I will say this -- Wake Forest's football team does have respect, they just don't have the win they should have had. By that, I mean Saturday's loss to Clemson is one of those that stays with you awhile.
The Deacons had heavily-favored Clemson on their heels for three quarters but couldn't hold it, and they have themselves to blame. That botched field-goal attempt that the Tigers' big Gaines Adams turned into a momentum-turning 66-yard touchdown run shouldn't have happened. It was a huge mistake on a play that was about to put the Deacons up by three scores early in the fourth quarter. Until that mistake of mistakes on the botched field goal attempt, Wake Forest had completely befuddled Clemson. But all the Tigers needed was that opening and they clawed their way through it shredding the Deacons in the process.
Wake Forest is wel- coached and plays hard and usually smart, but just like other Deacon teams, they wear down as the game progresses. Against a bigger stronger foe, that takes its toll. It has in years' past, and it did again Saturday and probably will again as the season wears on and the competition gets tougher.
Many think Clemson right now is the ACC's best team, and they may be. They have impressive offensive weapons, but the Tigers are banged up with injuries on both sides of the ball. But all teams need a little luck to make some breaks, and Clemson got a big break and made the most of it, and that's why they're still in the ACC's Atlantic Division race.
For Wake Forest, they do have respect. How can you not respect a team that gets the most out of the talent they have and that always competes to the final play? But the schedule gets harder and they will need the cushion of that 5-0 start.
I don't think really anyone thought Carolina would go to Miami and win. Not that Miami is all that good, but Carolina certainly isn't. I will say they played harder and the intensity was there, but the mistakes and poor execution were also there and after five games it doesn't take a genius to know that the Tar Heels just aren't very good. They could turn it around because there are winnable games left, but that said, time is running out on a mistake-prone team that not only has trouble scoring, but keeping the other team from scoring. The seat is getting hotter for Coach John Bunting. Think how hot it will be next week if Carolina doesn't beat South Florida at home on Saturday.
By the way, Miami is not the Miami of old, but how about less than 30,000 people at the game? What's with that? The ACC wanted to expand for big-time football. Big-time football fills up stadiums.
Coaches will tell you there are no moral victories, but I have to think that the way Duke played at Alabama was a moral victory. I was watching the movie Castaway (my wife loves that movie) and listening to the game. Couldn't believe Duke was ahead at halftime, nobody could believe Duke was ahead at halftime. Having seen Duke in that horrendous loss to Virginia, I wasn't sure they'd score the rest of the season, much less lead Alabama at halftime. I think Alabama probably wasn't all that excited going into this game, but I also think that Duke was and they were ready to play. At least this proves Duke is not going to mail it in, and who knows -- maybe there will be a win somewhere down the road. They're a young team that obviously wants to get better and to be coached. They have back-to-back home dates coming up with Florida State and Miami, which won't be easy but certainly not as scary as first thought.
The preseason picks to play in the ACC championship game were Florida State and Miami. Here it is moving to mid-October, and the chances are good that neither one will make it to Jacksonville (well, Miami has a better chance than FSU.) Wouldn't that be something? How about N.C. State and Georgia Tech in Jacksonville? Don't laugh, it could happen in an ACC season that is standing out only for its mediocrity.
I'm not at all surprised that a sick and injured East Carolina team dominated Virginia. Skip Holtz has them believing again, and I've seen that Virginia and the Cavaliers are terrible in a 37-0 win. It's fun to have ECU back. There will be a huge test for them Saturday hosting defending Conference USA champion Tulsa.
