Let's start with the big picture: the Demon Deacons beat Clemson, are now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference - the only undefeated team in the Atlantic division. Regardless of how we got there, it's a pretty good place to be.

It's a popular phrase at the moment, but it's true: Wake is in the "driver's seat" of this division, and more than likely they could even afford a loss and still be just fine.

Now let's get back to last night. Wake beat Clemson 12-7. Not exactly the most exciting game I've ever seen, in fact I imagine it was pretty boring for anyone who wasn't a Wake or Clemson fan. If winning ugly is what it takes to win, though, you won't hear any complaints from me.

Starting with positives, the entire defense gets a huge thumbs up. I don't think anyone could have asked for a better performance. Before the game the Block-C guys asked me who to watch out for on defense, to which I answered "Phonz and Curry." No doubt both of those guys stepped up. Phonz came up with a big interception which led to field goal number two, and Curry led the team with 9 tackles. My "sleeper" was Boo Robinson, who had a huge game. I have trouble believing the official stats - which only give him 4 tackles, since I'm pretty sure he had about that many tackles in the first quarter. John Russell also deserves lots of credit for two big sacks and a good night all around. Clemson had 21 rushing yards for the game on 23 attempts. Through the air they only came up with 177 yards. The defense held them to less than 200 yards total offense. That's amazing. I could never ask for anything more.

Riley deserves a lot of credit for the way he bounced back from the Navy game. He completed 22 of 34 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown. Even more important, he didn't throw a single interception. If all of that isn't enough, he also led the running attack with 73 yards on the ground.

In fact, the running game as a whole was better. 156 rushing yards is easily the best performance of the season (Baylor was close - but only because of C.J. Washington's last minute long run). That doesn't mean the offensive line and running backs are as good as we'd like them to be, but this was a much better performance all around.

I liked how quick Skinner was to pull the ball down and run. I don't know if that's a strategy that we'll see carry over to future games, or if it was just a vulnerability the coaches found watching film of Clemson, but either way it was very effective. The wildcat or, if you prefer, wild Deacon formation was pretty effective when run from the middle of the field, but I hope we don't see it ever again on first and goal from the one. It can be very effective when there's plenty of space to work with, but you can't let a defense commit to the run like that inside the 5.

It was great to see D.J. Boldin finally get a touchdown catch after leading the receivers in every other category all season long. It was another solid night for the receivers all around.

Shane Popham wasn't perfect, but for a guy kicking for the first time in his career he did a fine job. The first miss wasn't his fault at all - either the snapper or holder's fault. The other miss was bad, but since we still won I'm happy to give him a free pass. All of that being said, I hope Swank is back out there at Maryland.

It wouldn't be fair not to mention a few negatives, so let's hit those quickly.

There's still work to be done in the running game - I'd like to see a bit more consistency. The progress is great, but it's not there yet.

Although the playcalling was pretty good on the whole, I think Lobo needs to rethink things down in the redzone. It's really hard to watch the team drive down to the 15 with ease and then stall there almost every time.

I think those are pretty much the only negatives I can point out, though. They're pretty important, as they're the difference between winning a game like this 28-7 instead of 12-7, but a win is still a win.

I'll definitley be watching film of this one and doing a full analysis, but it will take me a few days to get there. Stay tuned. Otherwise, enjoy a happy weekend of football watching.

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It certainly wasn't pretty, but a win is a win and I'm going to sleep happy. I'm feeling pretty crappy, so it's NyQuil and bed for me. I'll have a recap tomorrow. Go Deacs!

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We got lucky tonight, as Willy Mac and Chili from Clemson blog Block-C have been kind enough to allow us to join them for tonight's live blog. I actually think it will end up being pretty fun as long as people keep things civil. Start time for the live blog is listed at 6:30, but I have a feeling it might be a little later than that. Just remember that we're (sort of) their guests, in that they'll be doing the moderating, so do your best to play nice. I'll be posting from the game, and I'm looking forward to a good one!

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I know it's last minute, but I've managed to scramble together a 5 Good Questions exchange with the guys from Block-C. My answers to there questions can be found right here.

Here we go:

1. Losing to Navy has definitely put Wake fans in a bad mood, and I think it's affecting our attitudes about this week's matchup with Clemson. Still, I'm guessing we're handling things a little bit better than Clemson fans. Give us a little bit of insight into the minds of Clemson fans right now. Is there much excitement for this week's game?

Literally, our fans are reeling right now. Our faith in the coach, team, and almost the program has been shaken. Everyone feels that there is a serious problem that needs to be corrected immediately. Also, for the most part we're embarrassed. It's uncomfortable to wear orange on Fridays. Given the fact that Alabama did to us what we were supposed to do to them in the first prime time game that EVERYONE saw and that we made the cover of Sports Illustrated for all the wrong reasons because of that game I'd say we're a little ashamed. Then we turn around and give the game away to Maryland. Our coaches are the problem and the way we're handling the situation it seems as if our community doesn't know how to handle firing someone (or contract negotiations, in hindsight).

2. How well do you think this Clemson team can bounce back from a loss like Maryland. Clearly they bounced back fairly well after losing to Alabama, but now with a second loss can they do it again?

Well, beating up on a bunch of weaker teams is definitely a morale booster, but this one is going to be hard to get over. Especially given that after we lost to Maryland, they then proceeded to get stomped on by UVA and that makes the entire situation hard to read. "Up is down and down is up" would be a good phrase to describe this year's college football universe. We're well into Bowden Rollercoaster-mode so who knows when the next up or down is coming.

3. Davis and Spiller both seem to be playing well, and I don't think Cullen Harper has been bad that bad, so what has caused Clemson to go entire halves without scoring points?

Coaching errors. Sensing a theme here? That and we have a young line. The team seems to lack a trust in each other for good reason. Harper has been pressured heavily and because of this he sometimes tends to lead receivers into punishing hits. They just can't get things to click on the field and it's showing.

4. Where do you think Clemson matches up favorably against the Deacs? Where will Clemson be at a disadvantage?

That is a pretty tough question for a couple of reasons, primarily because both teams have played erratically in each team's last several games. Clemson has installed some trick plays to mock some of the option plays that were successful for Navy against WF. I think that our backs could have success at the edges of the field with some of these schemes, but the WF defensive line should be able to handle things down the middle. I also think our secondary might fare well against Wake's misdirection, but like the trick plays that's just pure speculation.

Clemson will be at a disadvantage throwing the ball anywhere near CB Alphonso Smith. They avoided him like the plague last year and should follow suit this year. With Harper a bit more interception-prone this year it's even more of a tactical imperative to steer clear of him. Another disadvantage, of course, is playcalling.

5. Do you have any predictions for this one: Score? Particular performances? Death threats leveled at Bowden if Clemson loses?

Well, you can check out our preview post here. If we lose I don't necessarily think death threats will come about because we're Clemson, not some SEC team. I can foresee the for sale signs in Bowden's yard coming back, though. If the Tigers do lose, the scenario that follows will be the closest Bowden's nuts will have come to the bandsaw during his tenure here.

Great last minute work there, gentlemen. Thanks and good luck tonight. Make sure to visit Block-C for any Clemson info you need.

The live blog is currently up in the air - we'll have to see if someone comes through last minute (we may even get to share in the fun with Clemson fans, we'll see).

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Still haven't gotten any volunteers for this one. If you've got internet access during the game tonight I'd love your help. Leave a comment or send me an email to let me know.

Over the last couple days I've come down with something - headache, coughing, throat, maybe a fever, so I'm trying to battle through but it's not making it easier to get everything done. I'm trying to scramble with Block-C to get a Q&A done by early afternoon, but we'll see what happens. A game preview is equally questionable - we'll see how things go. Stay tuned.

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DC talks about the two early bye weeks - somewhat annoying from a fan perspective but I like the idea of watching 8 straight weeks of Wake football. He also mentions Dennis Godfry's injury - which I've heard is a torn meniscus with an unknown timetable.

The Tigers sound motivated this week - as they should be. It doesn't worry me, though, because the Deacs should be just a motivated.

Pretty good AP preview of the game.

NFL scouts will be out in full force on Thursday night - 39 of them. More than one per team? Impressive.

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From the "If you think it's bad, someone else has it worse" department, Clemson blog Block C had this to say late Saturday night:

F*CKITY F*CK F*CK F*CK

You can check out the whole post here, but I think we can all agree that Clemson fans do have it worse than we do right now. I'm not saying that we should feel the least bit bad for them. But at least we can enjoy the fact that they're in much much worse shape than we are. At least for another 9 days, anyway.

Another thing that might make you feel better... Out in Palm Springs, California (which could make you feel better all by itself if you're a golfer) they're calling Wake Forest a "giant." A fallen giant now, but a giant nonetheless.

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This week's BlogPoll came out this morning and Wake moves up three spots to #14. Seems pretty fair, and I like this week's poll as a whole. You can see the whole thing here.

For the first time (when I've submitted a ballot, anyway) I don't even appear in the C-K Award for ranking your team significantly higher than everyone else. Seems like people are finally realizing what I'd like to think I knew all along.

The only other ranked ACC team is Clemson at 23, but I'm kind of hopeful that they'll lose that honor in a couple weeks.

I know I said this morning that I thought I'd have the offense Replay Booth up now, but getting things formated for posting are causing me a few issues. It'll have to wait until after classes this afternoon.

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Today ESPN.com's Heather Dinnich ranked the 12 ACC football schedules for 2008, and had this to say about Wake Forest:

10. Wake Forest -- If these guys can get through the first half of their schedule, look out. Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Georgia Tech are off the schedule. A road trip to Baylor, followed by a home game against Ole Miss and a trip to FSU make for a tough start to the season.

At first glance I thought this was way too low, but the more I think about it I realize it's probably only a little bit too low.

I've put a fair amount of stock into the fact that Wake is the only ACC team without any FCS schools on the schedule, which led me to believe Wake has one of the tougher scheuldes in the ACC. Further analysis proves that's not quite the case.

Georgia Tech has Georgia on the schedule, as well as trips to Clemson and Virginia Tech. Virginia has Southern Cal and UConn. Miami has Florida and Texas A&M. I don't envy any of those schedules.

Still, the fact remains that Wake doesn't have a single FCS opponent. Sure, Clemson has to come to Winston-Salem on a Thursday night, but Florida State on the road is no picnic, and neither are back-to-back road games with Maryland and Miami.

Based on HD's rundown, I'd say Wake definitely has a more difficult scheudule than Clemson and Duke (the two schools immedietly above Wake in the list). But, when compared to the rest of the ACC I realize Wake is probably in better shape schedule-wise than I first thought. Now it's up to the Deacs to take advantage.

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