Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 125 BY PATRICK ENGEL D ave Clawson's reputation is that of a sta- bilizer. In three of his four head-coaching gigs, he has taken over teams stuck in the bottom of the standings and led them to win- ning records by his third season. At each of those stops, he has not regressed to a losing season after his first breakthrough past .500. Wake Forest has kept Clawson the longest of his four jobs. The Demon Deacons are sitting comfortably in the ACC's sub-Clem- son tier after four straight winning seasons. They have been an upper-class-reliant team that overachieves based on their recruiting rankings. The 2020 season, though, will throw that stability one of its biggest trials. Quarterback Jamie Newman, who left for Georgia as a graduate transfer, is one of eight starters gone on offense. Only one signal-caller in team history accounted for more touchdowns than his 32 in 2019. Oth- ers departed with him are a former 1,000- yard rusher, a 1,000-yard receiver and two starting tackles. A program based on getting old and staying old is not always equipped to handle that big a production drain. "They're sort of in a transition phase right now," said Kelly Quinlan, publisher of Dea- consIllustrated.com. "That's a lot of starters at a place like Wake Forest." It is a steep ask for the offense to rank No. 15 nationally in yards per game again, or even to finish in the top 30 for the fourth straight year. However, there are some in- triguing pieces back, including its most dy- namic playmaker in redshirt junior wide receiver Sage Surratt, a first-team all-con- ference pick and a possible early round draft pick. Sophomore Kenneth Walker III ran for nearly 6.0 yards per carry as the No. 2 back in 2019. And at quarterback, redshirt sophomore Sam Hartman will take over once again. As a true freshman in 2018, he was Wake Forest's starter for the first nine games until suffering a season-ending injury. Newman replaced him and never let go of the job, though Hart- man pushed him last fall. "That's not going to be the big transition people expect," Quinlan said. "I don't see a huge drop-off." As the Demon Deacons' offense rose in recent years, their defense fell. Former coordinator Mike Elko's units carried the team, particularly in 2016. Since he left, they haven't finished higher than 84th in total defense or 60th in yards allowed per play. "This is a year where they have the pieces that they should be a lot better," Quinlan said. All of the returning starters and one of the two expected starting corners have been with the team at least three years. Defensive end Carlos Basham is viewed as a possible first-round pick and returned for his fifth year. He was a first-team All- ACC selection. Anything less than the best defense since Elko left after 2016 will be seen as a disappointment. ✦ WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS GAME 4 • SEPT. 26 • BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM X-FACTOR: Sam Hartman will take over as Wake Forest's starting quarterback. In nine starts as a freshman in 2018, he threw for 1,984 yards and 16 touchdowns. PHOTO BY BRUCE CHAPMAN/WAKE FOREST ATHLETICS 2020 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2019 Result Sept. 4 at Old Dominion — Sept. 11 Appalachian State — Sept. 19 Villanova — Sept. 26 Notre Dame — Oct. 3 at Duke W, 39-27 Oct. 9 Miami (Fla.) — Oct. 17 at Florida State W, 22-20 Oct. 31 at NC State W, 44-10 Nov. 7 Syracuse L, 39-30 (OT) Nov. 14 at Louisville L, 62-59 Nov. 21 Clemson L, 52-3 Nov. 28 Boston College W, 27-24 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 5-0 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 56, Wake Forest 27 (Sept. 22, 2018 in Winston-Salem, N.C.) Head Coach: Dave Clawson, 36-40 at Wake For- est (7th year) and 126-119 overall (20th year) 2019 Record: 8-5 overall, 4-4 ACC Coastal (T-3rd) Returning Starters: 12 (3 offense, 9 defense) Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Wake Forest 20 RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Kenneth Walker III (579 yards, 4 TD) Passing: QB Sam Hartman (830 yards, 4 TD) Receiving: WR Sage Surrat (1,001 yards, 11 TD) Tackles: LB Ryan Smenda Jr. (81, 7.0 TFL) Sacks: DE Carlos Basham (11.0, 18.0 TFL) Passes Broken Up: DB Nasir Greer (4, 1 INT) Reasons For Optimism • Familiar "new" QB • Front seven returners • WR Sage Surratt Quarterback Sam Hartman isn't green. He has 10 career starts and held his own as a freshman prior to injury, and he has one of the ACC's best two or three receivers at his disposal in Surratt. Fifth-year senior defensive end Carlos Basham returns as one of the country's most revered edge players. Reasons For Concern • Late-season swoon • New bookend tackles • Cornerback losses Wake Forest finished the year 1-4, including a loss to sub-.500 Syracuse. It dropped all three games it played against teams with at least eight wins. Departed corners Essang Bassey and Amari Henderson combined for 21 passes broken up.