The Wake Forest Demon Deacons showed a lot of resolve last Saturday in their fourth quarter comeback against Indiana that fell just a little bit short. Even with their young offensive line, running backs, and receiving group, they proved that they can stay in games with teams like Indiana that have completed their own rebuilds. Wake Forest also happened to have a true freshman starting his first game in rainy weather as well in QB Kendall Hinton. Hinton has been playing as John Wolford recovers from injury. Wolford’s status for Saturday remains uncertain.

This week, things will not get any easier for Hinton and the Deacs as they will host #11 Florida State in Winston-Salem on Saturday at 3:30 ET on ESPN. The Seminoles are coming off a bye week and a shutout over the Boston College Eagles 14-0 so they should be fully confident in their ability to beat the 2-2 Demon Deacons. QB Everett Golson has been solid in his first few games with 6 touchdown passes. Florida State’s defense also has been very impressive with only 30 total points against in three games played.

Wake quarterback Hinton spoke about the Florida State defense after practice on Wednesday,

“They’re a great team…they run basic cover one. They trust their athletes and have lots of man coverage.”

Florida State is immensely talented due primarily to great recruiting by Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. It will be a constant struggle for Wake players to keep up or break loose and get away from the coverage. To pull off the upset Wake Forest needs to do everything right. They cannot have turnovers. The deciding touchdown in the Indiana game may have been the interception returned for a touchdown in the early fourth quarter. On the other hand, Wake will need to force some turnovers. They can be a great neutralizer in games like this that seem lopsided. If Florida State is forced into mistakes, the pressure will mount.

Another way the Deacons can get the win is if they can find a way to shorten the game. This philosophy is common among underdogs. If they can keep Florida State off the field by getting third down conversions and keeping drives alive, the Seminoles will not be able to pull away with superior talent or depth. Wake will be able to keep it close and in College Football, anything can happen.

Wake Forest will be back against the wall against Florida State, a team which has dominated the Deacons for the past few years. Wake will need to have everything fall into place and play their best game of the season. If they can do that, they may be able to prove a lot of experts wrong.

Statistics Courtesy of ESPN.com

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About the author
Jordan Hansgen
Wake Forest Student Sports Writer for Vavel.com Analyst on 91.3 FM Buffalo Blitz show