Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 125 BY BRYAN DRISKELL During head coach Dave Clawson's first two seasons at Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons were dreadful. The team went 6-18, which concluded an eight-year stretch in which the program finished with a losing record. Over the last two years, though, Clawson has improved the roster's overall talent and gone 15-11 with two bowl wins. "Clawson has upped the expectations with his last two seasons finally getting the Deacons back on track," DeaconsIllustrated.com pub- lisher Kelly Quinlan noted. "The biggest issue now is, how well have they stocked up behind key starters? "They lost a lot of weapons on offense, in- cluding one of the best quarterbacks in school history, and one of the best defensive linemen in school history." Wake was arguably the worst offensive foot- ball team in the country during Clawson's first season, ranking 124th out of 125 teams in points per game (14.8) and total offense (216.3 yards per game) while finishing dead last in rushing offense (39.9 yards per game). In 2017, the Deacons won because of an of- fense that ranked 17th nationally in total yards per game (465.8) and 21st in scoring (35.3 points per game), both school records. Replacing four-year starting quarterback John Wolford is the key to keeping the offense rolling in 2018. Redshirt junior Kendall Hinton has four career starts and is expected to be the guy, but this summer he was suspended for the first three games, meaning the tilt against Notre Dame would mark his 2018 debut. "He is more athletic but less poised than Wolford," Quinlan said. "He is more mobile in the pocket, but he doesn't see the field the way that Wolford did. … He got in one big game last year against Clemson when Wolford was out and he was okay, but missed on some plays against one of the best defenses in the nation. "Everyone is curious to see how he handles being the full-time guy without having to look over his shoulder, and can he give the team an extra dimension in space since both of his main running backs are power/inside runners." Hinton will have talented weapons to throw to, thanks to the return of sophomore Greg Dortch and junior Scotty Washington. "Dortch put up ridiculous stats in just eight games last year before he got hurt," Quinlan said. "Washington stepped up when Dortch went down and his production went up a lot. They are probably Wake's best wide receiver duo since Michael Campanaro and Terence Davis [in 2012]." ✦ 2018 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2017 Result Aug. 30 at Tulane — Sept. 8 Towson — Sept. 13 Boston College W, 34-10 Sept. 22 Notre Dame L, 48-37 Sept. 29 Rice — Oct. 6 Clemson L, 28-14 Oct. 20 at Florida State L, 26-19 Oct. 27 at Louisville W, 42-32 Nov. 3 Syracuse W, 64-43 Nov. 8 at NC State W, 30-24 Nov. 17 Pittsburgh — Nov. 24 at Duke L, 31-23 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 4-0 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 48, Wake Forest 37 (Nov. 4, 2017; South Bend) Head Coach: Dave Clawson, 21-29 at Wake Forest (5th year) and 111-108 overall (19th year) 2017 Results: 8-5 overall, 4-4 ACC Atlantic (T-3rd); beat Texas A&M 55-52 in the Belk Bowl Returning Starters: 14 (8 offense, 6 defense) 2018 Preseason Rankings: No. 37 by Athlon, No. 38 by ESPN Football Power Index and No. 48 by Lindy's Did You Know?: In Wake Forest's first three games against Notre Dame it scored a combined 24 points, but the Deacons tallied 37 points in last season's loss to the Irish … Wake Forest's eight wins in 2017 were its most since 2008 … Three different offensive linemen were chosen as preseason All-ACC picks in the national maga- zines; center Ryan Anderson was a first-team selection by Athlon Sports, tackle Justin Herron was chosen as a third-team player by Athlon and guard Phil Haynes was named a third-team pick by Lindy's … Wide receiver Greg Dortch was named to Athlon's All-ACC preseason first team as an all-purpose player. Prediction: Notre Dame 34, Wake Forest 23 STRENGTH: Offensive Line It wasn't that long ago that Wake Forest had one of the worst offensive lines in the country. In Dave Clawson's first season (2014) the Dea- cons rushed for just 39.9 yards per game, 1.25 yards per rush and allowed 48 sacks. No, that is not a misprint. Fast forward to 2018 and line coach Nick Tabacca is putting out one of the most under- rated — and most effective — offensive lines in the nation, one capable of carrying a unit that is breaking in a new starter at quarterback. Last year Wake Forest rushed for 188.9 yards per game and permitted only 20 sacks. The Deacons return all five starters up front and bring back a total of 130 career starts. Left tackle Justin Herron (third team), left guard Phil Haynes (third) and center Ryan Anderson (sec- ond) all earned All-ACC honors in 2017. According to Pro Football Focus, Herron took 469 pass snaps last season and did not allow a sack. PFF graded Anderson as the best pass- blocking center in the ACC last season, which should not be a surprise for a player that began his career playing offensive tackle. CONCERN: Linebacker Wake Forest is winning with offense now, but its climb began with defense, which was led by former defensive coordinator Mike Elko (2014-16). Elko left after 2016 to coordinate the Notre Dame defense, and the Deacons took a major hit. Second-year coordinator Jay Sawvel will look to get the unit back on track, but he'll have to do so without his starting inside linebackers from last season. Elko's defenses thrived at linebacker, and Sawvel's first group excelled as well, with his two starting inside linebackers accounting for 175 tackles, 23.5 stops for loss and five sacks in 2017. Clawson has called inside linebacker the team's biggest question mark heading into the 2018 season. Former rover Demetrius Kemp is likely moving inside. According to DeaconIllustrated. com publisher Kelly Quinlan, Kemp's pass game struggles facilitated the move inside. There is optimism that junior Justin Strnad will have a breakout season after serving in a rota- tional role last season. Despite coming off the bench, Strnad finished with 51 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and picked off three passes. Strnad recorded 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the season-ending bowl victory over Texas A&M. WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS SEPT. 22 • BB&T FIELD • WINSTON-SALEM, NC RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Matt Colburn (904 yards, 7 TD) Passing: QB Kendall Hinton (399 yards, 4 TD) Receiving: WR Greg Dortch (722 yards, 9 TD) Tackles: S Cameron Glenn (98) Sacks: LB Justin Strnad (4.5) Interceptions: Strnad and CB Essang Bassey (3) X-FACTOR: Wake Forest should have one of the top offenses in the ACC, but its defense must improve in a big way after giving up 28.3 points and 457.3 yards per game last fall. For that to happen, fifth- year senior tackle Zeek Rodney and the Deacon line must become more formidable against the run. PHOTO COURTESY WAKE FOREST