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Straining: Deacs try to stay above water
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Quarterback Riley Skinner says that the Deacons’ backs are “touching the wall.”
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Published: November 12, 2009
The drizzle started at Clemson a month ago, and then came the Navy flood. The rain keeps falling on Wake Forest's football team even when the sun shines.
Four straight losses turned another ACC division race into quack soup. Four straight losses turned the extensive bowl menu into an unappetizing ultimatum: Win the rest, or else.
On the eve of his final home game, quarterback Riley Skinner, manages an ironic smile.
"Our backs keep getting put closer and closer against the wall," Skinner said. "Now, our backs are literally touching the wall. Surprisingly enough, in the last couple of years we have lost some tough games, and I think our team's really had a hard time bouncing back sometimes. It sounds odd to say we've bounced back really well when we've lost the last four games, but we really have in terms of the way we've practiced, the way we've prepared and the way we've come out and played on Saturday."
Coach Jim Grobe concurs. While chasing a fourth straight bowl, the Deacons (4-6) have lost five games by a field goal or less, surpassing the dubious school record (1980). "I'm trying to keep our head above water right now," Grobe said.
During this week's storm-driven deluge, that's hard to do. The campaign will come into sharper focus at noon Saturday when flailing Florida State (4-5) shows up for its own version of Save Our Ship, with defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews bound for retirement and some disgusted boosters insisting that Coach Bobby Bowden join him.
The Seminoles need two wins out of the Wake Forest-Maryland-Florida lineup for bowl qualification. They will start freshman E.J. Manuel at quarterback instead of injured Christian Ponder, the league's top passer and the guy who sometimes offset a porous defense (37 points, 460 yards allowed per ACC game).
A fourth straight win over the Seminoles would leave Wake Forest with a weekend off before the Nov. 28 bus ride to Duke. Skinner senses the downcast mood among fans but sees the rain gauge as half full.
"I just really hope our fans don't give up on us yet, because there's still hope for the season," Skinner said. He told Athletics Director Ron Wellman that senior players would send a campus-wide e-mail conveying that message to students and staff.
"If this was a team that had thrown in the towel and was going through the motions, that would be a concern," Wellman said. "But I don't see that on this team at all."
Five losses by 13 total points would drain just about anyone, but center Russell Nenon leaves the woe and pity cards at the bottom of the deck. "We've gotten some tough breaks, but that's our fault," he said. "We shouldn't be in that situation."
Some consistent threads emerge when a team gives up 30 points in the average ACC game and never prevents an ACC opponent from scoring in the 20-yard red zone (18 touchdowns, four field goals in 22 chances). Grobe cites the departures of pro linebacker Aaron Curry and cornerback Alphonso Smith. The Deacons forced 37 turnovers in 2008 but have only 17 this year.
"I think part of it is, we don't have a big-play guy on the defensive side of the ball right now," Grobe said.
"Of course, we've had a couple of those guys for a few years, but we're just not making big plays, especially down the stretch. That's been our issue. I think we're a pretty good football team that needs a few more big plays."
They need them in a hurry.
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