2016 Season Preview: Sept. 24th Wake Forest Demon Deacons
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Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Week Four: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Date and Time: Saturday, September 24 TBD
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN (Capacity 52,929)
TV: TBD
Demon Deacons at a Glace
Head Coach: Dave Clawson
- 17th year as a head coach, 3rd at Wake
- Overall Record (96-97)
- At Wake (6-18)
- Last Year: 3-9 (1-7)
Demon Deacon Returning Leaders
Passing: John Wolford (60.7 Comp pct. 1,791 Yards, 9 TDs, 11 Int)
Rushing: Kendall Hinton (76 Att. 478 Yards, 7 TD, 6.13 YPC)
Receiving: Cortez Lewis (47 Rec. 611 Yards, 4 TDs)
Defender: Brad Watson (CB 59.5 Tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2 Int, 16 PBUs)
Preseason Predictions
Athlon: 5th in the ACC Atlantic
Lindy’s: 7th in the ACC Atlantic
Phil Steele: TBD
Sporting News: 6th in the ACC Atlantic
Why the Demon Deacons Will Win
When Wake Forest comes to Bloomington they’ll be looking for revenge after suffering a 31-24 loss in this match-up a season ago. While Wake did finish 2015 3-9 with only a lone ACC victory, they did put a scare into a few teams including Florida State and Louisville.
The Demon Deacons return both quarterbacks who played last year in John Wolford and Kendall Hinton. Both bring different skill sets, but Wake coach Dave Clawson has made it clear that he does not want to run a two-quarterback system. Wolford is the better passer, completing just over 60 percent of his passes, while Hinton is the team’s returning leading rusher after going for 478 yards and seven scores in 2015 while averaging 6.13 yards per carry.
If Wake is going to come into Bloomington and grab a win it will be because of experience on offense and a solid defense. They return nine of 11 starters on offensive side of the ball. Even though they were atrocious in the run game last year, a seasoned offensive line should be better against the young, unproven defensive line.
Wake Forest is better known for their strong defense and their units ranked no lower than 52nd nationally in the major defensive statistics. The Wake defensive line should be a good test for the highly touted Hoosier O-line as they retrun defensive ends Duke Ejiofor and Wendell Dunn who combined for 47 tackles, 15 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks. If these two can get through the IU line it could be a long day for whoever is under center for the Hoosiers. Wake also returns the ACC leader in passes broken up in Brad Watson (16 PBUs). Watson, a year older, could turn some close calls into more interceptions. Hybrid safety Ryan Javion (who fell victim to a Jordan Howard power run), 54 tackles, also returns to make this defense extremely formidable.
History is also not on the Hoosiers side. Indiana Has not defeated a Power-Five opponent at home since 2014 when they knocked off Purdue in the season finale and have not beaten a non-conference Power-Five opponent at home since 2005 when they knocked off Kentucky.
Why the Hoosiers Will Win
The 2015 edition of this game was not as close as the 31-24 final score indicates. Indiana held a 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter and it took Wake Forest a couple fluke plays, an onside kick, and an ankle injury to Nate Sudfeld to get that close.
Indiana will also be coming off an open week, where the staff can work on any issues that may arise in the first two weeks.
Between the lines the Hoosiers are the more talented team on paper. Wake Forest just does not have the talent across the board that IU does and we saw that for 3.5 quarters last season. Even though the Hoosiers lose bruising running back Jordan Howard, who ran over and through the Wake defense, they return a line that should pave the way for Devine Redding and company. The Hoosiers passing game will be tough to defend as well if the Deacons cannot get a rush on the quarterback. IU is loaded at the receiver position and Wake doesn’t have enough defensive backs to stay with them all day.
Last season, the Hoosiers kept Kendall Hinton in check for the most part and put a tremendous amount of pressure on the freshman. While Wake Forest does return four out of five starting lineman, it may not necessarily be a good thing for them. The Deacs were absolutely dreadful in both the run game and in offensive line play and by game three the Hoosier defensive line should be getting their sea legs. The bottom line is Wake Forest does not have the fire power offensively or enough game changers on defense to close the talent gap with IU.
Finally, the history of Power-Five is a little misleading. IU has not won a Power-Five non-conference home game since '05, but they have only played two other Power-Five programs at home during that time (Virginia in '11 and Missouri in '13), so 0-2 isn't the drought that it seems to be.
Final Analysis
Indiana needs this win before heading into a nine-game Big Ten schedule. Wake Forest and Indiana are perfect foes for each other. It’s a winnable Power-Five match-up for both schools and while it may not jump off the page, a win in this game carries a little more clout than beating a directional MAC school. Playing at home and coming off an open week will give the Hoosiers the edge they need to get by the Demon Deacons and enter Big Ten play with some momentum.