#15 Wake Forest vs. Navy
It's family weekend here on campus, and the weather probably couldn't be any worse. The temperature is hovering around 60 degrees, and I don't believe it has stopped raining all day. Nonetheless, the Demon Deacons will be playing football tomorrow afternoon, and even though there may not be sun, forecasts are predicting the rain will be gone by game time.
The Facts:
Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008
Time: 3:45 p.m. EDT
Location: BB&T Field, Winston-Salem, NC
Broadcast: ESPNU, ISP Radio Network
A win tomorrow means seven in a row for the Deacs, tying a school record. It'd be great to have that win in hand and be looking to set a new record against Clemson. A win would also be Jim Grobe's 50th at Wake.
I hope to never feel like the game is in question, and I'd really like to see the run game have a big day. I'm not totally confident we're going to see it, but we'll see. A well-run option offense is never easy to deal with, so I don't expect a flawless game from the defense, but ultimately I think Wake's talent level will make the difference.
Things to watch for:
1. If Wake has a run game, can it please show up?
I'm done saying "I think the run game will finally show up this week." Now I just going to hope they do. I'll keep hoping until it happens, but I won't get mad about it until it starts costing the team wins.
2. How well will Wake contain the option?
It's never an easy task, and for the first quarter of last year's matchup Navy was having a fair amount of success. It wasn't until an Aaron Curry hit knocked quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada out of the game that things started falling apart for the midshipmen. He's back this year and I think Navy could easily score a lot of points if the Deacs aren't prepared. I hope now that Paul Johnson is gone the option isn't quite as potent, but I'm not counting on that.
3. Injury avoidance is key - can the Deacs stay healthy?
There's so much potential for this season that it would be really terrible to see anyone go down this week. DT John Russell is listed as probable on the injury report with a shoulder injury. There's a bye week next week so hopefully things will be okay even if there's a minor injury of some kind, but it'd be great to emerge both healthy and victorious.
4. Will the parents pack the stands?
As I menitoned eariler, it's parents weekend and there will be lots of families in the stands. With questionable weather and one of the less exciting opponents of the season, It'll be interesting to see just how full BB&T field is.
5. Will the Wake fans honor this Navy team like they did Army last year?
I sincerely hope this is a rhetorical question. These guys are much more than football players and deserve respect from all Wake fans for the contributions they're making to our country. I loved the way the fan base, students included, cheered for Army last year, and I hope to see the same thing tomorrow. I also look forward to seeing the Wake players honor the Navy alma mater after the game. Always a classy touch by Jim Grobe teams.
Predictions: I come to this segment of the previous cautiously, as I looked pretty foolish with last week's 41-36 prediction. I expect a significant margin of victory this week, and I think the Deacs will put points on the board, so I'm going to go with 31-17. Navy is going to beat themselves, so Wake needs to get the job done.
One last thing - someone in last week's live blog (maybe Scott?) said they'd be willing to help out with a live blog tomorrow. If you or anyone else is interested, shoot me an email and let me know so we can try to get it set up.
