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Wake Forest finishes season strong, defeats Missouri in Gasparilla Bowl

Sam Hartman became the ACC record holder for career touchdown passes on his way to being named Gasparilla Bowl MVP

Essex Thayer

Wake Forest finishes season strong, defeats Missouri in Gasparilla Bowl
Wake Forest finishes season strong, defeats Missouri in Gasparilla Bowl /

With a final knee, Sam Hartman and the Wake Forest offense put a tumultuous season to bed on a high note, defeating Missouri 27-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl. For a team that began the season 6-1, and then closed the regular season on a 1-4 losing skid, getting win No. 8 and a trophy is special.

“It is a credit to the players on this team to finish the regular season the way we did, but then [to] come back and beat an SEC team to win a bowl game is a big deal,” head coach Dave Clawson said after the game. “The season ended the way we wanted, with a bowl championship.”

READ: Game Summary - Wake Forest defeats Missouri 27-17 in Gasparilla Bowl

In his final game with the Demon Deacons, Hartman passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns, good for MVP honors. His first score of the night, a five-yard pass to Taylor Morin, gave the fifth-year quarterback sole possession of the ACC passing touchdown record.

But the record isn’t what stuck out to Hartman. In fact, it was the final moments of the game — taking the last snap and kneeling the game out with his teammates next to him.

“It was very cool,” Hartman said. “Seeing the guys celebrate. I get a lot of the press and I get a lot of the pictures, but I could not do it without everyone [around me]. Every single day they make it worth taking the hits and doing everything else.”

Along with Morin, who finished with two scores, A.T. Perry proved to be Hartman’s top target. In what will likely be his final game with Wake Forest, Perry put forth a fitting swan song, catching 11 Hartman passes — a new Gasparilla Bowl record — for 116 yards.

For the majority of the first half, the Wake Forest offense controlled the game, opening with the Hartman-to-Morin touchdown. Then, they marched 63 yards on eight plays for another score — a goal-line rush by Justice Ellison — to take a 14-3 lead.

On the cusp of putting Missouri flat on their backs — driving with an opportunity to take a 21-3 lead — Wake Forest faltered, and the Tigers jumped right back into the game. On what appeared to be an offsides just outside the red zone, Hartman took a shot to the end zone. He was picked off, the flag wasn’t thrown and Missouri took over.

READ: Live Updates - Wake Forest Football vs Missouri

Seven plays and 80 yards later, the Tigers were in the end zone and trailing by just three.

But, in the second half, the Wake Forest defense became the dominant side of the ball, holding Missouri to just one scoring drive. Following a touchdown drive in the middle of the third quarter, the Deacons’ final five drives on defense consisted of two forced punts and three turnovers-on-downs.

The defensive showing especially highlighted the departing seniors. Linebacker Ryan Smenda registered 11 tackles and Tyler Williams nabbed two sacks. In his final game with Wake Forest, Kobie Turner added his first sack as a Deac.

“We definitely started to gain a little bit of confidence as the game went on,” Turner said. “It started to get really surreal. We have 30 minutes left for the rest of a lot of our careers. We just kind of locked in, started clicking. Once you start something, it's really hard to stop it. I started making some plays and it just rolled from there. When you have that momentum on your side — we have that energy — it's hard to stop.”

Still, Wake Forest needed points. In just four plays, the Deacs regained the lead on a 48-yard catch-and-score by Jahmal Banks.

Then, in the team’s final true drive of the season, Hartman found a way to put the game away. Following an 11-yard pass and a key 15-yard keeper, the redshirt junior and the Deacs scored one final time. Hartman found Morin for a 16-yard TD, sealing the bowl victory.

“I've definitely had some let downs and some bad games,” Hartman said. “You always look back at your career and I'd honestly look back and say some of the biggest ones are the big losses and the ones where I really struggled and let a lot of people down. So one for my defense to have my back and then to be able to go down there and score was a weight off my shoulders.”

It wasn’t just Hartman that felt how momentous that moment was in the context of the 2022 season. For a team that had struggled mightily in one-score games all year, closing with a touchdown drive to secure the win meant a great deal.

READ: "Let's not pretend there's rules" - Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson on the transfer portal

“I think we all felt it,” Clawson said. “Here’s a chance to step up and right some wrongs, and we did that.”

In short, despite everything that was disappointing in Wake Forest’s 2022 season — namely the losses — the team finished the way they wanted to. And, they did it together.

“I’m really proud,” Clawson said. “I think, in 80% of the programs, the guy to my right and the guy to my left probably opt out. We finished. Our whole football team finished. Guys don't opt out here. Our best players played. I think there's going to be a little bit of a narrative that it was a disappointing season. And I take pride that 8-5 is now disappointing at Wake Forest. That we've changed the standard.”

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Essex Thayer
ESSEX THAYER

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.

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