Wake Forest poised for another solid run
The return of head coach Jim Grobe, who once again turned away offers from higher profile programs, was all that was needed to feel good about the upcoming season.
Now Wake Forest hasn’t just become a player in the ACC, but it has become the model for every small, strong academic private school trying to bust through in a big conference.
There’s hope for you yet, Baylor.
Keep on trucking, Duke.
You’ll get back there Stanford.
Yeah, Stanford got to a Rose Bowl within the last decade and Northwestern has had success here and there, but Wake Forest has found a way to get the job done without gimmicks and without any fluke factor involved. It’s been simple: Run the ball, get great special teams, win the turnover battle and let the other team screw up. Grobe has it working.
To put this in perspective, the 20 wins over the last two years are as many as the program came up with from 2002 to 2005. It’s not like things were ever awful under Grobe, but the team wasn’t like this.
The coaching staff’s knack for taking marginal high school linemen and molding them into consistent producers will be tested this fall as the Deacons lose four starters on the offensive line and two on defense. But true to the recent formula of success, there should be a steady running game, efficient passing from Riley Skinner and a vastly underrated and athletic defensive back seven.
foxsports.com
7/7/08
