchdown run, and it was up to Trey Lewis to one again carry the load the rest of the way. And while Lewis put up good numbers, he could not get key third down conversions. The Commodores had opportunities to get back into the game, and they took advantage of them.
Quentin Jackson blows by the Wake defense for a score.
Wake's pass defense was once again suspect, and with Vanderbilt in full blown comeback mode Jones was able to march his team down the field again and again. Every time Wake thought they had an advantage, Vandy would seize control. Every time the Deacons needed a stop, Jones was able to make a play. The freezing weather and snowy conditions almost made the ball appear to be covered in stick'em -- passes were flying true and the ball was staying in receivers hands regardless of big hits by the defense.
DTs Carl Benjamin and Corey Porter apply the pressure to Lamont Jones.
Outside of the one fumble recovery, Wake's vaunted opportunistic defense was instead creating opportunities for the Commodores. The pass rush was effective at getting past blockers, but could only manage to hurry Jones instead of sacking him and keeping the clock moving. And although Lewis managed to score a touchdown and give Wake Forest some breathing room at 38-21, the 'Dores never backed out of the picture entirely.
Lamont Jones finds Quentin Jackson between two defenders for their third TD hookup of the game.
Fortunately for the Deacons, the game had to end at some point. No matter how potent the Vanderbilt offense looked and no matter how effective they were at moving the ball, they could not string enough plays together to seize back control of the game. Wake's 28 point outburst was enough to carry the game, with a final score of 38-28.
Coach's Take: No, we're not undefeated yet. We've still got a bowl game, and we've still got the ACC. Don't give me that. Yes, 12-0 is an accomplishment, but we have bigger fish to fry now. And I know I need to watch the tape, but at least from what I was seeing on the field some of our defenders got out of position and got burned. We shouldn't be making those mistakes this late in the season. So no, not undefeated. Not perfect. We can't sit pretty with a sash over our shoulder and wave to the parade crowd.
Reporter: Any statement on the seriousness of Patrick Mitchell's injury?
Coach Shapiro: He could have been able to return today if needed, but we held him out as a precaution. He'll be ready for Charlotte.
What's Next: Wake Forest (12-0) plays in the ACC Championship in two weeks. Because UNC lost earlier today to Duke, the Deacons will now know their opponent until the conclusion of the Miami and Virginia Tech games. Vanderbilt (2-10) is done for the season.
Week 14
vs #4 
RIVALRY GAME
Almost Perfection
vs #4 RIVALRY GAME
Almost Perfection
Snow blanketed the Triad the night before and kept falling throughout the game.
With a beautiful snow cascading onto the field, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons charged on the field ready to put a stamp on their 12-0 regular season. But a funny thing happened on the way to an unblemished record. Lowly Vanderbilt actually showed up, and they came to play every bit of the role "spoiler."
HB Sam Chapman shows the Deacons the 'Dores are no pushovers.
Despite the snow, the winds were relatively calm. This game was less of slug-fest and more of an offensive showcase, with both Wake QB Curtis Jenkins and Vandy QB Lamont Jones showing their stuff through the air. The problem was that Vanderbilt had more of that "stuff." Vanderbilt only needed 3 plays to take their first drive to pay dirt, with Sam Chapman having a laugh while running through Wake's vaunted defense. And although the Deacons were able to respond with a field goal of their own, the Commodores were not done. Another long Commodore drive was capped off with the first of three touchdown strikes from Lamont Jones to Quentin Jackson.
Suddenly, the perfect Demon Deacons were looking at a 14-3 hole early in their last home game of the season against what should have been a push-over.
Suddenly, the perfect Demon Deacons were looking at a 14-3 hole early in their last home game of the season against what should have been a push-over.
Tim Huggins beats the corner and outruns the rest.
Although Wake Forest is considered a distant 4th in terms of talent of the remaining undefeated teams (or, depending on who you ask, 6th behind Nevada and Fresno State), they did not earn their #4 ranking by laying down when the going got tough. Instead, the Deacons took Vanderbilt's best punch and counted with a number of body blows. Wake started its roll by Jenkins finding the increasingly reliable Tim Huggins on a bomb to close out the 1st quarter. Soon into the second quarter the game became the Patrick Mitchell show, with the star HB finding space in the Vanderbilt defense both running and receiving.
Patrick Mitchell beats the last defender, thanks to a timely Tim Huggins block, to score on an 80 yard screen.
Patrick Mitchell follows his blockers and beats Vanderbilt around the edge.
The defense would also get into the act with a fumble return for a touchdown by Brian Graham. And what started as an 11 point deficit turned into a 17 point advantage with four straight touchdowns. The Deacons were on a roll midway through the third quarter leading 31-14.
Unfortunately for the Deacons, the potency of the offense disappeared when Mitchell went down. He suffered an injury while getting tackled on his last touchdown run, and it was up to Trey Lewis to one again carry the load the rest of the way. And while Lewis put up good numbers, he could not get key third down conversions. The Commodores had opportunities to get back into the game, and they took advantage of them.
Quentin Jackson blows by the Wake defense for a score.
Wake's pass defense was once again suspect, and with Vanderbilt in full blown comeback mode Jones was able to march his team down the field again and again. Every time Wake thought they had an advantage, Vandy would seize control. Every time the Deacons needed a stop, Jones was able to make a play. The freezing weather and snowy conditions almost made the ball appear to be covered in stick'em -- passes were flying true and the ball was staying in receivers hands regardless of big hits by the defense.
DTs Carl Benjamin and Corey Porter apply the pressure to Lamont Jones.
Outside of the one fumble recovery, Wake's vaunted opportunistic defense was instead creating opportunities for the Commodores. The pass rush was effective at getting past blockers, but could only manage to hurry Jones instead of sacking him and keeping the clock moving. And although Lewis managed to score a touchdown and give Wake Forest some breathing room at 38-21, the 'Dores never backed out of the picture entirely.
Lamont Jones finds Quentin Jackson between two defenders for their third TD hookup of the game.
Fortunately for the Deacons, the game had to end at some point. No matter how potent the Vanderbilt offense looked and no matter how effective they were at moving the ball, they could not string enough plays together to seize back control of the game. Wake's 28 point outburst was enough to carry the game, with a final score of 38-28.
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Coach's Take: No, we're not undefeated yet. We've still got a bowl game, and we've still got the ACC. Don't give me that. Yes, 12-0 is an accomplishment, but we have bigger fish to fry now. And I know I need to watch the tape, but at least from what I was seeing on the field some of our defenders got out of position and got burned. We shouldn't be making those mistakes this late in the season. So no, not undefeated. Not perfect. We can't sit pretty with a sash over our shoulder and wave to the parade crowd.
Reporter: Any statement on the seriousness of Patrick Mitchell's injury?
Coach Shapiro: He could have been able to return today if needed, but we held him out as a precaution. He'll be ready for Charlotte.
What's Next: Wake Forest (12-0) plays in the ACC Championship in two weeks. Because UNC lost earlier today to Duke, the Deacons will now know their opponent until the conclusion of the Miami and Virginia Tech games. Vanderbilt (2-10) is done for the season.
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