{"id":65826,"date":"2024-10-06T14:00:59","date_gmt":"2024-10-06T18:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=65826"},"modified":"2024-10-06T09:51:43","modified_gmt":"2024-10-06T13:51:43","slug":"65826-what-wake-forest-said-after-saturdays-comeback-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/10\/06\/65826-what-wake-forest-said-after-saturdays-comeback-win\/","title":{"rendered":"What Wake Forest Said After Saturday\u2019s Comeback Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

It probably goes without saying that the mood of a winning post-game press conference is a lot lighter than the same room after a loss. There were a lot more smiles in the Wake Forest press conference Saturday after the 34-30 win at North Carolina State<\/a>. There was a lot more ease in the answers to questions also. So let\u2019s find out what Wake Forest said after Saturday’s comeback win.<\/p>\n

Dave Clawson<\/h3>\n

The head coach called it one of the best wins he has ever had. Context matters. The team was on a three-game losing streak. The only win this season was against an FCS school. And Wake Forest had lost a one-score game twice already. His Demon Deacons were down by 10 points in the fourth quarter and mounted the comeback win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought our defense played well at times,\u201d he said. \u201cThe big thing is we did not have any of those big busts.\u201d<\/p>\n

He factored in some of the younger receivers who were counted on in the game as well. Walker Merrill and Donavon Greene were both out and others had to step in and step up. \u201cHopefully we\u2019re growing up a little bit,\u201d Clawson opined. \u201cSome of our young receivers; Micah Mays, Deuce Alexander, those guys really stepped up in that last drive.\u201d<\/p>\n

That last drive. That was everything, wasn\u2019t it? Wake went for it twice on fourth down in that series. The first time they had no real option. The Deacs were down three points and at midfield on fourth and five. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier picked up 17 yards with a completion to Alexander.<\/p>\n

But the second one came with an option. It was fourth and three at the NC State 26-yard line, and within field goal range to tie the game. Clawson said he was concerned that doing that would have left too much time on the clock for NC State to go back downfield for its own game-winning field goal. Bachmeier read the all-out blitz coming and unloaded quickly to Alexander for a six-yard gain. \u201cWhat a play by Hank,\u201d the coach said. \u201cIf that ball is tipped, I\u2019m a dumb ass right now. It\u2019s the nature of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rewards<\/h3>\n

Clawson talked about the work that went into the off-season, and each week thereafter, and the win feeling like a much-needed reward. \u201cIf you work really hard, at some point you need to have a real reward to keep you going. Our staff needed a reward. Our team needed a reward. And our fan base needed a reward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about freakin\u2019 time,\u201d Clawson said when asked what it felt like to finally come out on the upside of a one-score ball game.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also gave a lot of credit to Bachmeier, who statistically did not have his best game, but was there fighting at the end. Clawson said the sixth-year quarterback was in the locker room after the game apologizing for the one interception he threw. \u201cThe players really like him. They know he is about the team. He didn\u2019t come here to put up numbers, he came here to be part of a team and help our team win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Anderson<\/h3>\n

He agreed with Clawson\u2019s concept of the team needing a reward. \u201cEspecially a fourth-quarter game like that,\u201d he said. To finally get over the hump and get one, especially in this environment was awesome.\u201d He called it something to be proud of.<\/p>\n

Hank Bachmeier<\/h3>\n

He said the team had practiced against the blitz package that NC State threw at them late in the game. But they were not getting it right. Saturday, he gave credit to Alexander for the quick reaction time to find the hole. \u201cI honestly threw it kind of blind. But I knew he was going to be in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bachmeier<\/a> talked about not having his best statistical game. \u201cThese guys really saved me out there.\u201d He was quick to give credit to the offensive lines, his running back Demond Claiborne and the receivers for the blocking they did in the run game.<\/p>\n

On the issue of the one-score games, he said he was hopeful this would provide a mental breakthrough for the team. \u201cFor us to be able to do that, I just think it provides that belief and that condition that you\u2019ve done it so you can do it again. Because I\u2019m sure there are going to be more games like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demond Claiborne<\/h3>\n

Last week he dislocated his kneecap in the first half of the loss to Louisiana. He came back in for the second half and ran for a 60-yard touchdown. He did not play much after that because of soreness in the knee. But at NC State Saturday he had 20 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast week my kneecap was on the side of my leg,\u201d Claiborne said describing the experience and the comeback. He said he was on limited reps throughout the week at practice in order to let the leg get some rest. \u201cComing into this game I was fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Bachmeier\u2019s game, \u201cWe rallied behind him. That\u2019s our QB. We love him. I kept going up to him after every drop and telling him, \u2018I got your back, Bro.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Claiborne<\/a> laughed when telling the story of his head coach\u2019s demeanor on Saturday. \u201cCoach Clawson, his whole energy today was just different.\u201d Claiborne said from the time the team got off the bus, the coach\u2019s energy level bordered on “hyper.” \u201cCoach Clawson definitely had a different swagger about him today. It allowed me to feel extra confident when I was on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

One more thought on the issue of Wake and one score games. Clawson pointed out that from 2016 to 2021, the Deacs were one of the most successful teams in the country in one-score games. But then? \u201cAnd the second I share that with our team, we sh*t the bed,\u201d he laughed. \u201cSo any time you do something well, I\u2019m not even going to bring it up anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coach said he was sure the players would enjoy the win for the evening. But he was already moving on to having to play a resurgent Clemson team Saturday afternoon at Allegacy Stadium.<\/p>\n

\"What
Photo courtesy:\u00a0 Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It probably goes without saying that the mood of a winning post-game press conference is a lot lighter than the same room after a loss. There were a lot more smiles in the Wake Forest press conference Saturday after the 34-30 win at North Carolina State. There was a lot more ease in the answers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1534,"featured_media":65830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7],"tags":[102,1135,3634,1249],"class_list":["post-65826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-acc","tag-acc","tag-dave-clawson","tag-nc-state-wolfpack","tag-wake-forest-demon-deacons"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1534"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}