The Wake Forest Demon Deacons went into their game Saturday against the 11th ranked Florida State Seminoles as huge underdogs. The Seminoles were coming off a bye week and solid win over the Boston College Eagles. The weather was not great and it was going to be a challenge just to keep it close.  The Deacons proved however that they can hang in tough games against the best in the NCAA as they nearly came back against Florida State. They fell at the end by a score of 24-16.

It seemed like the game was going to end up as the experts predicted early as FSU RB Dalvin Cook broke a 94-yard touchdown run halfway through the first quarter. The Demon Deacons however responded with a solid drive of their own which ended in a field goal. Florida State would score again to take a 14-3 lead to test the Deacons’ resolve, but once again Wake Forest would respond. This time is was a touchdown pass to Cam Serigne. This pass was even more significant as it ended a 13-quarter touchdown-less streak for Wake Forest against Florida State. The streak dated back to 2011.

Florida State would hold a 14-10 lead at the half, but would expand the lead with a Kermit Whitfield touchdown reception and Roberto Aguayo 25-yard field goal in the third quarter to push the lead to 24-10. This is normally the point when underdogs realize they cannot win and give up, allowing for the powerhouse team to pull away in the fourth quarter and rout the lower ranked squad.

The young Deacons would not let that happen. In the fourth quarter, they would add two field goals to cut the lead to 8. Florida State got the ball back, but after just one first down they were stopped and forced to punt to the Deacons.

With 1:42 left on the clock, freshman QB Kendall Hinton and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons started a drive to attempt to tie the game against the Florida State Seminoles. A few big pass plays and conversions coupled with a personal foul, pushed Wake to the FSU 20. Hinton then threw a deep out to Serigne which was incomplete. On the very next play, Hinton overthrew Serigne up the middle and Tyler Hunter made a beautiful diving interception in the endzone to put the game out of reach with 0:21 left on the clock.

For the second straight game, Wake Forest had a chance to tie in the final minutes, but for the second straight time, they fell just short. They fell after this game to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 in ACC conference play. The Everett Golson-led Seminoles were not strong on offense, but they waded through the tumult to keep their ranking intact. However, they lost star RB Dalvin Cook to a leg injury, and he will be out for an undisclosed period of time.

WF has to turn their attention to the Boston College Eagles, while the Seminoles will host Miami next week.