Wake Forest continued its recent dominance of Florida State last week. On the horizon is a showdown with Clemson that could determine a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
But sandwiched in between is Saturday’s matchup with Navy, the service academy with that unusual offense that hasn’t beaten a ranked team in 23 years.
Yes, in the new order of football supremacy that now includes Wake Forest, the 16th-ranked Demon Deacons have gone from being a homecoming opponent to a potential victim of a trap game.
“We have a target on our back now being ranked,” center Trey Bailey said. “They are going to try to take that away from us.”
Before Wake Forest (3-0) gets 11 days to prepare for the Oct. 9 game with No. 20 Clemson that could determine Atlantic Division superiority in the ACC, it must slow down the nation’s best rushing offense.
said. “Going from a Florida State team that was a big win for us down in Tallahassee, that basically their philosophy was ‘Throw the ball every snap’ to a team that is not going to throw the ball nearly as much, but completes every one they throw.”
But if the Demon Deacons’ defense adds to its slew of big plays, the Midshipmen (2-2) will have no chance to knock off a ranked team for the first time since a 17-13 victory over No. 20 Virginia in 1985.
“The last couple of years if we lost the turnover battle we lost the game,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “That is always a concern. I am a big believer that you have to win the turnover battle.”
Wake Forest, which leads the nation with 15 takeaways, forced a whopping seven turnovers in last week’s 12-3 win, the third straight time the once-mighty Seminoles lost to the Demon Deacons.
Now Grobe looks to secure his 50th win at Wake, and the Deacons try to match a 64-year-old school record with their seventh straight win dating to last season, by trying to solve the triple-option.
Navy is averaging 345.8 yards on the ground. Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada threw just eight passes last week, but Navy knocked off Rutgers 23-21 to snap a two-game losing streak.
Kaheaku-Enhada got through an entire game last week for the first time after hamstring problems.
great decisions, but he hasn’t been in game shape,” Niumatalolo said. “I was very pleased with the way he played on Saturday. He did a great job of orchestrating the offense and getting us in the right plays. He didn’t carry the ball as much as he usually does, but he got the ball in the hands of the right guys.”
Grobe can only pop in the tape of last year’s game in Annapolis if he’s concerned about overconfidence. The Midshipmen built a 17-14 second-quarter lead before Riley Skinner, Kenny Moore and Josh Adams bailed out the Deacons in a 44-24 win.
“The option is hard to stop and they’re really good at executing the option,” Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry said. “I learned (last year) that it happens fast and they know what they’re doing no matter what you’re doing. They know their reads.”
Wake Forest’s second home game in its renovated stadium will feature some big names from the school’s past. San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan, former basketball coach Dave Odom and ex-New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi are among a group to be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
When they were on campus, Wake Forest didn’t have to worry much about upset losses ahead of an ACC showdown. On Saturday, they’ll see if the Demon Deacons can avoid distractions and move to 4-0 for the second time in three seasons.
ughn said. “Are we going to be a team that’s going to keep reading the newspapers and everybody is patting you on the back, or are we going to be a team that’s going to go ahead and treat this like it is a conference game?”
Add A Comment