You do this job long enough and you are in plenty of post-game interviews with a wide array of emotions from jubilation to cautious optimism, to disappointment. Saturday night after the 31-30 loss to Virginia, the emotions in the post-game press conference were palpable. There was plenty of disbelief, disappointment, and a strong dose of bewilderment for good measure. So let’s revisit what Wake Forest said after the heartbreaking loss that didn’t have to be.
It is common practice throughout the country for players and coaches to have a cooling-off period after the game before meeting with the media. Waiting for the coaches and/or players for about 15 minutes after the final play is pretty standard. Saturday night, Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson was in the press conference room ready to go before all of the media was even in there. And who could blame him for wanting to get this over with?
Dave Clawson
He was gracious in giving credit to an improved Virginia team. He had told everyone at his weekly press conference on Tuesday that the talent for the Cavaliers was there to be significantly better than in 2023.
But with all the ways we tend to complicate the game of football, the answers from Clawson were much simpler. “They made a few more plays than us,” he said. “We didn’t make enough plays. And obviously, the turnover at the end of the game was a critical one.”
There was no hiding the feeling that comes with losing a game that was there for the taking. “This one stings,” Clawson said.
Settling for three points instead of getting touchdowns in the red zone was a big issue for Wake Saturday night. Matthew Dennis was three for three on field goals for the Demon Deacons. But two of those were when drives stalled out inside the red zone. “We went for the jugular a little bit on the double pass, (Taylor Morin throwing a pass), and that didn’t work. And then we settled for a field goal. We were up 13 instead of 17. I thought that may come back to burn us,” Clawson explained.
But again, it is a simple game. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier hits Morin with a completion to get it down to the Virginia 35-yard line, with Wake down by one point in the closing minutes. Morin gets hit and fumbles. Receiver Donavon Greene tries to scoop the ball up when falling on it would have been sufficient. Virginia recovers and that is that. Clawson spends time every camp on what he calls clean versus dirty; ball security. “They made a play and we didn’t.”
Hank Bachmeier
The sixth-year quarterback is usually at ease when talking football. He has been there and done that in so many games for so many years. But it was clear that he was emotionally downtrodden when he took the podium Saturday night. “The mark of a great quarterback is the ability to be consistent and execute on every single play. For myself, I don’t think that I did that,” he said.
In assessing the mood of the team, he said, “We just lost a freaking heartbreaker, so it stinks.” He added of these kinds of losses and what it takes to rebound for the next week, “They always kind of sit with you. There’s always going to be those moments. They do always kind of stick with you. But you’ve got to be in the moment, in the present moment. You can’t sit in the past. Because you’re always going to have another two-minute drill. You’ve got to just play the next play.”
Bachmeier was sacked six times during the game. Again, as quarterbacks do, he shouldered the blame. “Yeah, you know, I’ve got to do a better job on some of those and getting rid of the ball, and not hanging on to the progression,” he said.
Nick Anderson
Defensive back Nick Anderson talked about the pace of the Virginia offense. Beginning in the second quarter, the Cavaliers were using only 10-12 seconds of the play clock to get the snap off. It left Wake without any real adjustments or substitutions for several plays at a time.
“I think the tempo hurt us a little bit,” Anderson said after the game. “It’s something we have to get better at, dealing with tempo.” The logical follow-up was that Wake practices with tempo, so was it surprising that they were hurt by it during a game? “Their tempo was fast. It wasn’t the same thing we see at practice, in terms of the plays that come off of it.”
The result was a handful of pass plays where the middle of the defense was wide-open for Virginia receivers.
Luke Petitbon
Center Luke Petitbon struggled with the emotions of characterizing the mood of the locker room after the game. “No one’s happy. If you’ve ever been a part of something like this, it’s really hard. It’s silent. It sucks.”
The ability to have it “suck,” had to end quickly. Sunday is generally a day to go over the specifics of the previous night before turning the page. And then there is a looming shadow as Heisman candidate and Top Five ranked Ole Miss comes to town for Wake’s homecoming game Saturday night.
Photo courtesy: Wake Forest Athletics
