It was a tough, if not expected night for Wake Forest. Ole Miss jumped out early and built a big lead. Wake Forest had a couple of chances to get back in the game in the second half, but could not convert. There were times when the Demon Deacons played reasonably well. They were just too few and far between when playing the #5 team in the country. The result was a 40-6 loss at home. So how was it after the game? Let’s check in on what Wake Forest said after the Ole Miss loss.
Dave Clawson
“We played a really talented football team. Ole Miss, they are what everyone thinks they are.”
Clawson had said the week of the game that Ole Miss would be one of the most talented teams Wake has played during his tenure in Winston-Salem. There is nothing wrong with that statement. The Rebels racked up 650 yards of total offense and they did it with balance. Jaxson Dart had 377 passing yards (20 below his per-game average going into Saturday night), and they had 273 rushing yards.
The talent discrepancy between the two teams was clear. “Any second that game was tied was a good moment,” Clawson said. That is not a knock on Wake Forest or its players. But Ole Miss is objectively at a different level right now. Clawson both on Tuesday and again after the game referenced the “resources” (Collective money) that Ole Miss has at its disposal.
“Ole Miss is well-coached. They have a lot of resources and they have used those resources very well to put together a top-five team.”
Speaking of the level at which Wake is playing, Clawson was pleased with the team’s effort. He said he thought they played hard. But remember earlier in the week when he said the program felt like it was in a reset mode of learning how to win? “We’re not good enough to blow a coverage, have a personal foul,” he said. “You know, this team all year is going to have a very, very small margin of error. When you play a team as talented as that you have to play almost perfect and hope that they are off.”
Hank Bachmeier
The sixth-year quarterback echoed the sentiments without knowing what Clawson had just said. “You know, we played such a great team, and you really can’t get in your own way or beat yourself,” he said. “There were opportunities where we did move the ball. And then some stuff happens, penalties, a bad snap. So those missed opportunities to finish in the red zone or I think this could be a different game.”
He said he thinks Wake is close to being a very good offense if they can eliminate the moments where they get in their own way.
The Demon Deacons have a bye week this Saturday. That changes the prep schedule for the week. Clawson said the staff and players would have Sunday off. They would do the film work on Monday, have a couple days of practice, and then have a couple of days off. We asked Bachmeier if he and the team needed the break more physically or mentally right now. “I think both to be honest,” he said. “We’ve had two tough weeks in a row.”
Dylan Hazen
The starting linebacker talked about playing the top offensive quarterback in the country. He sighed and then said, “They’ve got dudes.” He echoed Clawson’s take on Ole Miss having a large pool from its Collective with which to build a roster. “They have dudes. So, we had to be perfect and tonight, unfortunately, we were not perfect.” He cited blown coverages and missed tackles as the bigger issues.
We asked Hazen the same question about the time off this week. “I feel like there are a few guys on here who are a little bumped up. And they need the time to heal. And mentally we need to get back on track.” He referenced last week’s emotional loss against Virginia. “Mentality-wise, we’ve just got to get back on the same track, get back on our mission.”
Taylor Morin
The receiver said the team needs to focus on keeping the belief in themselves. “We’ve lost two in a row now. Last week was a heartbreaker and today we got it handed to us a little bit.” He said the ability to bounce back will have to start with the captains. “I think this team has the potential to be really good. We’re right there.”
A Flop Here, a Flop There
Clawson could not help but comment on Ole Miss players allegedly taking dives, pretending to be injured in the second half. Theoretically, Ole Miss did not need to slow down Wake Forest’s offense. The Rebels dominated the pace of the game.
But one could not help but notice that any time Wake started to gather any momentum on offense the very temporary injury bug hit the Ole Miss defense. Clawson, who is on the Board of Trustees for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) had his thoughts. “I’ve long been an advocate that if a player gets hurt in a series, he should be out for the series,” he said. “I hope all those guys are surviving still,” he quipped. “But it seemed pretty well choreographed.”
He acknowledged that there were some clear injuries, but the sheer well-timed volume of them raised some hackles. “I’m sure the SEC isn’t going to address it because it was against an ACC team.”
It was also made public, by Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, after the game, that the back half of the home-and-home series has been canceled. Wake will be buying its way out of the game in Oxford, Mississippi scheduled for next year. That leaves both schools with an opening on the schedule that needs to be filled quickly.
