With Wake Forest sitting at 4-4, the Demon Deacons are quite a ways away from their 1-3 start that had people writing off the season. One-third of the season remains with a chance to become bowl-eligible. It seems appropriate to see what Wake Forest is saying after Saturday’s win over Stanford.
Dave Clawson
Even in the 27-24 win, one of Wake Forest’s inescapable issues was the penalties. The Demon Deacons were flagged 10 times for 95 yards. DeVonte Gordon had four, including repeat calls for a lineman being too far downfield.
Clawson said now that they have the technology tablets on the sidelines, they were able to review the plays right away. He said some of the calls were just incorrect. He also noted that it was a Pac-12 officiating crew calling the game. Anyone with any West Coast reporting experience will tell you that Pac-12 officials faced more criticism every year than even those from the ACC.
“We’ve been running RPOs for how many years,” Clawson said. “We had more downfields called in this game than probably the last three years combined.” Clawson said the assistant coaches were going back to the tablets and admitting that some of the calls were right, or even close, but others were missed. “Usually they only call that when it’s egregious.”
Then and Now
Now that we are two-thirds of the way through the regular season, Clawson talked about the team’s identity. “I think all of our players and all of our assistant coaches deserve a lot of credit. To start out 1-3 kind of to be left for dead, and in the last four weeks we’re 3-1 with three road wins in the fourth quarter in one-score games,” he said.
Clawson explained the difference in the team from that 1-3 stretch to the 3-1 period now. “Sometimes it just comes down to making a play,” he answered. “I just think the more you’re in those situations, the better your football team handles it. We have eight games this year, and five of them are one-score last-play games.”
Those losses to Virginia and Louisiana probably cut a little deeper now that the team has matured to a certain degree. While coaches say the past is the past, the idea that this team could be 6-2 instead of 4-4 is hard to ignore.
Clawson said with the experience in those games, a certain mindset comes to be. “I don’t feel there’s as much panic in those situations as there was earlier in the year,” he said. “You know, I’m always careful to declare that ok, now we have the secret sauce to win one-score games. Because the second you do that as a coach, you’ll lose your next 15 one-score games.”
Hank Bachmeier
The transfer from Louisiana and Boise State was also asked about the difference in the 1-3 team and the 3-1 team, and the ability to close out one-score games. He quoted a Christmas movie. No, seriously. He quoted a Christmas movie. “I think seeing is believing,” he said. “I think that’s from Polar Express, a Christmas movie, a good movie. That’s a quote from there.” He added, “I think for us to actually be able to do it, you see it, you believe it, and we’re capable of doing it.”
Bachmeier talked about the difficulty of losing offense in the second half. The team managed only three points in the last two quarters. A lot of it had to do with the persistent penalties. “So, obviously we didn’t have a great second half. I think every drive we were behind the sticks from penalties. That’s a killer.” He said he was grateful to get the win, “But there is still a lot of stuff to clean up.”
The game at Stanford served as a Bachmeier family reunion. Tiger Bachmeier is a sophomore receiver at Stanford. Bear is a class of 2025 quarterback commit to Stanford. Their sister Ella Bachmeier is in her senior year at the University of Redlands as a heptathlete. And there is the youngest brother, Bucky, who is in middle school. All but Bucky sat on the Wake side of the stadium, with some cousins, for Saturday’s family showdown. “Damn, I don’t know. I don’t know,” he laughed when told of the family seating arrangements. “Tiger’s a sweetheart, so if they want to sit with him, I get it. I’ll take the win.”
Nick Anderson
He had the game-saving interception as Stanford was driving for a potential game-tying field goal in the closing minute. “It’s about time. I had my hands on a couple,” he said, referring to the play. “I think I was one for three today.”
He talked about the team’s confidence level growing due to the ability to win three one-score games this season. “All the credit goes to the coaches. We’re highly educated in these situations and it pays off.”
Taylor Morin
With four catches, the sixth-year senior went over the 200-reception mark for his Wake Forest career. He also had a critical punt return late in the game. The 36-yard return put Wake at midfield on the way to the game-winning field goal.
Morin deflected any credit for the career numbers. “It’s definitely a huge credit to everyone that’s poured into me. From youth football coaches, high school coaches, to the second I got to Wake Forest, Coach Clawson, Coach R (Warren Ruggiero), Coach Higgins, and now Coach Confesor. All those people have poured into me day in and day out. Getting to that milestone is a tribute to them.”
He said the team’s maturity is starting to pay dividends through these close games. “It’s a roller coaster of emotions but trying to be as even keel as possible through the entire course of the game.”
He said there was no panic on the team when the offensive production wasn’t there in the second half. “Granted, it was what we wanted in the second half offensively. But we found a way to get it done. For us older guys, it’s just making sure the sideline is engaged,” he said.
He also gave credit in the leadership department to Bachmeier. “With Hank, I think he is as selfless as anyone I’ve ever played with,” he said. He called the quarterback’s approach contagious throughout the team.
Wake has four games left with two at home. But the record has been better on the road, (3-1). They have Cal and Duke at home. North Carolina and Miami are on the road.
