Wake had plenty of opportunities and let them go to waste. That could have been the story of more than a couple of Demon Deacons games this season. But with any viability for the season on the line, Wake Forest’s lack of offense ended the Deacs’ bowl hopes. The 42-14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes guarantees that Wake cannot get better than five wins this season and will miss a bowl game for the second straight year.
The Game Was There For the Taking
Eighth-ranked Miami was a 23.5 favorite. But it took the Canes three-and-a-half quarters to put Wake Forest away. The game ended in the blowout everyone expected. It just took a while to get there as Wake Forest wasted so many opportunities. It was 20-14 five minutes into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Cam Ward, who leads the country in most passing categories, finished the game 27 of 38 passing for 280 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The Canes did not look like a national championship contender until the last half of the fourth quarter.
Fortunately for Miami on Saturday, they were playing a Wake Forest team that had a complete lack of offense. The Demon Deacons had plenty of chances. Miami’s lack of sustained drives in the second half and a key turnover put Wake Forest in great positions. But they needed a quarterback who could engineer the offense. They didn’t have one. Wake needed an offensive line that could protect the quarterback better. They needed receivers who could get separation from the Miami defensive backs. Very little of what Wake had gave coordinator Warren Ruggiero enough faith to go past page four of the playbook. That didn’t happen either.
“We played a little bit more conservatively and wanted to run the ball a little bit more just because of how many turnovers we’ve had in the last few weeks,” Wake head coach Dave Clawson said after the game. “That was from my direction. That was me.”
Nothing Significant From the Quarterback Play
Hank Bachmeier finished the game eight of 14 for 86 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The interception was a pick-six in the first half. He also barely avoided two more interceptions when he insisted on trying to thread needles that were not thread-able. Bachmeier was also sacked five times. He was replaced with Michael Kern and then Jeremy Hecklinski in the closing minutes of the game.
Miami looked like the offensive machine it was supposed to be early in the game. On its first drive Ward went six for six passing and moved the Canes 84 yards on 13 plays, burning 6:22 off the clock. He hit Jacolby George at the front of the end zone against a Wake defense that was giving six to seven yards of cushion to avoid getting burned deep. Miami had seven first downs on the drive and was two for two on third down conversions.
Wake Forest answered with its 75-yard scoring drive. Bachmeier rolled to his left on a naked bootleg and found Micah Mays, Jr. all alone, yards behind the Miami secondary for a 36-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7.
Miami added a 40-yard Andres Borregales field goal to make it 10-7 Canes at the end of the quarter.
On his first drive of the second quarter, Bachmeier tried throwing a red zone bubble screen to Taylor Morin. It was picked off by Mishael Powell who had nothing but grass in front of him for the 76-yard touchdown to make it 17-7.
A Spark Before Halftime
Wake responded with one of the few explosive plays of the game, and it came from special teams. Demond Claiborne took the kickoff to the middle and then cut to the left sideline, finishing the play with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It was the second kickoff return for a touchdown in his career, and it was the longest in school history.
Miami added a 25-yard field goal from Borregales near the end of the quarter for a 20-14 Hurricanes lead at the half. Walk, despite having a lack of offense, was down just one score.
Claiborne also exited to the locker room before the end of the half. Throughout the season he has suffered from fatigue during games. He went into the locker room to take an IV. He had several carries in the second half, but Miami’s defense was also putting six defenders in the box to shut him down.
More Wasted Chances
Neither team could muster enough offense in the third quarter to put any points on the board. Wake had 13 total yards of offense in the quarter. They had a total of 15 plays, (13 rushes and two passes). But even with that, the chances were there. The execution was not. On Miami’s second drive of the quarter, receiver Xavier Restrepo was hit by Davaughn Patterson and fumbled. The ball was recovered by Wake’s Branson Combs at the Miami 33.
Wake got it down to the Miami 20-yard line with a first down and then imploded. Two sacks, with Bachmeier losing 15 yards, and two false starts by sixth-year offensive lineman DeVonte Gordon pushed Wake Forest so far back, that the Deacs had to settle for punting the ball away.
Miami struggled to muster any offense and punted it away again. That gave Wake another series to waste a golden opportunity. Early in the fourth quarter, the Deacs went for it on fourth and three from the Miami 37-yard line. But Bachmeier was sacked back to the Miami 44 where the Hurricanes took over on downs.
Wake also had to punt on its next possession after three running plays gained all of nine yards deep in their territory.
Miami Was Bound to Show Up Sooner or Later
Missing chance after chance, and putting Miami’s offense back on the field time after time was going to eventually wear down the Wake Forest defense and give Miami the explosive plays it is known for. “You’re only going to hold them down so long,” Clawson said after the game.
Miami needed only four plays to drive 43 yards, with Ward running up the middle from one yard out for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful and the Hurricanes led 28-14.
“In the fourth quarter when the dam broke, it broke,” Clawson added. “And that’s what good teams do.”
The dam did indeed break. Claiborne fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his 21-yard line. It was the second time he has done that this season. Three plays later Jordan Lyle, third on the Miami depth chart at running back, burst through the right of the line for an 18-yard touchdown run and the 35-14 Miami lead.
A Close Game Gets Out of Hand Quickly
The Hurricanes added the football equivalent of a garbage time score, with Ward throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes left for the 42-14 win.
People who only scoreboard watch will see a blowout. But context and content matter. Wake had its chances. Having a total of 50 yards of offense in the second half, (compared to Miami’s 227), having sacks and penalties kill drives, and not being able to take advantage of what your defense was handing you is a recipe for a bad plane ride home. Wake had the ball inside the Miami 50-yard line for times in the second half and got zero points out of it.
Wake is now 4-7 on the season and will finish 2024 at home next week at noon against Duke.
