[Sly Fox]

Its our annual cash grab and opportunity to make national headlines with an upset. Here's a preview of a Demon Deacons squad that is much better than expected this season:


Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Enrollment: 6717
Founded by Baptists in 1834 in Wake Forest, NC
Tuition + Room & Board: $41k Annually
Conference: ACC
Nickname: Demon Deacons

Official Wake Forest Football Site

Deacon Sports - Scout

Deacons Illustrated - Rivals

2006 Football Media Guide









2006 Results

9/02 - Syracuse ................. W (20-10)
9/09 - Duke ....................... W (14-13)
9/16 - @ UConn ................. W (24-13)
9/23 - @ Ole Miss ............... W (27-3)

Key Players


#11 Riley Skinner
Redshirt Freshman Quarterback
Thru 4 Games: 34-of-51 for 401 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs



#3 Micah Andrews
Junior Running Back (Missed Ole Miss game with Injury)
Thru 3 Games: 56 Carries for 256 Yards, 4.4 YPC, 2 TDs + 12 Catches for 100 Yards



#18 De'Angelo Bryant
Junior Running Back
Thru 3 Games: 36 Carries for 168 Yards, 4.7 YPC, 2 TDs



#82 Willie Idlette
Senior Wide Receiver
Thru 4 Games: 10 Catches for 147 Yards with 1 TD



#5 Jon Abbate
Junior Linebacker
Thru 4 Games: 30 Tackles with 2.5 for loss, 1 Sack



#30 Patrick Ghee
Senior Strong Safety
Thru 4 Games: 24 Tackles, 1 INT returned 43 Yards, 1 Fumble Recovery



#48 Bryan Andrews
Senior Defensive End
Thru 4 Games: 14 Tackles with 7 for 45 Yards in Loss, 2.5 Sacks for 33 Yards

[Sly Fox]

For the record, the Wake Rivals guys have found us:

Deacon Sports Thread on LU

Unfortunately they make it tough to post on their site. Usually the non-premium boards don't have all the approvals necessary at this place.

Anyway any of you Deacon lurkers are welcome to register and post. Our shaky passing game keeps us from talking much trash. But I can tell you we aren't driving down to Winston-Salem to get pummeled.

[wake20]

We are good.

[thesportscritic]

We are good.

we know!!!

[GoDeacs79]

Something we're doing before each game this yr is a look-a-like thread for players of our next opponent. Its all in good fun, although there will invariably be some caricatures. Hope no one is offended. It just helps pass the time 'til Saturday. Good luck and may God bless you with a safe trip and injury-free game.

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for finding the board, guys. And yes we can have a sense of humor despite the stereotypes of us otherwise.

[BJWilliams]

Hey even if the game is a wash, I got 160 some friends who are lookin forward to giving the folks in Winston Salem a really good show

[R R Rhenish]

Glad your band is headed our way. You're half again as big as our band, so I know you'll make some noise.

The best band ... easily ... to have been in our stadium was the North Carolina A&T band a couple of seasons ago. If you can put on half the show they did, you'll be appreciated by the home fans as well as your own.

[BJWilliams]

Glad your band is headed our way. You're half again as big as our band, so I know you'll make some noise.

The best band ... easily ... to have been in our stadium was the North Carolina A&T band a couple of seasons ago. If you can put on half the show they did, you'll be appreciated by the home fans as well as your own.

I hope we can live up to those standards. We have some nice effects planned (we are getting everybody involved, including the managers let's put it that way) so I think you guys will really enjoy the show

[SuperJon]

Glad your band is headed our way. You're half again as big as our band, so I know you'll make some noise.

The best band ... easily ... to have been in our stadium was the North Carolina A&T band a couple of seasons ago. If you can put on half the show they did, you'll be appreciated by the home fans as well as your own.

A&T's amazing if you like HBCU bands. As for traditional, App easily has the best in the state. NC State and UNC are good but App is the best.

Do you guys still have people from the local high school marching with you? When I was a senior I considered marching with Wake but didn't have time.

By the way, any clue where we'll have to park or how much parking is? I'm figuring the lot closest to Groves is reserved and that'll we'll be up by Ernie Shore or in the LJVM parking lot.

[R R Rhenish]

SuperJon, I have a parking pass, so I'm not sure of guest parking. However, if you get there early enough, you can park along the street (Shorefair Drive) I think. That's kind of convenient to the East stands where your tickets are.

At worst, you can get into the lot at the Joel Coliseum. It would be no more than a 5-6 minute walk to your seats from there. I think I recall that Joel parking is $6, but don't quote me on that.

[SuperJon]

Ok. I know that area like the back of my hand so it's ok. As many times as I've been to the LJVM and Ernie Shore, I've never been inside of Groves. I've went to a ton of Wake basketball games but never a football game. I still don't know why.

[SuperJon]

Crap, the Dixie Classic Fair is in town. I know it's a 3:30 start, but that's gonna throw off parking and all of that.

[bigsmooth]

wake is much better than i expected them to be this year, but a jim grobe coached team will give anyone fits. As a UVA fan, im glad they are not playing wake this yr. we will be competitive, but our passing game scares me at this point. i used to go to wake games as a kid with and old friend, and the deacon fans are very classy..some of the best in the ACC.

[SuperJon]

I went dressed in UNC pants with UNC shorts over top, a UNC t-shirt with a UNC jersey over that, and a UNC hat to a basketball game and they didn't say anything too bad to me.

[jcmanson]

Hopefully, we will be able to show how much we have improved since last year. I don't give ourselves much of a chance to win, but it could happen. If we play our best game to date, and Wake plays an average game, then it will be fairly close. Hopefully that is what will happen, but you never know. I just hope that we don't get totally blown out since that will most likely damper our kids spirits. I think our defense is good enough to keep them to 30 or below. Hopefully we can score period.

[Stevev]

Hopefully we can at least score and keep them from running away with it and embarrassing us. Hopefully no 59-0 or 60-3 is in store for this Saturday. The team needs to have something left when W & M comes to town.

[Elicoolbreeze]

Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Deacons will be in unfamilar role
Wake Forest, which has relished its underdog status, to be heavy favorite against Liberty

By Dan Collins
JOURNAL REPORTER


No football team wants to overly sympathize with its next opponent.

That said, Wake Forest can't help but empathize with Liberty, the team that it will play Saturday at 3:30 at Groves Stadium.

The Deacons will have the 4-0 record, the home crowd and the home-field advantage, but they won't have their all-too-familiar role of underdog. That will belong to Liberty, a largely unknown 3-1 team from the NCAA's Division I-AA. Linebacker Aaron Curry said that the Deacons know well what it's like being in the Flames' cleats.

"I can understand how they're going to come out this Saturday," Curry said. "I can see it already, with sparks flying, because when you get underrated and you're the underdog, it just builds a fire within you. You've got a point to prove now.

"So Liberty is really going to come in like they really think we can't beat them. Now they're saying to themselves 'We can do something special.' They're 3-1 and they're playing pretty good too. So they're going to come in here like a mad dog."

Wake Forest, as a program without a glorious football tradition, has relished the underdog role.

"When you're an underdog, it gives you a reason to prove everybody wrong," Curry said.

But Wake Forest has historically struggled as a favorite. The latest example, one brought up by Coach Jim Grobe in yesterday's press conference, was its Sept. 9 game against Duke, when safety Chip Vaughn had to block a last-second field-goal attempt to preserve a 14-13 victory.

Grobe said that he was happy to see the Deacons as underdogs in back-to-back road victories against Connecticut and Ole Miss.

"Liberty's different because they're 3-1," Grobe said. "So they've got a little more confidence, but it's the same attitude.

"They're going to come in with the idea that they've got something to prove. And they've got talent. So it's a dangerous situation for our football team, there's no question.

"We talk to our players about the importance of accepting the challenge to play their very best every Saturday, regardless of who you go out against. I think that's when you've got not only a veteran football team, but a team that has a winning mentality."

Although all coaches would rather win than lose, a sloppy, listless victory over the Flames wouldn't leave Grobe feeling all that good about the Deacons going into their stretch run of seven-straight ACC games. To keep alive the momentum gained from four-straight victories, the Deacons will have to play up to their own standards Saturday.

To that end, Grobe said he hasn't even thought about the possibility of getting back-up quarterback Brett Hodges some snaps in relief of starter Riley Skinner.

"You don't want to take a step backward," Grobe said. "It doesn't matter if it's Clemson or whoever the following week. There's the old coaching adage, one at a time and all that. But more importantly, each week you've got to feel that your group is improving.

"Each one of my coaches take personal pride in making sure their group steps up. And I think our players feel the same way. We talk to the team each week about who played well, who needs to step up. We don't keep any secrets. We let the guys know, in front of everybody, who's got to step up.

"I think each week you've got to put pressure on your kids that no matter how well they played last week this is a new week."

Grobe said that left tackle Arby Jones is recovering fast from the torn medial-collateral ligament suffered against Connecticut but will not be available Saturday. Two others expected to miss Saturday's game are Johnny Edwards and Aaron Mason, two safeties who have played mostly on special teams. Both were sidelined against Ole Miss, Edwards with a sprained ankle and Mason with a pulled hamstring.

A victory would bring greater national attention and propel the Deacons into their next game against Clemson with a 5-0 record. But given the emotions of the first four games, the back-to-back road victories over Connecticut and Ole Miss, and the looming showdown with Clemson on Oct. 7, some might say that Wake Forest is ripe for an off day.

The key to avoiding such an occurrence, Curry said, is to concentrate on how, and not who, you're playing.

"My coach is Coach (Brad) Lambert," Curry said. "And he said 'Take the stickers off their helmets and take the names off their jerseys and just go play.'

"When you play, you shouldn't be seeing Liberty. You shouldn't be seeing Ole Miss. You should be seeing just colors. All you know now is you've got to play hard, and you've got to do what it takes to win."

• Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.

Subscribe to the Newspaper

[Sly Fox]

Good read, eli. BTW long time no see. Its good to see you back posting with us.

[Purple Haize]

Does anyone know the spread for the game? Looking to place a few friendly wagers with some former WFU players.

[Chris Lang]

Vegas doesn't put lines on I-A vs. I-AA games.

[SuperJon]

Does anyone know the spread for the game? Looking to place a few friendly wagers with some former WFU players.

According to Sagarin, 42 1/2.

[Chris Lang]

Folks, just an FYI ... if you have XM radio, the game will be broadcast on channel 193. They'll pick up the feed from the Wake broadcasters.

[Chris Lang]

Also, that spread that Jon is talking about is some sort of formula of Wake's Sagarin number minus Liberty's plus home-field advantage. There won't be an "official" spread on this game because the I-A/I-AA thing.

If I had to speculate what it would be, it would be nowhere near 42 1/2 ... I don't think that line would get a lot of action. It's too easy to pick Liberty against the spread. Wake has scored 20, 14, 24 and 27 in its wins and the Deacons just don't throw the ball much. You're talking something like 50-7 for that line to hit in Wake's favor. I would think the line would be closer to 28 or 30. A 38-10 or 35-7 result seems a lot more realistic than what a 42 1/2 would dictate.

[PAmedic]

bottom line: (Captain obvious speaking, here)

this is NOWHERE near the "big game" for them as it is for us. No line, no points, no worries

the only issue for Wake is if they would lose- thats a season ender. But we lose nothing by playing well, while gaining respect. (not like losing to Elon, or something similar )