Dave Clawson Talks Florida State Win, Previews Army
After the demoralizing double overtime loss to Clemson, questions arose as to whether Wake Forest would respond the right way against Florida State. Vegas reacted by making the Seminoles touchdown favorites. The Deacs responded firmly, and dominated the Seminoles for much of the game on the way to a 31-21 victory. According to head coach Dave Clawson, those kinds of performances make traveling home rather enjoyable.
“When those games are over, you don’t fly home,” he said. “You float home.”
“That was a tough, gritty, ACC road win,” Clawson continued. “Sometimes, when you win, you’re relieved. That game was pure joy. I think that was one of the biggest wins we’ve had here. So much of it was because of the circumstances. We just came off a tough loss to Clemson and were on the road in a very tough environment to play against an undefeated ACC team that we have a lot of respect for.”
In the fourth quarter against the Seminoles, the Demon Deacons embarked on an 18-play, 66-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock.
“Some of the plays we made on that drive — the [interception saving] catch by Ke’Shawn [Willams], some of Sam [Hartman’s] throws, the runs by Christian Turner — there were so many gut check moments in that game,” Clawson said. “Fortunately, we made those plays.”
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One of the plays that fell into the background on that drive, but perhaps most important, came from redshirt freshman Matthew Dennis. His field goal gave Wake Forest a 10-point lead that was the final nail in Florida State’s coffin.
“Matt Dennis hitting that field goal after his first career miss, he’s only a redshirt freshman,” Clawson said. “He had his first taste of failure in a game, and on the very next kick, with the game on the line, he kicked it right through. I thought that showed very good character.”
Throughout the win, the shifting of players defensively was notable, especially on the defensive line. Despite Tyler Williams and Dion Bergan Jr. starting at tackle, Kobie Turner (38) and Kevin Pointer (20) saw significant snaps. Behind starters Jacorey Johns and Rondell Bothroyd at end, Jasheen Davis (38), Kendron Wayman (12) and Bernard Gooden (10) all played.
“We’re playing nine guys every game,” he said. “We’re rolling them all in there. It keeps guys fresh, keeps guys healthy. I think that’s one of the biggest differences on defense is that we have depth on the line. And when you can constantly roll guys in there who are fresh, you can be a lot more disruptive.”
That phenomenon is occurring at linebacker too. Though Ryan Smenda and Chase Jones are the clear starters, Dylan Hazen and Jaylen Hudson have entered the fold. Hudson, who forced a critical fumble, garnered a 98.4 grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest on Wake’s defense on Saturday.
Against Army, Wake’s improvement on defense will be vital; they gave up 595 yards and 56 points to the Black Knights in last year’s game. The expectation cannot be for the Deacs to score 70 points again; the defense must be better, but doing so is easier said than done.
“I just watched last year’s game,” Clawson mentioned. “My heart started beating [hard] again. That was one of the most torturous games I’ve ever been through. We just couldn't get a stop.”
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“[Army's offense] stresses every single part of your defense,” he continued. “The midline, the veer, all the different traps they run, when you’re the defensive lineman, your head is on a swivel. You don’t know where [the blocks] are coming from. The guards lie to you, the fullback lies to you.”
The Deacs had an extra week to prepare for Army last season coming off of a bye. This year, the bye week comes just days too late. That puts even more stress and importance on the preparation that the offensive scout team provides to prepare the defense.
“It’s so important, and they’re doing a good job,” Clawson said. “We worked on [the Army offense] in the spring and in fall camp. The scout team’s been practicing it every other Sunday since we started the season. We know that even if [the scout team] does a great job, it’s not going to be the same as what we’re going to see on Saturday.”
Some may see this game as a break in the schedule. At 1-3, with bad losses to Georgia State and UTSA, the Black Knights are a step down from the opponents Wake has played over the past two weeks. Regardless, the Deacs deeply respect Army, and every game matters.
“This program and these players are used to winning,” Clawson said. “They are extremely resilient football players. We want to be nationally ranked, we want to have double digit wins, we want to go to a new year six bowl game, those are all goals of ours. Every single game plays into those goals. We only get 12, and they’re all really important. They all count as one.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm on Saturday.
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Essex is the lead football writer and a managing editor for Deacons Daily. Essex served as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black for two years, in addition to roles as a beat and feature writer.