NO KNOTHEADS: Grobe, in face of high expectations, put WFU through grueling preseason camp

In Coach Jim Grobe's world, a road game is about the game and not the road.

That's why Wake Forest will open a season of unmatched promise tonight in Waco, Texas, where Air Force One lands on President Bush's trips to the Crawford ranch and Baylor University's 14,000 students spread out on a 735-acre campus.

Comedian Steve Martin was born there (and moved to California six years later). Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Simpson and LaDainian Tomlinson grew up there. Musicians Ted Nugent and Billy Joe Shaver live there, and Willie Nelson attended Baylor classes for a year (or less).

Most adults remember the 1993 shootout between federal agents and the Branch Davidians sect because 74 people died in the gunfire and the fire. Almost nobody remembers that Waco soda jerks invented two soft drinks: Dr Pepper and Big Red (which was originally called Sun Tang Red Cream Soda).

The city, located halfway between Austin and Dallas, has 114,000 residents and one Texas Rangers museum. Cornerback Alphonso Smith has never been to Waco.

"This is probably my first time and last time," Smith said. "I'm expecting to watch film all day and get ready for the football game."

Linebacker Aaron Curry checked out a weather Web site and saw a predicted high of 97 degrees. The forecast is for 92 degrees at kickoff (8:10 EDT).

"I think we'll be fine," Curry said. "Camp was extremely hot."

Grobe intensified the August heat with one of his two toughest training camps in eight Wake Forest seasons.

"We might have worked that very first team harder just because I was trying to run everybody off," he said, chuckling. "I felt sorry for some of those guys. We didn't know who the knotheads were, so we just assumed everybody was."

The knothead population has declined steadily, and the veteran population has grown immensely through redshirting, the practice of holding freshmen out of immediate action to preserve their eligibility another year. The depth chart for the Baylor game lists 19 of 22 starters and kicker Sam Swank as juniors or older.

With talent and maturity levels at record highs, Wake Forest ranks No. 23 in the preseason AP poll. The foremost ACC media poll picked the Deacons second in the Atlantic Division, but the schedule and Clemson's recent pattern of busted dreams should flip that.

In the revised prospectus, Wake Forest should win at Florida State (before 10 Seminoles come off suspensions in an academic scandal). Wake Forest should beat Clemson in Winston-Salem and knock off Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game (sponsored by Dr Pepper). That triple play would deliver the second Orange Bowl bid in three seasons.

Smith recites the coaching dictum that Wake Forest sets an undefeated season as the first goal but knows that it could win or lose any game. The schedule includes nonconference home games against Mississippi, Navy and Vanderbilt but doesn't include favorite Virginia Tech or North Carolina from the Coastal Division.

The tangible possibilities still astonish senior Curry, who waited until one day before the spring deadline to remove his name from the NFL Draft picture.

"It seems much more realistic now than when I first got here," Curry said. "As a freshman, if somebody at Wake had said they wanted to win the ACC title, it was like speaking Spanish. Nobody believed that Wake could do it. Now that people believe we can do it, we've got to own up to it."

Quarterback Riley Skinner can throw to a wider array of receivers (although someone will have to break the ACC record to surpass departed Kenny Moore). Runner Josh Adams can count on backup support as the coaches work new players into the offensive line.

With nine starters back -- all with at least three practice years behind them -- the turnover-hungry defense could develop into a voracious force under coordinator Brad Lambert, promoted when aggressive Dean Hood took the top job at Eastern Kentucky. Smith and Curry landed on prominent All-America checklists, but Curry tells outsiders that middle linebacker Stanley Roux is the best defender.

Kicker Swank adds another reason for opening-night exuberance. Where Wake Forest ends up will hinge on the common football variables of injuries and turnovers.

The road to somewhere begins at Baylor, a Big 12 school typically bereft of much Big 12 talent. The Bears have lost eight straight games. Since the league was formed by merging four Southwest teams with the Big Eight, Baylor has won 11 conference games in 12 seasons. Hence, another new coach will make his debut tonight, Art Briles (34-28 at previously woeful Houston).

Back in November 2002, Baylor wanted to hire Grobe, who really could have been "The Waco Kid." Instead, he intends to serve as sheriff of the day for just one day and take a charter flight home.

■ Lenox Rawlings can be reached at lrawlings@wsjournal.com.