Know the Enemy 2024: Wake Forest Demon Deacon Football

A friend answers our questions

We asked our friend to answer some questions about Wake Forest football, and Adam graciously answered the call to be our go-to expert for the upcoming matchup.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Some answers were edited slightly for clarity. Any additional input provided will be clearly denoted with “WFC:” at the start.

What would you recommend to a traveling Cal fan to get the full Wake Forest gameday experience (include places to go, best traditions, things to eat, etc.) and why? With the "Last Resort" bar dead, where are the best places in town to get a drink that is either terrible or conveniently located?

Wake doesn’t really have any incredibly unique game-day traditions. The school and the city of Winston-Salem recently announced plans to replace some nearby vacant parking lots with a 40,000-square-foot retail village that will feature boutique shops and local regional chef-driven restaurants. Until that is finished in a few years, the best place to go would probably be Putters Patio and Grill, which is about half a mile from Allegacy Stadium.

As new fans to this conference and a first-time matchup, what should we know about Wake Forest? What words would you give to your new ACC brethren? And, are you at all related to the Black Forest? Do you also have a delicious cake?

Wake Forest is the smallest power conference school in the nation with an enrollment of around 5,500 undergraduate students. Because of that, we are a small, but very passionate fanbase. We do not have any delicious cake, but Winston-Salem is the birthplace of Krispy Kreme, so that’s pretty close.

What exactly makes the Demon Deacon demonic? I don't really see anything (sans the motorcycle) that would suggest that he's a demon. Also, how is he still ordained if he's a demon? Will the Demon Deacon administer a wedding between Oski and anyone of his choosing?

He’s definitely more deacon than demon, that’s for sure. The Deacon probably can’t still claim to be officially ordained, as Wake Forest broke their ties with the Baptist Church back in 1986. If he was willing to marry wolves from a rival school, I’m sure he would be happy to marry Oski and anyone of his choosing. 

Wake hasn't had a lot of historical football success, with only a handful of seasons ending in the top 25, so do you guys sit around and make all-time starting 5s (and why is it a 3-guard lineup with Childress, Bogues, and Paul with Josh Howard and Tim Duncan up front)?

Top 25? Wake only has a handful of seasons with a winning conference record since the ACC was started in 1953. Outside of a couple of really good years (2006, 2021), football has mostly just been something to do until basketball season starts. That’s sort of also the case for most of North Carolina. When the calendar hits November on Tobacco Road, unless your football team is really, really good (or the basketball team is really, really bad), it’s basketball time. Personally, I think Rodney Rogers has got to be in the all-time starting 5. 

When was the first time you guys saw the team running the long RPO mesh? What were the initial reactions? And is it still viable for you guys or do you need different dudes running it to make it effective?

It didn’t really happen all at once, the mesh sort of just got progressively longer and longer over the years until it became what it looks like today. Wake is a couple of years removed from the fast-paced, Sam Hartman offenses that could drop 40 points a game on any defense, and it does seem like most of the teams Wake plays regularly have figured out how to defend it now that they've played against it several times. It might be time to go back to the drawing board and come up with another ridiculous-looking offensive style.  

How have injuries affected your season so far? Is there any player you expect to make an impact when they return from injury?

Redshirt Jr WR Donavon Greene, the highest-rated recruit in Wake Forest history, has struggled with a hamstring injury this season and missed the last 4 games. He gives Wake an explosive deep threat on the outside when he plays, but he is listed as questionable for Friday. 

Which player on offense should Cal fans know about?

Running back Demond Claiborne is the best and most important player on the offense this season. The slow mesh can be tough on running backs because they basically get the ball with no momentum, but Claiborne’s ability to get the ball at a standstill surrounded by defenders and somehow turn it into positive yards has really helped the Wake Forest offense this season. The Deacs are 3-0 this season when Claiborne goes for over 100 yards and 1-4 when he is held below the century mark.

Which player on defense should Cal fans know about?

Defensive end Jasheen Davis is probably the guy with the most NFL draft potential. With 7.5 sacks in 2023, he came into the season 5th all-time in Wake Forest history with 20 career sacks. He hasn’t had the best season so far, being held to just 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss, but a lot of that can be attributed to how bad the secondary has been so far this season. As Dave Clawson said a few weeks ago: “Because of the way we've been playing in the secondary, it's hard to have an effective pass rush. We've been playing a little bit loose and soft at the corners and because of that the ball is coming out quickly.” Despite the down year, Davis has all the tools and talent to make things uncomfortable for a quarterback if he is not accounted for. 

Who’s one under-the-radar or X-factor player who could swing this game for you?

Redshirt freshman WR Micah Mays Jr. is a speedy receiver with a ton of potential that has been getting better and better as the season progresses. He’s only caught 12 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown so far this season, but that all came in the past 4 games. He will likely start depending on how Donavon Greene’s hamstring is feeling on Friday. 

What does Wake Forest need to do to win the game?

Run the ball and play better in the red zone. Wake is not a bad passing team by any stretch, but they are definitely at their best when they stay ahead of the chains and don't find themselves in 2nd or 3rd and long situations. Dave Clawson mentioned in his weekly presser that Cal may have the best secondary Wake has played against all year, so I expect that Wake will keep the ball on the ground as much as possible. As far as the red zone goes, the Deacs are scoring touchdowns on a little over 50% of their trips to the red zone, which is one of the worst rates in the nation. With a defense that has not been good against decent offensive teams this season, kicking field goals inside the 20 is probably not going to be enough to get it done.

What does Cal need to do to win the game?

Pass the ball. The Wake secondary lost 3 starters to the NFL (you may know 49ers safety Malik Mustapha) and then Alabama poached expected starter DaShawn Jones in May after the spring game. That left Wake with a ton of inexperienced guys at safety and corner, and the results have been pretty rough. The Deacs are allowing opponents to complete 70% of their passes (132nd out of 134 teams) for 288 passing yards (129th) and 2.1 passing touchdowns (121st) per game. The staff doesn’t really trust the young guys to play aggressively, so Wake has played soft zones with a ton of cushion on almost every play–Cal should be able to get just about whatever they want through the air, especially with an accurate QB like Mendoza. 

How do you see the game going?

The last 2 Wake games have seen the Deacs getting a lead early and then holding on for dear life at the end of the game. I feel confident that Cal is a much better team than UConn or Stanford, so I don’t think that will be the case in this one. Wake’s home-field advantage has been basically null and void this year with their only home win coming against an FCS team, so I think Cal will probably end up winning this one. Hopefully, the Golden Bears’ proclivity to blowing leads late in the game will give Wake a chance at the end. 

We don't condone violence at W4C, but we like this question as an opportunity for folks to air it out. Whom do you most want to punch in the face?

I’ll go with Tommy Elrod, the former Wake radio broadcaster who gave away Wake’s game plans to opposing teams in the Wakey Leaks scandal. Screwing over a place where you played, graduated, coached, and then covered on the radio for reasons no one ever truly figured out is an all-time scumbag move.