The time has finally come for Wake Forest to kick off its 107th season of football, and it’s a good thing because I don’t think I can wait much longer.

The Details:
Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008
Time: 8:00 p.m. EDT, 7:00 p.m. CDT
Location: Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco, Texas
TV/Radio: FSN, ISP Radio Network. More details here

The Demon Deacons are 0-4 all time against Baylor, having lost 31-0 in their last meeting – a 1961 matchup in Waco. Another historical record that doesn’t bode well for the Deacs is their 0-11 record all time in games played in the state of Texas. I don’t put a lot of stock in things like that, particularly when much of the data is over 50 years old, but it’s always interesting to see.

As most everyone probably knows by now, Baylor enters the 2008 season with a new coach, Art Briles. Briles is apparently some sort of offensive guru, and based on what he did at Houston, the Wake defense is about to see a pretty interesting and somewhat unique offensive scheme. As far as I can tell, Briles doesn’t really call a single play, rather he gives the offense options, and they have to all read the defense to determine which option is the best (If I got that all wrong you can let me know, Baylor fans).

Though that may sound daunting for some visiting defenses, it sounds like the type of scheme that takes a considerable amount of time to implement effectively. I think it will be at least three weeks before the Baylor offense really has the chance to start clicking. Given the experience and talent Wake will have on the defensive side of the ball, I wouldn’t want to be a young Baylor quarterback trying to figure out which play is most likely to work – the results could be disastrous.

Add to all of this the fact that no one outside of the team knows who the starting quarterback is going to be (heck, I’m not even sure the team knows who its quarterback is), and you’ve got the recipe for a shaky offensive night for the Bears.

Wake’s offense isn’t without its fair share of question marks. Is the offensive line ready to step up in a real game situation? Will the receivers continue to impress like they have for the last month of practices? I don’t expect to see the Deacon offense put a huge number on the scoreboard this week, but it should be enough to get the job done.

I’ve got some other questions going into this matchup as well:

Will we see a noticeably different defensive scheme this year?
The last two seasons under Dean Hood Wake has played conservatively on defense, utilizing a “bend but don’t break” attitude that puts an emphasis on avoiding big plays. That doesn’t mean they didn’t try to make plays on the ball (obviously they did), but it wasn’t a very aggressive scheme. Under Brad Lambert I think we may see a slightly more aggressive defense; one that brings more pressure and allows the guys to react instinctively as the play develops.

How will Steed Lobotzke balance the pass and run?
I don’t know the actual statistics, but for the last couple of years Lobo has run a fairly conservative package that focuses on possessing the ball and maximizing field possession by using lots of rushes and short, accurate passes. With the questions at offensive line, the preseason success of the wide receivers, and the continued improvement of quarterback Riley Skinner, I think we may see a heavier emphasis on the pass game. Particularly if the Deacs struggle to move the ball on the ground early, Lobo might try letting Skinner air it out a little bit.

How many true freshmen will actually play?
The season’s first depth chart, which includes four true freshmen, reveals some interesting things. For one (and Grobe made this clear yesterday), OG Joe Looney and TE Andrew Parker will not be redshirting. Furthermore, center Chance Raines and CB Kenny Okoro will be traveling with the team, but Grobe may try to keep them off the field and redshirt them if possible. Redshirt freshman Dennis Godfry, who moved to the offensive line less than a week ago, is already number two on the depth chart at right guard – not a good indication for the line’s depth.

Is it safe to let Alphonso Smith return kicks?
The depth chart lists Phonz as the starter for both kick return and punt return. While he’s definitely a playmaker and I understand the desire to give him touches, the increased potential for injury worries me. I think this is one of those decisions that will turn out to be incredibly smart or will be looked back on as the downfall of the 2008 campaign. Either Phonz will dazzle in the return game, or he’ll go down with an injury – a major blow to the team. I don’t think there’s an in-between; if he stays healthy I can’t imagine him not doing some pretty special things. I guess that kind of upside is worth risking the potential injury, so I guess I’m going to have to trust the coaches on this one.

Do you have different answers to one or more of these questions? Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Final Prediction: Wake’s offense struggles early and only manages a couple of field goals in the first half, but a touchdown on defense or special teams sends Wake to the locker room with a 13-3 lead. The offense gets its act together in the second half and the Demon Deacons leave Waco with a 30-10 victory and a respectable start to the 2008 campaign.

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I apologize for not having a more thorough report tonight, but here are some quick notes from the scrimmage:

• The team used this scrimmmage to practice what it's like to prepare for a real game - meaning they did they're real pregame routine, practiced getting on and off the field, etc.

• D.J. Boldin had the catch of the night (no surprise there) with a one handed leaping grab. Might even be the best catch of the preseason.

• Devon "Y'lou" Brown got hit incredibly hard and took a minute before getting up. Appeared to be fine, however.

• C.J. Washington ran well, but was hit hard several times and didn't return after the final hit.

• Brandon Pendergrass had a 10 yard touchdown run, and Josh Adams also ran well.

• Riley Skinner went through pregame warm-ups, but didn't actually participate in the scrimmage. Coach Grobe said afterwards that he tweaked a hammy in the weight room. Brett Hodges took all the first team snaps. This shouldn't be any cause for concern, it was precautionary and he should be fine.
  

• We talked yesterday about Dennis Godfry's move to the offensive line, but he didn't get a whole lot of snaps in the scrimmage. Only a handful in the last few posessions with true freshman/3rd string line. He just moved yesterday, so it makes some sense, but I'm guessing it's somewhat frustrating for him.

I'm traveling tomorrow and probably won't be able to get much (if anything) up. Should be back at it on Thursday, when I should be back at practice.

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Today was the second to last two-a-day of the preseason.

The morning session was a pretty short practice in helmets only. There wasn't too much going on in this practice, mostly individual drills and technique type things that can be done without pads. A lot of time was spent with coaches just going over specifics with players. There was also a fair amount of time spent on special teams.

As has become common in these two-a-days, the team worked more on 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills in the afternoon session. D.J. Boldin made several good catches, which has become a pretty common sight at these practices. Freshman Andrew Parker continued to look good at tight end, including a long catch on a Brett Hodges pass, and I'm starting to think it's possible that we'll see him on the field this season.

According to coach, "We are pretty much finished with installation right now. We have all kinds of offensive and defensive stuff that we probably won't use during the season. I thought we got a lot of work this afternoon in team situations. We are starting to develop a two-deep and starting to work on our first opponent."

One very intriguing development this afternoon came in regards to redshirt freshman Dennis Godfrey. He was seen getting work on the offensive line today at guard. This says a lot about what the coaches must be thinking about the defensive line, the offensive line, and Godfry.

First of all, it indicates that the depth is definitely fine at defensive tackle. Dennis had a lot of talent and potential there, so the coaches must be feeling pretty good about things there to let him move.

It also indicates that the coaches are still very worried about the offensive line, particularly at guard. For them to move someone this late is a pretty significant change, and one they must have felt was very necessary. It also indicates that they have a lot of confidence in Godfrey's ability to learn the new position quickly. His size and athleticism alone make it clear he can play the position, he just needs to learn the specifics of the job.

I can't decide if I think this changes makes it more or less likely for Joe Looney to see the field this season. What do you all think?

It will be very interesting to track this over the next week or two. The final scrimmage is tomorrow, so if you're around head out to BB&T and check it out.

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It's a slow news day in Demon Deacon nation, so it's the perfect opportunity to start the day with a football practice photo gallery, courtesy of Dean Shore. More of his pictures are available here.

Having some problems with images...They'll be fixed ASAP...appears to be a server problem, hopefully they'll be fixed tonight.

Freshman quarterback Ted Stachitas gets ready to drop back

Gelo Orange (#57) and Josh Bush (#25?) work on defensive drills.

Offensive linemen Joe Looney (#78) and Russell Nenon (#72) work on a 1-on-1 drill as Gabe Irby looks on.

Gabe Irby (#79) works against Dennis Godfry (#98) during linemen drills.

The defensive secondary takes a break

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