Nov. 3, 2003
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WFU FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #10/Nov. 8, 2003
Wake Forest (5-4, 3-3 ACC) at North Carolina (1-8, 0-5 ACC)
Kenan Stadium (60,000)/Chapel Hill, NC
Kickoff: 12 noon
Television: Broadcast as the ACC Game of the Week by Jefferson-Pilot Sports. Steve Martin calls the play-by-play, with Rick 'Doc" Walker providing analysis and Mike Hogewood on the sidelines.
Radio: Broadcast by the Wake Forest ISP Sports Network, heard on 16 stations across North Carolina and in Virginia. Voice of the Deacons Stan Cotten calls the play-by-play with former WFU great Ed Bradley serving as color analyst.
On the Internet: With the purchase of a paid subscription, the radio broadcast can be heard live over the web via WFU's athletics homepage: www.WakeForestSports.com.
The Series: Saturday's game marks the 100th meeting between North Carolina and WFU. The Tar Heels lead the overall series 65-32-2 but the Deacs have won two straight and three of the last four meetings.
Records: WFU went above .500 overall (5-4) and evened its conference mark (3-3) with a win over Clemson last week. UNC dropped to 1-8, 0-5 in the league with a loss to Maryland.
Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe owns a 18-15 mark in his third season with the Deacs. Now in his ninth season as a head coach, Grobe's career record stands at 51-48-1. UNC's John Bunting owns a 50-36-2 record in his eighth season as a head coach and is 12-22 in his third year with the Tar Heels.
Deacs Hit The Road One Final Time; Visit Tar Heels
Fresh off an impressive 45-17 victory over Clemson, the Wake Forest football team takes its final road trip of the regular season, heading down I-40 to face North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Saturday, Nov. 8. The game will kick off at 12 noon and will be televised by JP Sports as the ACC Game of the Week.
The Demon Deacons (5-4, 3-3 ACC) returned home after two straight away games to host Clemson, and made an early statement by jumping out to a 45-0 lead before a crowd of 35,643 at Groves Stadium.
North Carolina returns home from a two-game road stretch as well to host the Deacs on Saturday. The Tar Heels (1-8, 0-5 ACC) are looking for their first ACC win of the season and first home victory in Kenan Stadium since a win over SMU on Dec. 1, 2001.
The Deacons are in a three-way tie for fifth place in the ACC standings and need one more win to become bowl-eligible for the third consecutive season. WFU is also looking to make it three wins in a row over the Tar Heels, something the Deacs have not accomplished since 1987-89. For more information on the Tar Heels and the WFU-North Carolina series, see pages 10-11.
Last Time Out: Deacs Jump On Tigers Early And Often
Wake Forest tallied a season-high 400 yards of total offense, including 321 yards on the ground, against Clemson. But it was two defensive scores that sparked the Deacons to a 45-0 lead and an eventual 28-point win, 45-17, over the Tigers.
Deacon running back Chris Barclay recorded his 16th and 17th career TDs, finding the endzone twice to give WFU a 14-0 lead. Cornerback Eric King then halted a long Clemson drive, intercepting Charlie Whitehurst's pass at the Tiger 15 and returning it 85 yards for the touchdown, the second-longest interception return in school history. After quarterback Cory Randolph ran in a score on a one-yard keeper, the Deacon defense again turned the big play, as freshman end Jyles Tucker stripped Whitehurst of the ball and returned it 12 yards for the score. Tucker's TD gave Wake a 35-0 lead at halftime.
The Deacs increased that lead to 45 early in the third quarter as Matt Wisnosky nailed a 37-yard field goal and Cornelius Birgs tacked on another rushing TD. Clemson finally got on the board in the fourth quarter, with a field goal and two TDs for the final 28-point margin.
Barclay notched his third career 100-yard rushing game with 163 yards, 159 of which came in the first half. Randolph threw just seven times but completed five of those for 79 yards.
Despite the 400-yard output, WFU was again outgained in total offense, as the Tigers tallied 405. Clemson, however, only had 62 yards on the ground, a low for WFU opponents this season.
Looking For A State Sweep
Saturday's game at North Carolina will give Wake Forest the opportunity to complete a rare season "sweep" over its in-state rivals this season. The Deacs have already defeated Duke, East Carolina and NC State this year, and a win over the Tar Heels will give WFU a perfect 4-0 over the state's other Division I-A schools for the first time in school history.
The Deacs have come close the last two seasons. In both 2001 and 2002, WFU posted wins over ECU, Duke and North Carolina, but lost to NC State both seasons. The same situation also occurred in 1979. The only other years Wake Forest has played all four schools was 1997 and 1963 -- going 2-2 in 1997 and 0-4 in 1963.
Taking into account just the ACC's "Big Four", Wake Forest has gone undefeated over Duke, NC State and UNC in just five previous seasons -- 1987, 1984, 1970, 1951 and 1924.
Getting Defensive
Wake Forest scored two defensive touchdowns against Clemson -- both of them occurring in the second quarter. That bumps the Deacs' total to four defensive touchdowns this season -- equalling the number of such scores in the previous eight seasons combined. In fact, WFU scored more defensive touchdowns versus the Tigers this year than in all of the 2001 and 2002 seasons (zero in 2001, one in 2002).
In fact, Wake Forest's first touchdown of the 2003 season was scored by the Deacon defense, when Jamaal Argrow caused a QB fumble and Warren Braxton picked it up and had 53 yards of open field into the endzone at Boston College.
Braxton's TD was the first defensive score since the Duke game on Oct. 12, 2002, when Kellen Brantley had a 29-yard interception return for a TD. It was the first fumble recovery for a TD since Bryan Ray fell on the ball in the endzone versus UNC in 2000.
Brantley added the Deacs' second defensive touchdown of the season when, for the second straight year, he returned an interception against Duke. Eric King (85-yard interception return) and Jyles Tucker (forced fumble, 12-yard fumble return) tacked on the team's third and fourth defensive TDs against Clemson.
The last time Wake Forest scored two defensive touchdowns in a game was Oct. 10, 1992 at Vanderbilt, when George Coghill returned both a fumble and interception for scores.
Barclay Is Back
After some impressive recent performances (500 yards over the last four games), it's safe to say the sophomore running back Chris Barclay is back in full form. After gaining 703 yards and nine touchdowns behind Tarence Williams last season, Barclay was expected to get the lion's share of carries this fall. A sprained ankle suffered in the first quarter of the season opener at Boston College slowed him down, however. He didn't miss any games, but just wasn't able to put up the expected numbers over the next few outings.
Although the Georgia Tech game on Oct. 11 was one of the team's most disappointing offensive showings of the last three seasons, Barclay was the bright spot -- recording his first 100-yard game with 124 yards on the ground and scoring the Deacs' only touchdown. In that game he also passed the career 1,000-yard mark.b He followed that up with a career-best 163-yard performance at Duke. After carrying the ball seven times for 71 yards on the Deacs' opening drive (including a 12-yard TD run), Barclay went over the 100-yard in the first minute of the second quarter and tacked on to that total with a 47-yard touchdown later that quarter (his third of the game).
Barclay's 163 yards were the most since Morgan Kane tallied 224 against Georgia Tech on Nov. 20, 1998. It was also the second time in his career that he's scored three touchdowns in a game (also at Purdue last season).
Most recently, Barclay matched that mark versus Clemson and scored two more touchdowns, lifting his season total to eight and career total to 17 (ranking tied for seventh all-time at WFU). He also ranks 18th all-time in career yardage (1,451) and seventh in career rushing average (4.79). His three 100-yard games is surpassed by only 15 other players in WFU history and is tied with six others.
Rushing Game Returns To Form
In 2002, Wake Forest led the ACC with 408.1 yards of total offense and 241.2 rushing yards per game. Wake Forest outgained its opponents in total offense in seven of 13 games and out-rushed them in all but four contests.
This year, the Deacs are averaging nearly 77 yards less in total offense (331.2 ypg). All nine of WFU's opponents so far have outgained it by an average of 102.4 yards per game. The hallmark of WFU's offense the last two years, its ground game, is averaging 193.0 yards per contest -- an average of over 48 fewer yards than a year ago.
Wake Forest's impressive 2-0 start in 2003 (its best since 1999) with wins at Boston College and over NC State may have diminished the fact that eight offensive starters graduated off last year's team. And the Deacon ground game took an early hit when all three running backs went down with injuries in the season-opening first quarter at BC. Chris Barclay and Cornelius Birgs both sprained ankles, while Dominic Anderson suffered a season-ending leg injury.
The running game appears to be back, however. After recording just 56 rushing yards against Purdue on Sept. 13 (the lowest rushing total of the Jim Grobe era at WFU), the Deacs have averaged 269.0 yards on the ground over the last three games -- over 28 yards more than its average last season. The Deacs also now lead the league and rank 23rd nationally in rushing yards per game.
Wake's 230 yards on the ground at FSU were the most given up by the 'Noles this season, while its 321 yards versus Clemson is the most by any ACC team this season.
Odds & Ends
Only two true freshman have seen action for the Deacs this season -- defensive end Jyles Tucker and running back D'Angelo Bryant ... Tucker is the only true rookie to earn a starting nod in 2003 ... Wake Forest is riding a streak of 66 games without being shutout, dating back to a 42-0 loss at Air Force in 1998 ... Tyson Clabo and Quintin Williams have served as WFU's game captains in every game so far this year ... they were joined by Kellen Brantley and Mark Moroz against Clemson ... free safety Quintin Williams recorded his 200th career tackle versus ECU ... Williams (234) and linebacker Kellen Brantley (240) are the only current Deacon defenders with at least 200 career stops ... Jason Anderson ranks tied for fourth among active ACC receivers with three 100-yard games (NC State's Jerricho Cotchery leads the league with 12.) ... Anderson's 1,533 career receiving yards also ranks fourth among active players in the league.
King of the Break-Up
No, that doesn't mean he's breaking hearts all across campus, but junior cornerback Eric King has established himself as a key pass break-up specialist and one of the top cornerbacks in the ACC. With 13 career PBU entering this season, King has already surpassed that mark this season -- with at least three more games to go.
King continues to lead the ACC in passes defended, currently with 17 (14 PBU, three interceptions), an average 1.89 per game. His 14 break-ups are also by far a conference high -- the second place defenders in that category have 10.
King, as well as senior free safety Quintin Williams, is moving up WFU's career PBU chart. King is fifth with 27 break-ups while Williams is seventh with 24.
King recorded four tackles, two key pass break-ups and an interception in the Deacs' victory over NC State. King's first PBU of the day came on a 3rd-and-goal play from WFU's six-yard line, forcing NC State to settle for a field goal. His acrobatic interception in the third quarter led to a Deacon field goal. Perhaps his biggest play of the game was another pass break-up in the fourth quarter, when NC State, trailing 31-17, faced a 4th-and-30 play from the WFU 31. The change in possession led to WFU's final TD drive of the day which sealed the Deacon victory.
King's 85-yard interception return for a touchdown versus Clemson goes down in the record books as the second-longest such return in school history, and longest since 1955.
King is doing more than just breaking up passes. He was also impressive versus ECU, recording both an interception and a fumble recovery in addition to three tackles and a PBU. He ranks third in the league in fumbles forced and fourth in fumbles recovered. Overall, he's played a role in eight opponent takeaways this season.
Grobe Among Select Company
Jim Grobe is one of just three coaches in Wake Forest history to win 13 games during his first two years with the program. Like Grobe, Hank Garrity won six games in his first season with the Deacs (1923) and posted seven wins the following year. The only other coach to accomplish this feat was Bill Dooley (seven wins in 1987, six in 1988). With two more wins this season, Grobe could post the best three-year win total by a coach in school history, surpassing Garrity's 19 from 1923-25.
On This Date in WFU History
Throughout its history, Wake Forest has played 11 games on Nov. 8, putting together a 4-7 record ... The Deacs will play its fourth straight road game on Nov. 8, as it has not made a home appearance on this date since 1975 ... Wake Forest is 2-2 in ACC games on this date, going 1-2 versus Duke and 1-0 against Virginia ... WFU is an even 4-4 in road games on Nov. 8 and has compiled a 0-2 record at home in addition to one neutral site loss ... four of the last seven games on this dat have been decided by three points or less.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest returns home to play its final two regular season games at Groves Stadium. First up is its initial meeting with the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday, Nov. 15. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. with no TV broadcast.
