Saturday was a tough night for Wake Forest football. Riding a wave of good feelings with three wins in November, the Demon Deacons came crashing back to Earth with a thud. A 49-32 loss at Duke did not change the postseason future for Wake, so much as it tweaked it. The Deacs will still go to a bowl, but now it will be one of lesser stature than if they had won. But aside from the self-inflicted wounds, another side of Wake was apparent Saturday night: team-directed temper. And there were efforts after the game to explain the emotional outbursts. So let’s hear what Wake had to say after the Duke loss.
Jake Dickert
The head coach’s post-game statement was symbolic of the night for Wake. He was proud that his team never gave up. But he also talked about having “lots of disappointment,” and that Duke beat the team in every phase of the game. “They beat us decisively in every area. I’ll take that on me, and we’ve got to move on,” he said after the game.
He said that Duke played a more physical game than Wake Forest. “In the big, critical moments, they made big critical plays,” he said. As a result, Duke was six of seven in the red zone against Wake. “They were the more physical team at the line of scrimmage. We’ll have to watch the tape to see why.” He said it was not a lack of effort by the Demon Deacons.
Duke’s first two possessions were 75-yard scoring drives. And on each one, they only had 45 yards of actual offense. The rest came in penalties from Wake Forest. Two penalties on each drive gave Duke nearly 60 yards of free space. “I’ve said it up here many times. Every 15-yard defensive penalty is an explosive play. You stack those. You get two explosive plays on a drive, you’re going to give up touchdowns. That’s exactly what we did.” In all, Wake had eight penalties for 97 yards. Six of those penalties were committed by the defense.
Dickert was asked about the clear display of temper on the sidelines, particularly from quarterback Robby Ashford. It is possible Dickert did not see all of it as he was coaching the game, and the defense was on the field. But Ashford was hot, and he had to be separated from at least one teammate by assistants on the staff. Dickert called them competitive moments. “Sometimes you’ve just got to be better in those kinds of moments,” Dickert said.
Robby Ashford
Late in the second quarter, Wake had the ball third and three at its own 34-yard line. Ashford sprinted to the right and dove to stretch the ball across the first down marker. The officials said he was a yard short. The replay review from Charlotte backed up the call by the officials. Ashford seemed more than a little upset at the call before he took the snap on fourth down. On that fourth and short play, instead of using his big frame to pound the ball up the middle, he looked for a bigger play and tried to sprint right. The Duke defense had the play boxed in. It went for a two-yard loss, and Duke took over in Wake territory, eventually scoring a touchdown.
While Duke’s offense was on the field, Ashford could be seen yelling on the sidelines. At whom he was yelling was not totally clear. But he had to be restrained by members of the staff.
Asked about it after the game, Ashford did not hold back. If he were a coach, he would be getting a call from the ACC office about a fine. But there is no specific punishment for players saying what he said.
“We got screwed over on the play before that,” he said, referring to the first down/fourth down call. “We got cheated out of a first down. And that cost us to lose possession and give them a short field to score.”
Ashford was nowhere near done. “I’m frustrated. We can’t play Duke and the refs, and that’s what it was.” He added, “I don’t like blame games and all that. But when you play Duke and the refs, it’s as simple as that.”
Dickert had said that Duke was more physical, particularly on defense. Ashford had other thoughts. “I wouldn’t even say they wore us down. It was really us just killing ourselves.”
Nick Anderson
The defensive back echoed what his coach said earlier about Duke’s red zone offense. “I think they did a good job of being a more physical team than us.”
With Wake Forest now having at least a few weeks before a bowl game, there is the challenge of staying focused through the process, especially after this loss. “I know our team,” he said. “We won’t be complacent. Playing in a bowl game and getting a nine-win season means a lot.”
After six years of seeing it all at Wake Forest, Anderson has now played in his last regular-season game. He was reflective about the journey. “It’s just an honor to put on the jersey each Saturday and get this opportunity to represent this great university. It’s something I don’t take lightly, and I try my best for them.”
Sawyer Racanelli
The senior wide receiver said the team struggled to keep momentum. But now with weeks off before playing again, he said the team can use the time to regroup. “First, we’ve got to get healthy. We’ve got to get everybody back and prepare for this bowl game like it’s the first game,” he said. “I think we’re going to do a good job of letting everybody rest a little bit and do a little bit of time off. And then wherever we wind up playing, wherever that is, just do the best job of preparing for that.”
He said that with weeks to prepare for one game, he expects a lot of attention to details to be a focal point in the extra practices.
Wake Forest will tend to its early period class of high school recruits this week. The early signing period is this Wednesday through Friday. Most of the class is expected to be wrapped up early on Wednesday.
Next Saturday night is the ACC championship game (Virginia versus Duke), and then the next day, Wake Forest will find out which bowl game it is going to for the last game of the season.
Main Image: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images
