Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Duke Blue Devils Preview
The season comes to an end for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons tomorrow as they head down Tobacco Road to face their rivals in the Duke Blue Devils. The Demon Deacons are the underdogs in this matchup, but they have one thing over the Blue Devils. They beat the Hokies of Virginia Tech and Duke did not. That should give the Blue Devils a slight feeling of caution as the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season rolls to an end.
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Date: November 29
Time: 7:00 PM
TV: ESPNU
Venue: Wallace Wade Stadium
Last Time: 2013
A ranked Duke team had to fight off a feisty Wake Forest squad behind the arm of quarterback Anthony Boone. Wake took an early 14-0 lead, but Duke found some targets to tie it up at the half. The second Jamison Crowder touchdown restored the tie to 21-21 in the third, before Brandon Connette punched it in from three yards for what would prove to be the winning margin.
Nov 20, 2014; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Jamison Crowder (3) pulls in a pass against North Carolina Tar Heels safety Sam Smiley (3) in their game at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Keys for Duke (8-3):
Play keep away – Don’t turn the ball over. The Wake offense has shown little ability to win a game on their own this year. Duke has played its best ball when it has kept it.
Run the ball – The Wake Forest defense is weakest at the line. Throwing at Kevin Johnson or Ryan Janvion is asking for something bad to happen. Use that offensive line to grind your way up the field.
Keep them guessing – Having Boone run or go play action or some other thing will stretch the Wake defense and force them to play more people to respond. There is not a lot of depth there yet.
Nov 22, 2014; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback John Wolford (10) looks to pass the ball during the fourth quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies at BB&T Field. Wake defeated Virginia Tech 6-3 in two overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Keys for Wake Forest (3-8):
Stop the run – Wake needs to use its defensive effort to get Duke off their game and force Boone to make throws. At least one of those throws should end up going the other way.
Cover Jamison Crowder – And not just when he is lined up at wide receiver. Wake may need to rely on field position and a big Crowder punt return could break any carefully worked on plan to have the Wake offense start in good spots.
Clean sheet – Wake cannot afford to give Duke the ball at any time. They will have to keep fumbles and John Wolford’s interceptions to a minimum.