It Was Bad - Let's Move On

I’ve been procrastinating quite a bit on writing this, mostly because I just can’t figure out what I want to say.

I could blame the loss on players being flat, coaches not coaching well, lacking talent, facing a better opponent, being in a tough environment, dwelling on last week’s loss…

The problem is, I have no idea what they truth really is.

Here are the things I know for sure:

1. Wake did not play good football.
2. Clemson did play good football.
3. Clemson’s overall athleticism/talent surpasses Wake’s

With those facts, it’s pretty simple to break the game down. When your opponent has more talent and plays better football than you, you’re going to lose. When those things are the case and you play terrible football while your opponent plays very good football, you lose 44-10.

I have no idea what caused Wake to play so poorly. It could be any number of things: dwelling on a previous loss, poor execution, poor coaching, even a bad breakfast. No matter the case, I have no way of knowing and my speculation is worth just as little as anyone else’s speculation who isn’t a member of the team. To beat Clemson, Wake was going to have to execute to near-perfection in every area of the game and out work and out hustle the opponent. On Saturday, none of that happened. Instead the Deacs were beat soundly by a talented opponent playing good football. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of the story.

It’s time to move on. Two very important games remain on the schedule starting this coming Saturday at home against NC State. A win basically guarantees Wake a bowl bid, and a second win against Vandy would improve the chances of that bid being somewhere east of the Mississippi. Yes we’ve been eliminated from the ACCCG hunt, but an 8-4 season is nothing to hang our heads about, and that needs to be the focus right now.