{"id":46285,"date":"2022-10-03T15:00:13","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T19:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=46285"},"modified":"2022-10-03T08:34:44","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T12:34:44","slug":"wake-forests-turning-the-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2022\/10\/03\/wake-forests-turning-the-page\/","title":{"rendered":"Wake Forest\u2019s Turning The Page"},"content":{"rendered":"

It appears that Wake Forest’s turning the page last week was not so difficult after all. Much, in fact, too much was made of head coach Dave Clawson\u2019s<\/strong> response to Hurricane Ian and the potential for change it could have on the Florida State game. And then there was the issue of how to move on from the heartbreaking loss to Clemson from the week before. Seems as though that was not nearly as difficult as it could have been either.<\/p>\n

Moving Through Florida State<\/h3>\n

The Demon Deacons handled Florida State<\/a> 31-21 in Tallahassee Saturday. That also meant pushing aside the Seminoles\u2019 fan base which was intent on claiming that Clawson wanted to reschedule the game and was using the hurricane as an excuse. Now both the Seminoles and their fans are in Wake\u2019s rear-view mirror as they prepare to face Army at home this Saturday.<\/p>\n

Clawson proclaimed himself to be, \u201cIn a really good mood\u201d after the game Saturday. It would be hard to blame him. At one point his offense scored 28 unanswered points against the previously undefeated Seminoles. The Wake offense had balance throughout the game with 234 passing yards and 171 yards on the ground. Just as importantly they had zero turnovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an older, mature team,\u201d Clawson said after the game Saturday. So turning the page, with a focus on what was ahead, was presumably a little easier. \u201cAfter losing to Clemson last week and having an ACC loss, they knew what was at stake. We really didn\u2019t have to talk about it much. But we did not want to take a second conference loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting Past Clemson<\/h3>\n

Clawson said he could see early in the week of prep that his team was in the right mindset even with the loss and the potential weather distractions. \u201cIn the Tuesday practice, guys were focused and gave great effort and were into it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a group that was hanging its head and I didn\u2019t feel there was a hangover from Clemson on Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the haranguing from the Florida State bloggers and fan sites that Clawson\u2019s comments about the hurricane were gamesmanship to get the game rescheduled? \u201cYou know, despite what some people might think, we were not scared to play this game. We were very excited to play this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quarterback Sam Hartman<\/a> talked after the game Saturday about the team\u2019s mental and emotional approach. \u201cObviously we could have broken after the Clemson loss. We could have broken after that first drive when they [Florida State] go down and score. But the resilience is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mental Aspect<\/h3>\n

Running Back Justice Ellison<\/a> had a career day with 114 yards rushing and a touchdown on 18 carries. He said it took a day to get over the Clemson loss, but by Tuesday, the team was back to a strong work model. \u201cMonday it was tough watching that film and just knowing that maybe one more play and we could have beat them,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we had that next play, next game mentality. Once Tuesday’s practice came it was on to Florida State.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner<\/strong> talked about how a key to getting past the previous week and the noise of the current week was a focus that he said is particular to an experienced roster. \u201cAfter the Clemson game, it was a very tough loss. And everybody took accountability for what they could have done better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartman, like Clawson, said the approach comes from having a veteran lineup, one of the most experienced in the country. \u201cWe don\u2019t flinch,\u201d he said Saturday night. \u201cThere is not a lot of rah-rah on the sidelines. There is not a lot of \u2018We\u2019ve got to stick in this. We\u2019ve got to stay together.\u2019 Our jobs are to do our jobs together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Clawson Factor<\/h3>\n

He put much of the mental makeup of the team squarely on the shoulders of his head coach. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to give a shoutout to Coach Clawson. He\u2019s not this coach that\u2019s screaming at us when we get a three-and-out or running down the sidelines when we score a touchdown. He\u2019s Coach Clawson. And I think we reflect that in the way we play. He\u2019s an even-keeled guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reward for the focus in Tallahassee and the win is that Wake Forest is now ranked 15th<\/sup> in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll this week.<\/p>\n

Hartman said if they do their jobs, the team believes they can play with anybody. The focus on getting the job done this week will be, in part, not to overlook the opponent. This is not an undefeated conference rival with a game played on network television. This is an Army West Point team that is 1-3. The Black Knights’ one win is against FCS level Villanova. After having one of the nation\u2019s premier games for two weeks in a row, Wake will now be playing at night on a regional sports network that much of the country will not be watching.<\/p>\n

A different type of maturity will be needed to get through this game.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>