The Wake Forest welcome tour to new ACC members ends this weekend as The Demon Deacons host Cal Friday night.
The Bears come to Winston-Salem 4-4 overall, and 0-4 in ACC play. But don’t let the conference record fool you. Were it not for some place-kicking woes, and some ACC officiating, they could easily have three conference wins.
What Could Have Been for Cal
Cal kicker Ryan Coe was three of five on-field goal attempts in the Florida State game. The Bears lost 14-9. Two more field goals and they win. Coe was seven of 14 before he was replaced by freshman Derek Morris who is eight of nine. But the one he missed brought back memories of Coe at Florida State. He missed a 28-yarder against NC State. And the Wolfpack won 24-23.
Miami beat Cal when the ACC officials failed to notice three Hurricanes offensive linemen illegally downfield on the game-winning touchdown pass in the closing seconds.
Ok, so Cal is not going to be relying on a kicking game to get the win at Wake Forest. So, then what is it about the Bears that makes them competitive? It’s the defense, as it often is with head coach Justin Wilcox.
The Bears by the Numbers
“I would say, on film, this might be the best secondary we’ve played.” Indeed, Cal is tied for third in the country with 14 interceptions. The rest of the defense is also not too shabby. The Bears are ninth in the country in rush defense, giving up only 99 yards on the ground per game. They have not given up more than 144 rushing yards in a game all season. The defense is 13th in the country, giving up only 17.25 points per game. “I would put these guys right up there defensively with the Ole Miss’s and the Clemson’s in terms of what we’ve faced,” Clawson said earlier this week.
That’s not to say the Cal offense is not good. Sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza is averaging 261 passing yards per game and is 29th in the country in total passing yards with 2,095.
The Bears have struggled with their running game. Much was expected from Jaydn Ott, one of the best running backs in the Pac-12 last year. But he has had an injury-plagued season. Even when he can play, he does so sparingly because he has been operating at far less than 100% every week this season. As a result, a guy who rushed for 1,315 yards in 2023, has all of 146 yards this year. He also has one-fourth of the carries he had last year.
Close All-Around
The thing that is going to look familiar to Wake Forest is the score differentials. Of Cal’s eight games, five have come down to one score. It’s a theme that is familiar to Clawson. The Demon Deacons are 3-2 in one-score games this season. “We could be sitting here at 6-2, or we could be sitting here at 1-7,” Clawson said. “I just think in the ACC this year, I think there’s a bunch of teams in the middle, and we’re all about the same.”
That was not the case a month ago. Wake got through September at 1-3. But learning to win the close ones has borne out results. Winning three of the last four games has put Wake at 4-4 with four left to play. A minimum of splitting the last four games will put them in a pre-Christmas bowl game.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Wake was in the same position this time last season but lost four games in November. Clawson said this season feels different. He said during the bye week he talked to the team about where they were this time last year, and where they are now, (turns out to be the same place, more or less). “Being in Gen Z, their idea of history is what happened two weeks ago.”
The short-term memory could serve a purpose as last year’s November collapse is not even a thing for the current group. “No one had any idea what our record was last year after eight games,” Clawson said. “This feels different. I think last year it felt like we were a 4-4 team that was descending. This feels like a 4-4 team that is ascending.”
The challenge going forward, aside from a difficult final four games, is playing a complete game from beginning to end. “The step I’d like to see us take is to play a complete 60-minute football game. I still don’t feel like we’ve done that,” Clawson opined.
A difference with the ascension this year is the stability at quarterback. Hank Bachmeier, the 6th year transfer from Louisiana and Boise State, has been a calming influence on the offense for Clawson. “What Hank has done is stabilize our offense,” the coach said. “Some of the plays he has given us with his feet, his competitiveness, I think has really helped.”
That calmness from the team leader tends to play itself to the forefront in one-score games. If the season has provided us any insights into this week, it is that we can expect another one-score game.
