Wake Forest has a hill to climb in the last two weeks of the regular season. It begins with goodbyes prior to the home game against Syracuse Saturday night. And then it is on to the first of two must-win games.
It may sound like a bit much to say a team that is already bowl qualified has must-win games. But this is not the old Wake Forest where six wins and a lower-tier bowl that keeps the annual streak alive is good enough. Dave Clawson said as much Tuesday when he talked about the new standard in Winston-Salem.
Clawson’s New Standard
“When I got here in ’14, if we were 6-4, people would have been thrilled,” he said Tuesday. “I think the thing I am most proud of is we are 6-4 and people are disappointed. I’m proud of that. I think that’s good. We’ve elevated the standard of what a good season is here.” Clawson said he is disappointed in the 6-4 because he had visions of being 10-0 at this point in the season.
With the home season finale against the Orange on Saturday, followed by a road game at Duke, the Demon Deacons can finish the regular at 8-4 going into a bowl game. Current projections have them going anywhere from the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, depending on how they finish.
The Goodbyes
The process of those next steps starts this weekend as Wake says “goodbye” to 22 seniors. It’s likely that not all of them will be leaving. Some have remaining eligibility and could choose to come back for another season. Those decisions will likely come between the end of the regular season and the opening of the transfer portal on December 5th.
Whether coaches are preparing their team for post-season play, or not, they also have to keep an eye on the open flea market that is the new transfer portal window from December 5th-January 18th. Knowing what holes he has to fill on a roster in and around December’s early signing is a priority for Clawson. In the meantime, Wake wants to ensure that everyone who is a senior gets their moment in the lights before the home crowd one last time this season.
Hartman
One position he knows is getting a makeover is the quarterback spot. Sam Hartman confirmed Tuesday that he will not be returning for his final year of eligibility and will be trying to make an NFL roster. When reminded that he had one more year of eligibility, Hartman chuckled and said, “No shot.” He said it was time for a change…for everyone. “I think people are just sick and tired of me, I’ll be totally honest, I think media included. I think we’re ready to talk to somebody new and get some new phrases. You know, wash out my ‘one week seasons,’ and definitely cliché answers,” he said.
Over the next two games, Hartman will move into second on the ACC all-time passing yards list behind only Philip Rivers. He is seven touchdowns behind Tajh Boyd on the all-time touchdown pass list. If he can tie or pass that 107 figure over the next two weeks, he will have at least a share of the record in the same amount of games Boyd played at Clemson.
“I want to test my luck and see what happens,” he said, referring to entering his name for the NFL draft. “I have an opportunity to do it. But obviously, we’ve still got some football left to play here.”
It was the first time Hartman has met with the media since October 22nd, after the win over Boston College. He opted not to take part in the post-game press conferences after the last three losses.
What’s Left
Independent of Clawson’s later comments, Hartman agreed that there is a new standard for Wake Forest football. “If we talk about 2018 and I’m sitting here at 6-3, or 6-4, looking back, you’d be kicking yourself because holy cow, you’d be having a great year,” he said. “Obviously the standard is raised. We’re not happy with where we’re at. But, if we can do what we want to do [over the final three games], it’s still a solid season.”
Hartman also reflected on how one of the bigger changes during his time at Wake Forest has been fan participation in the program. “In 2018, we’re playing these games, and there’s a hundred students and the bleachers are half full. To where we are now, where we’re an overflow student section and our stadium’s full.”
The Mitch Griffis era at Wake Forest will begin in due time. First, there is a lot of unfinished business this season. “I’m proud that we have set a new standard for Wake Forest football,” Clawson said. “And now we have to live to that standard and perform to that standard.” He went on to talk about what is left to play for. “We’re sitting here at 6-4 and we still have three games to play. We’re just trying to go 1-0 and get number seven. And if we can do that, I think we set ourselves up to have one of the better seasons in the history of the school.”
He said he reminded his team that it is about how you finish…starting this Saturday.
A preview of the Syracuse game will be coming later this week at Last Word.
