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Deacons' season on line today
Victory over Boston College is essential for any hope of winning division
Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman
Coach Jim Grobe of Wake Forest says he’s really going to miss this class of seniors.
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Published: November 22, 2008
There have been Wake Forest teams with better offensive lines and more big-play threats at the skill positions. And with kicker Sam Swank missing the past six games, there have been some with better special teams.
But few have had more to play for than the one that will still be chasing a division crown when it meets Boston College at 3:30 today at BB&T Field.
Swank, the Deacons' all-time leader in field goals and points, has recovered from a pulled quadriceps that marred his final season. Coach Jim Grobe said it remains to be seen what Swank's role will be today.
"I'd love to see him kick again," Grobe said. "I think the crowd would get a kick out of it too."
Swank and 15 others will be honored on Senior Day, moved up a week because next Saturday's regular-season finale against Vanderbilt will fall on Thanksgiving break.
"It's a really talented senior class," Grobe said. "Some of the best players we've had in school history are in this class.
"It's not only a class with some individually talented players, but a class with just some really good guys -- guys we have enjoyed that we are going to really, really miss."
With one more victory, the Deacons will give themselves a crack at a division title and a second appearance in the ACC championship game in three years. Even with a victory, Wake Forest needs Maryland to lose its final two ACC games -- at home tonight against Florida State and at BC next weekend.
Despite all the convergence of emotional impulses, Grobe said he has no concerns about his team not being focused on the task at hand.
"I think Boston College will take care of that," Grobe said. "The (players) are looking at the same film that we're looking at, so they know what's in store -- a really good football team coming to town."
The Eagles, despite losing three of their first five ACC games, moved back into contention for an Atlantic Division title after winning 27-17 last week at Florida State. Their fate, unlike that of Wake Forest's, is still in their hands.
If BC beats Wake Forest today and Maryland next week, it will play Dec. 6 in Tampa, Fla., the conference title and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
Coach Jeff Jagodzinski has built his second team at BC around one of the nation's strongest defenses. The Eagles rank eighth in the nation in total defense, fifth in pass-efficiency defense, ninth in rushing defense and 14th in scoring defense.
"BC's defense is stingy -- they're good," quarterback Riley Skinner of Wake Forest said. "It's just a typical Boston College defense. They'll hit you in the mouth.
"They're not like a lot of teams we play in this conference, where they give you a million different coverages and looks and fronts and blitzes. They do base stuff. But the problem is they probably do it better than anybody in the conference. And that's some of the toughest defenses you've got to play against, ones that don't screw up.
"This team does not screw up, and they make you screw up. So that's going to be the biggest test for us, the turnover battle."
Ron Brace and B.J. Raji, two of the ACC's best tackles, anchor the Eagles' defense. Brace is a 6-3, 324-pound sophomore. Raji is a 6-1, 323-pound senior.
"It starts with those two inside tackles," Grobe said. "They're really good players, real physical and very agile guys.
"That's the unusual thing. A lot of times you see a guy who's 330 pounds down inside. You very rarely see two of them. They've got two of those guys. And then when you watch them get off blocks, chase the football, push the pocket on throws, they're two impressive players."
The difference in BC from earlier in the season has been the play of quarterback Chris Crane, a fifth-year senior who had to bide his time until Matt Ryan -- last year's ACC player of the year -- graduated and left for the NFL. Crane leads the ACC with 13 interceptions, but has thrown only one in the last three games against Clemson, Notre Dame and Florida State.
"He's a big guy so he sees his targets really well," Grobe said of the 6-4, 239-pound Crane. "He's got a really strong arm.
"If you're going to press their receivers, they're going to try to get behind you. And he does a really nice job of managing the underneath stuff, picking the open targets and making first downs.
"If you watch early film and late film, you're impressed with how much they've improved."
■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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