It is becoming crunch time for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. They are now 0-2 in conference play and 2-3 on the year. They are now coming off a loss to the Florida State Seminoles, a game in which they were given no chance, but fought hard throughout and had an opportunity to tie the game in the final minute. Kendall Hinton turned the ball over after overthrowing TE Cam Serigne in the endzone. After such a difficult loss, the Deacons have the tough task of having a short memory and will play Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA.
Head Coach Dave Clawson has made it clear that when John Wolford is ready, he will start. He played a bit in the Florida State game when Kendall Hinton got banged up. When Wolford was starting, he was 9th in the NCAA in passing yards before he was injured. Hinton has played well in Wolford’s absence, but the passing attack did get more limited. Hinton is faster and has better ability running the football, but Wolford’s arm is a bit stronger at this stage and the passing attack is more open with him under center. Wake Forest has the ability to use either quarterback against Boston College, which can make the Eagles preparation more difficult.
For Boston College, they are a running football team and they do not hide it. They have 11 rushing touchdowns on the year with only five passing touchdowns and 236 total rushes compared to just 90 passing attempts. The Wake Forest front seven will have a lot of work to do to stop the Boston College running back group.
The Eagles are 3-2 on the season, but like Wake Forest they are 0-2 in the ACC following losses to Florida State and Duke. In those games the Eagles only scored seven points. While the Wake Forest defense has weakened a bit since last season, they may not have much trouble with Boston College.
The weather for the game should be very mild and pleasant. This could give more of an edge to Wake Forest, who would rather pass more than run, while Boston College would be fine playing a conservative running game with bad weather.
The Deacons game plan will be subject to change depending on who is in at quarterback. Boston College has to worry about the abilities of both Hinton and Wolford, both have shown they can be effective. The Eagles will be trying to run the ball well to keep the Deacons off the field and keep them out of a rhythm. If they can do that, Wake Forest will be in for another uphill battle in ACC conference play and could struggle to get any offense against the stout Eagle defense.