WFU defenders not satisfied with their performance

Wake Forest's football team dispersed Saturday and won't reassemble until a weight-lifting session Wednesday. The next practice is not scheduled until Thursday.

How happy the Deacons are to have a holiday -- made possible by this week's open date -- depended on who you talked with after Saturday's harrowing 30-28 home victory over Mississippi.

Coach Jim Grobe has reason to be proud of his team, which improved to 2-0 and remained No. 20 in the AP Top 25 after a last-minute drive that produced Sam Swank's winning field goal with three seconds left.

And he knows that the Deacons can benefit from the time off.

"Unbelievably we're a pretty beat-up football team," Grobe said. "I'm not talking about serious injuries. We're blessed to not have anybody seriously hurt.

"We had a lot of guys who had nicks out there. It'll be good for us to get the next three or four days to where we can just let these guys rehabilitate and get well."

But the game against Ole Miss hadn't been over for more than an hour before linebacker Aaron Curry expressed an anxiousness to get back on the field. The Deacons' defense hasn't played as well as Curry expected in its first two games, and Curry said that now is the time to do something about it.

The Rebels out-gained the Deacons 360 yards to 348, but more alarming to Curry was the way they rode the hot hand of quarterback Jevan Snead 80 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:01 left.

The Deacons have allowed 41 points in their first two games, more than Curry can accept.

"A lot of us right now are kind of disappointed at how we performed," Curry said. "Not only because it was such a big day for Wake Forest athletics and Wake Forest football. But for our defense, we're not satisfied with the way we played.

"We gave up too many big plays. They had really good athletes, but I felt like we matched up pretty well. And they made the big plays that we weren't making, and it was frustrating.

"We're all a little frustrated right now.'

Curry's critique only emphasizes how high the standards are for a defense that returned nine starters from last year and routinely starts eight seniors and three juniors. Sophomore Michael Carter started instead of junior Boo Robinson at defensive tackle against Ole Miss, but that was because Robinson had been limited in practice by a sprained ankle.

Robinson replaced Carter on Ole Miss' second offensive play.

"As a defense we want to be the best defense in the nation," cornerback Brandon Ghee said. "And to be able to see 28 points on the scoreboard and (knowing) they had a fourth-and-2 and scored, that's very disappointing."

The Rebels converted what was actually a fourth-and-3 on Snead's 5-yard touchdown pass. But Grobe can take comfort in knowing that not many of the quarterbacks the Deacons will face this season are as good as Snead, a transfer from Texas who ducked and dodged the rush well enough to complete 20 of 31 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns and to avoid being sacked.

Wake Forest's next opponent, Florida State, remains unsettled at quarterback since Coach Bobby Bowden opened the competition to include incumbent Drew Weatherford and sophomores Christian Ponder and D'Vontrey Richardson.

Ponder started in Saturday's 69-0 victory over Western Carolina and completed 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns and had three runs for 39 yards. Richardson was 5 of 6 passing 57 yards and a touchdown, but he really caught Bowden's eye with four carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns.

Weatherford, who has started 33 games, played sparingly, completing 1 of 2 passes for 18 yards. Weatherford has completed 635 of 1,107 passes for 7,427 yards but has gained only 65 yards on 142 career carries.

"I'm sure ability to run the football is what Jimbo was looking for," Bowden said Sunday, referring to offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher. "That's what offensive football is going to nowadays, a quarterback that can move. That's creating a lot of problems for everybody."

Ponder is expected to start Saturday's home game against Tennessee-Chattanooga. Then on Sept. 20, FSU will play a Wake Forest team that is undefeated yet unimpressed with its most recent effort.

"The scoreboard said we won, but deep down in our hearts, we know that wasn't our best performance," Curry said. "And we've got to get better."

■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.