Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1290311
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 26, 2020 39 season attempts, making this a matchup worth watching. Advantage: Even COACHING Four years after getting a vote of confidence from Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick when the Irish muddled through a dismal 4-8 sea- son in 2016, Kelly was recently rewarded with a three-year contract extension that would keep him on the Irish sideline through 2024. If Kelly, in his 11th season on the job, stays for the duration of the contract, he will break Knute Rockne's 13-year coaching longevity mark (1918- 30), which would presumably give Kelly the Irish coaching record for both wins and losses. Coming off its fourth straight winning season (8-5 last year), Wake Forest has established itself as a solid ACC program under Clawson. The Demon Deacons cracked the top 25 in five separate weeks last season. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Despite the momentum and promise shown by Wake Forest in recent seasons, surviving the loss of its 2019 team leaders in passing, rushing and receiving yards could handicap an offense that averaged 31.8 points per game last year. Notre Dame has thrived on the road against ACC opponents, winning each of its previous five games during the last two seasons by an average of 26.6 points per outing, including a 56-27 throttling of Wake Forest at Winston-Salem, N.C., in 2018. Advantage: Notre Dame GAME PREVIEW: WAKE FOREST Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. TE 23 Brandon Chapman 6-5 249 5th-Sr. 85 Blake Whiteheart 6-4 237 R-So. T 50 Zach Tom 6-5 305 R-Jr. 71 C.J. Elmonus 6-7 290 R-Fr. G 79 Sean Maginn 6-3 305 R-Jr. 76 Allan Rappleyea 6-5 295 R-Jr. C 55 Michael Jurgens 6-4 295 R-So. 66 Goran Jovanovic 6-4 291 R-Jr. G 59 Loic Ngassam Nya 6-3 305 R-Jr. 60 Taleni Suhren 6-4 297 5th-Sr. T 53 Je'Vionte' Nash 6-3 298 5th-Sr. 62 DeVonte Gordon 6-5 305 R-Fr. WR 89 A.T. Perry 6-5 212 R-So. or 13 Nolan Groulx 6-0 194 R-Fr. WR 7 Donavon Greene 6-2 198 R-Fr. 2 Donald Stewart 6-4 206 Gr. or 80 Jahmal Banks 6-4 216 Fr. WR 5 Jaquarii Roberson 6-1 182 R-Jr. or 83 Taylor Morin 5-10 174 R-Fr. QB 10 Sam Hartman 6-1 215 R-So. 15 Michael Kern 6-2 187 R-Fr. RB 26 C. Beal-Smith 5-10 201 R-Jr. or 9 Kenneth Walker III 5-10 206 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 9 Carlos Basham Jr. 6-5 285 5th-Sr. 97 Royce Francis 6-3 260 R-So. DT 1 Sulaiman Kamara 6-2 300 5th-Sr. 95 Dion Bergan Jr. 6-1 298 Jr. DT 7 Tyler Williams 6-2 295 R-Jr. 11 Miles Fox 6-1 286 Gr. DE 4 Ja'Corey Johns 6-4 251 R-So. 14 Shamar McCollum 6-4 222 So. LB 8 Ja'Cquez Williams 6-2 220 5th-Sr. 21 Chase Jones 6-1 224 So. LB 5 Ryan Smenda 6-2 235 Jr. 58 Chase Monroe 6-2 228 R-Jr. or 46 DJ Taylor 6-1 245 R-Jr. OLB 17 Traveon Redd 6-0 205 5th-Sr. 22 AJ Williams 5-11 194 R-Fr. CB 6 Ja'Sir Taylor 5-10 187 Sr. 10 Kenneth Dicks III 6-0 200 R-So. or 0 Tyriq Hardimon 6-0 194 R-Jr. CB 38 Peyton Woulard 6-1 192 R-So. or 37 Isaiah Essissima 5-10 185 So. S 3 Nasir Greer 6-0 202 Jr. 20 Coby Davis 5-11 195 R-Jr. S 12 Luke Masterson 6-2 220 5th-Sr. 45 Nick Andersen 5-11 185 Fr. or 39 Keegan Good 6-0 199 5th-Sr. Special Teams Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 4 Nick Sciba 5-9 188 Jr. 42 Jack Crane 6-2 197 Gr. P 96 Ivan Mora 6-0 176 R-Fr. 88 Zach Murphy 6-0 189 R-Jr. LS 90 Jacob Zuhr 6-0 205 Fr. H 88 Zach Murphy 6-0 189 R-Jr. 11 Ian Driscoll 5-10 177 R-Jr. KR 7 Donavon Greene 6-2 198 R-Fr. 9 Kenneth Walker III 5-10 206 So. PR 83 Taylor Morin 5-10 174 R-Fr. 13 Nolan Groulx 6-0 194 R-Fr. WAKE FOREST DEPTH CHART Last season, junior safety Nasir Greer recorded an interception, broke up four passes and forced three fumbles. PHOTO BY BRUCE CHAPMAN/COURTESY WAKE FOREST