Wake Forest has to go cross country for the chance, but the opportunity is there for the Demon Deacons to get to 4-4 on the season. Hey, maybe they can even think about bowl eligibility if they win at Stanford this weekend. The opportunity is there for the taking for Wake Forest.
It will be the Deacs’ first major trip in the newly reconfigured ACC. Stanford and Cal have had to log many more miles since most of the games are in the Eastern time zone.
The Stanford Story
The Cardinal are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The hopes of Stanford fans started with a mirage. The Cardinal went to Syracuse and beat the Orange on a field goal at the end of the game. But since then, it has been four straight losses, including the annual game against Notre Dame, by an average margin of 30.5 points per game.
Stanford is having challenges on offense. Their best athlete is at receiver. Elic Ayomanor is 6-2, 210 pounds and a formidable, physical athlete for any defensive back to have to battle. He has a touchdown in four of Stanford’s last five games. That all sounds great, but the challenge is who is going to get him the ball.
The quarterback situation at Stanford is murky at best. Ashton Daniels has started in six of Stanford’s games. Not only is he the leading passer on the team, but he is also the leading rusher with just under 400 yards on 66 carries.
But the offense has been stagnant, so head coach Troy Taylor pulled him last week in the 30-point loss at home to SMU. Freshman Elijah Brown took over and went 16 of 32 for 153 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Cardinal Quarterbacks
As of Tuesday, Taylor did not know how the quarterback situation would pan out for the Wake Forest game. Or more likely, if he did know, he wasn’t going to say. “They’ll both get reps and compete,” Taylor said this week. “They’re both available, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said he is preparing to see both quarterbacks during the game. But he is really impressed with Ayomanor. “He can play anywhere in the country,” Clawson said. “He’s an elite receiver.”
Good Win, But…
Clawson wants to see more consistency out of his own team. The Deacs went up to Storrs, CT, and beat UConn 23-20. Clawson was happy with the win if not so much with the way they got it. He pointed out this week that there was plenty to be pleased with, none the least of which was the run defense. UConn had been averaging 220 rushing yards per game and Wake held them to 40.
Still, the film doesn’t lie. “In my mind, that game never should have come down to a three-point game in the fourth quarter,” he opined. “I mean that’s a game we should have won by 17 or 21 points.”
His specific concern, or at least one of them, is the lack of touchdowns inside the red zone. Wake Forest was inside the 20-yard line six times last week but managed only two touchdowns. There was also a missed field goal and quarterback Hank Bachmeier’s interception right at the end of the first half. Bachmeier forced a pass intended for Micah Mays that had little chance of getting through. He has tended to stay away from the high-risk, low-return passes that have been a part of his career passing stats. A touchdown there would have put Wake up by two touchdowns going into the half and getting the ball to start the second half.
“We just left so many points on the board. You know when you outgain a team by close to a hundred yards; you have the ball 10 more minutes than them; you run 11 more plays, you make six more first downs, it should not be a three-point game. It should be a 17-point game,” Clawson said.
Hey, Don’t Forget to Call Mom
Hank Bachmeier will see a familiar face when he looks over at the Stanford sideline. Tiger Bachmeier, Hanks’s younger brother is a sophomore wide receiver for the Cardinal. The younger Bachmeier has five catches on the season for a total of 29 yards. For his career, he 41 receptions for 438 yards and two touchdowns.
This is believed to be the first time they have faced off against each other. Since Hank is in his sixth year of college, they are four years apart on the football field. They both went to Murrietta Valley High School near San Diego, CA. The only chance they would have had to go against each other in college at least would have been last year. But Louisiana Tech, (Hank’s school in 2023), did not play Stanford.
There are no reports on which school attire the family will wear to the game. And the youngest of the Bachmeier boys, Bear, is a Stanford commit quarterback for the class of 2025.
Clearing Up Any Confusion
Since Wake Forest and Stanford do not have an extensive history against each other, it is worth a moment to clear up something about Stanford. The absurdity that is The Tree, is not the Stanford mascot. Technically Stanford has no mascot. The Tree belongs to the Stanford Band.
From 1938 to 1972 the school’s nickname for its athletic programs was the Indians. A student referendum did away with that. There was another vote in 1975 for a new nickname/mascot. Among the ideas receiving votes were the Sequoias, the Trees, the Cardinals, the Railroaders, the Spikes, and the Huns. The idea that got the most votes was the Robber Barons…a direct shot at university namesake Leland Stanford, a railroad industry tycoon. The school refused to adopt the idea.
They stuck with Cardinal, as in the color, and have gone on without an official mascot.
