WINSTON-SALEM — After a fourth-quarter collapse and a 31-30 home loss to Virginia over the weekend, Wake Forest’s football team is now tasked with playing the country’s top-ranked offense as a follow-up.
The Demon Deacons (1-1, 0-1 ACC) are set to host the No. 5 Mississippi Rebels (2-0, 0-0 SEC) inside Allegacy Stadium on Saturday night (6:30 p.m) in Winston-Salem, marking the third-ever matchup between the two schools and the first in 16 years.
Wake came away from Oxford, MS, in 2006 with a 27-3 win over the Rebels, following that up two years later with a 30-28 home win.
Oddsmakers currently have Ole Miss as a 23-point favorite to deliver the Deacs their second-consecutive loss.
Facing the Cavaliers (2-0, 1-0 ACC) over the weekend, Wake had a 30-17 lead entering the final quarter in a game where quarterback Hank Bachmeier threw for 403 yards, Donavon Greene had a career-best 11 catches for 166 yards, and the team won the total yardage battle 544-430.
The Cavaliers engineered a touchdown drive to add seven points at the 10:37 mark, narrowing the Deacs’ lead to six following an extra point. With just 2:07 left in the game, Virginia’s Grady Brosterhous reached the end zone on a one-yard sneak for the go-ahead touchdown, leading up to a Wake drive that ended with a costly fumble from wide receiver Taylor Morin.
“That was just a great football game. They (Virginia) just kept coming and they made a few more plays than us,” Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson said after the contest. “I thought our guys competed really hard, proud of the effort. We didn’t make enough plays and obviously the turnover at the end of the game was a critical one. We had a chance to recover it and we didn’t. So again, it’s one game. This one stings, but we got another one in a week.”
Wake’s attempt at a bounce-back game this weekend happens to line up with possibly the team’s toughest opponent on its entire schedule: the Ole Miss Rebels, who have racked up 1,427 yards of offense in just two weeks.
Mississippi routed Furman 76-0 in the season opener and followed that up with a 52-3 home win over Middle Tennessee State.
On Saturday, Ole Miss running back Henry Parrish Jr. averaged 11.8 yards per carry and recorded career-highs in both rushing yards (165) and rushing touchdowns (four), while quarterback Jaxson Dart’s 24 consecutive completed passes to start the game broke the conference record of 23 straight successful passes set by Tennessee’s Tee Martin against South Carolina in 1998.
“I’m proud of Jaxson’s leadership,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said on Saturday. “We have several good running backs. Parrish practiced well, so he got the start today and played well. It’s hard to beat 11 yards a carry and four touchdowns.”
Kiffin added that he wasn’t thrilled with his team’s eight penalties and that he wanted to see improvement from a “sloppy” pass defense, but was pleased overall as his roster prepares for a trip to Wake Forest.
“There were a lot of good things we did to get to 2-0. I think we’re relatively healthy and actually looked good with one or two guys back that haven’t played yet as we go on the road next week to a tough opponent in the ACC,” Kiffin said.
In order to keep up with the Rebels’ high-powered offense, Wake will need to continue to move the ball well and harken back to the fluidity its offense showed in a 45-13 Week 1 win over FCS opponent North Carolina A&T.
The Deacs are averaging 528.5 yards offensively and giving up 383.5 yards defensively.
Under center, Bachmeier has completed 64 percent of his passes for 666 yards with four touchdown passes, finding a solid rhythm with both Greene and Morin as primary wideout options; Demond Claiborne has gained 221 yards and has averaged almost six yards per carry on the ground.
“He played really well, moved the offense well, made good decisions, and made plays with his feet,” Clawson said of Bachmeier’s performance at the quarterback position.
On defense, linebacker Nick Andersen has already racked up 23 tackles (15 solo) while defensive lineman Kevin Pointer has generated 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks for a loss of 12 yards.
As Wake aims to bounce back from its narrow loss to Virginia, it undoubtedly faces a tough test in the Rebels, who have had their way with opposing defenses. Clawson and his coaching staff will have their work cut out for them as they take on this brand of SEC firepower.
