Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: WAKE FOREST rating) after nine games. Turning the ball over has also been an issue for Wake Forest, which was 121st nationally with 14 interceptions. On the flip side, redshirt sophomore tight end Cam Serigne led the Deacons with 38 receptions for 410 yards and three scores during its 3-6 start, and has emerged as one of the top players in the country at his position. During its 7-1 start, Notre Dame gave up just 193.6 passing yards per game, which ranked 33rd nation- ally. However, its propensity for giving up the big play and failure to force turnovers keeps down its pass efficiency defense, which was just 48th (118.7 rating) in the land. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. WAKE FOREST RUN DEFENSE Wake Forest shut down the Louisville ground at- tack Oct. 31, holding the Cardinals to just 68 yards on 42 attempts. Prior to that, Wake Forest had been gashed on the ground. In the three contests lead- ing up to the Louisville matchup, the Wake defense gave up 216.7 yards per game and allowed 5.6 yards per rush. The Deacons defensive line and their drop line- backer average just 273.8 pounds, which is one of the issues that have hindered its rush defense. Notre Dame's offensive line averages 313.2 pounds, giving the Irish a significant size advantage. Notre Dame has been an outstanding rushing team for much of the season. Behind the play of standout senior running back C.J. Prosise, the Irish have been able to churn out big plays and yards all year. Notre Dame ranked 15th nationally with 226.2 rushing yards a game through Oct. 31. The Irish were also sixth in the land in yards per attempt, averaging 5.9 yards every time it runs the football. Prosise rushed for 947 yards in the first eight games of the season, which ranked him 17th nationally. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. WAKE FOREST PASS DEFENSE Wake Forest was 24th nationally in passing de- fense (184.2 yards surrendered per game) after nine contests, but that number is a bit misleading. The Deacons have faced five opponents that rank be- tween 85th and 125th nationally in passing offense. Against its four other opponents, Wake Forest has al- lowed 245.5 yards per game. In its last three games, the Deacons have given up 267.3 yards per contest through the air. Wake Forest had broken up 24 passes through Oct. 31, which is a good rate against the 222 oppo- nent passing attempts on the season. Junior corner- back Brad Watson ranked ninth in the country with 10 passes broken up. An issue for the Deacons has been their inability to force turnovers. They have picked off just three passes, which ranked just 121st in the country. Notre Dame has a big-play pass offense that has been highly efficient for much of the season. The Irish ranked 31st nationally in passing offense (268.6 yards a game), 17th in yards per attempt (9.0) and 18th in yards per completion (14.0). In addition, their 155.89 pass efficiency rating was ranked 17th in the country. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS The Demon Deacons sit near the bottom of the national rankings in kickoff coverage (91st), punt returns (113th) and kick returns (121st). The one bright spot for the Deacs has been fifth- year senior punter Alex Kinal, who averaged 43.4 yards per kick and has placed 25 punts inside the opposition 20-yard line through nine games. Thanks to Kinal, Wake Forest ranked 10th nationally in net punting at 41.2 yards per punt. Notre Dame has been a middle of the road team in the return game, ranking 46th in the land in punt re- turns and 59th in kickoff runbacks. Its coverage teams have been largely up and down, ranking 66th in punt return defense and 80th in kick return defense.