The calendar has turned, the days are getting dark earlier, and time is getting short for Wake Forest. If the Demon Deacons have any hope of making a bowl game, they have three games left and need to win two to guarantee the 6-6 minimum for postseason play.
Bowling Numbers
At least that is theoretically true. There is a backdoor available. If they get to 5-7, and there are not enough 6-6 teams, Wake could get in based on their APR, (Academic Progress Rate). Wake Forest is currently eighth in the country in APR. But six teams ahead of them are already bowl-eligible with six wins. Another is unlikely to get to five wins.
When asked about the potential to make a bowl game with only five wins, head coach Dave Clawson said, “I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.” He jokingly chided the reporter for asking the question, when he had just talked about playing the remaining three games with one-week-at-a-time focus. “We want to earn one [bowl bid] with our record.”
That process starts Saturday afternoon against North Carolina State in the home finale for 2023 for Wake Forest. The Wolfpack come in with a 6-3 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the ACC. This game has been going on annually since 1910. It was set to no longer be the case until the ACC had to re-do everyone’s schedules with the addition of Stanford, Cal, and SMU starting in 2024. The NC State-Wake Forest game is now a protected match-up.
NC State
The Deacs have won the last three played in Winston-Salem. NC State head coach Dave Doeren this week said, “We’ve put ourselves in position to win there many times. We just haven’t gotten it done.” In that assessment, he is still holding on to his memory of his team’s fumble “near” the end zone in 2017. “We’ve got to go earn this win. We’ve got to make it undeniable. Put the game away. Put the game away.”
For all the talk, there is an issue for the Wolfpack and it is in the quarterback room. M.J. Morris was the heir apparent after last season when Devin Leary left for Kentucky. But during the off-season, the Wolfpack spent considerable NIL and transfer portal effort to get Brennan Armstrong from Virginia. They even hired his old offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, to take over that same spot in Raleigh.
The experiment did not work. Armstrong has been a 58% passer this season with five touchdowns and six interceptions. In two games at the end of September, he was down to a 51% completion rate. He was then benched in favor of Morris. But after playing in his fourth game of the season last week, Morris informed the coaching staff that he would not be available for the rest of the season. He made the determination to sit out so as not to burn his redshirt year. There is a belief inside the program that he is doing it to keep the extra year for NC State. Of course, in this age of college football, he could be out the door when the portal window opens in early December.
So, it is back to Armstrong for the rest of the season. He is not the staff’s first choice, but he is what there is.
What Wake Faces
Clawson understands quarterback uncertainty. It is the working title of the 2023 Wake Forest season film. Presumably, he will be going with Mitch Griffis as the starter this week. He had his best throwing game last week in the loss at Duke, completing 84% of his throws for 241 yards. It was turnovers by the offense and a lack of discipline by the defense late in the game that cost Wake.
This week, the offense has the daunting task of facing one of the best linebackers they will see all season. Payton Wilson is an All-American prospect and a candidate for the Nagurski Trophy for the best defensive player in the country. He is fourth in the country in total tackles and has been the conference’s linebacker of the week four times this season. “I’ll be surprised if Payton Wilson isn’t the ACC Defensive Player of the Year,” Clawson said.
Clawson was clearly frustrated by the turnovers last week after the game. He was only mildly less so days later at his weekly press conference. “You just keep pounding the same drum, and at some point hopefully it will sink in,” he said Tuesday. “It’s very frustrating to me as a coach, that the reason we lost the Georgia Tech game, was the same reason we lost the Duke game. It was the same reason we lost the Virginia Tech game. When you can’t take care of the football, especially at Wake Forest, you’re not going to move the offense.”
Saying Goodbye to Some
Saturday is Senior Day at Wake Forest. That has a different meaning than in the past when the definition of a senior was pretty clear. But with redshirts, COVID exemption years, and medical redshirts, there are players who are walking in the pre-game ceremony because their eligibility is truly up, like offensive lineman Michael Jurgens. Some players are academic seniors and will be taking part in the ceremony but have eligibility left and could be back at Wake next season. And some will be back in college football next year but somewhere else.
Clawson said he told those eligible for Senior Day that if there was so even a one percent chance they would be moving on, they deserved to go through the ceremony. He took special note of Jurgens who is finishing his sixth and final year at Wake Forest. “He’s everything that is right about college football,” Clawson said. “He’s leaving here with two degrees and a certificate. And he’s done an internship. He’s an All-Academic ACC player.” Clawson added, “The way college football is going, I’d hate to lose the Michael Jurgens’.”
In all, there will be 33 Wake Forest football players taking part in the Senior Day ceremony.
