This Week’s Game
On the opening night of major college football around the nation, in front of a national audience, Wake
Forest kicks off the 2005 season at Groves Stadium against Vanderbilt. The game is set for Thursday,
September 1 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU, the first Division I football game to air on the infant network.
Wake Forest is a perfect 4-0 in home openers under Jim Grobe.
Thursday’s game also marks the first season opener that doubles as
a home opener for the Demon Deacons under Jim Grobe’s watch.
Wake Forest has started each of the last four seasons on the road,
posting a 2-2 record.
All of those games were decided by seven
points or less and both of Wake Forest’s losses were in overtime (more
about close games on page three).
The Vanderbilt game will be just the second time the Deacons
have started their season at home since 1998.
Wake Forest is 65-34-
3 all-time in home openers, including eight wins in the last 10 years Wake Forest returns 16 starters from last year and played close
games week-in and week-out. The Deacons were leading or tied in
the fourth quarter in nine of their 11 games, but finished 4-7.
Wake Forest brings back four players who earned mention on last year’s postseason All-ACC
teams. Senior punter Ryan Plackemeier is among the frontrunners for the Ray Guy Award, junior offensive
tackle Steve Vallos is on the Lombardi Award Watch List and sophomore middle linebacker Jon
Abbate is one of the top young linebackers in the nation.
Against Vanderbilt, Wake Forest will be without two-time All-ACC running back Chris Barclay and
Riley Swanson, the Deacons’ most experienced cornerback. Both are serving one-week suspensions for
a violation of team policy.
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series six games to three. However, this will be the first meeting
between the schools since 2000 when the Commodores left Groves Stadium with a 20-10 victory (more
about the series history on page seven).
The Benjamin Mauk Era Begins
Redshirt sophomore Benjamin Mauk, who set national passing records at Kenton High School in Ohio,
has been named the starting quarterback.
Mauk originally came to Wake Forest with quite a bit of fanfare and notoriety. In high school, he
operated in a no-back, five-wide, no-huddle offense. He totaled 6,540 passing yards and 76 touchdowns
in his senior season, en route to a second straight state championship and Mr. Football in Ohio
honors.
Last year, Mauk rotated with the veteran Cory Randolph, who has 20 career starts under his belt.
When a toe injury sidelined Randolph against Duke last October, Mauk capitalized on the opportunity.
He led the Deacons to victory that day and started the season’s final three games against North
Carolina, Miami and Maryland.
In part-time duty, Mauk completed 52.1 percent of his passes for 572 yards, two touchdowns and
three interceptions. His 295 rushing yards ranked second on the team. But it was his fearless, hardnosed
style that endeared himself to Wake Forest teammates, coaches and fans. Mauk bowled over a
would-be tackler against Duke last season. After the game, he told reporters that “if I wanted to slide
I'd play baseball. Football is all about hitting.”
The sophomore performed well enough in the spring and in the preseason to supplant Randolph
for the starting position. In the team’s final scrimmage, he led the Deacons on three scoring drives and
capped one with a rushing touchdown.
Who’s This Guy?
With Chris Barclay and Riley Swanson on the sidelines
against Vanderbilt, the Deacons will ask a
handful of young players to fill some big shoes.
Barclay, of course, is a two-time 1,000-yard
rusher, the only one in Wake Forest history. But the
coaching staff feels very confident with sophomore
back-ups Micah Andrews and De’Angelo Bryant.
Both have experienced ACC competition.
So as good as Barclay is, the bigger loss
might be Swanson. That’s because the cornerback
position was already the least experienced position
for Wake Forest.
Without Swanson, the Deacons will be forced
to utilize a number of young cornerbacks who have
never played a down of college football.
That will be a stark contrast to the end of the
2004 season when the Deacons had future NFL
draft pick Eric King (42 career starts) and Marcus
McGruder (35) as the starting cornerbacks.
Seniors Are Few And Far Between
Despite returning 16 starters,
Wake Forest will once
again field one of the youngest teams in the nation.
Using the depth chart as a guide, only five
seniors are expected to start, including offensive
tackle Wesley Bryant, receiver Chris Davis, linebacker
Jason Pratt, punter Ryan Plackemeier and
defensive tackle Goryal Scales.
Nailbiters Are The Norm
In the four seasons since Jim Grobe arrived at Wake
Forest, the Deacons have played 47 games. Of
those, 26 contests have been decided by seven
points or less and three have gone to overtime.
Last year, eight of the team’s games were
decided by a touchdown or less and two went into
overtime.
Much has been made of Wake Forest’s close
losses last year -- six losses by a total of 36 points.
It seemed that every close game went against the
Deacons in 2004.
But it might surprise some to note that Wake
Forest has almost broken even in games decided by
a touchdown or less under Grobe. The Deacons are
12-14 in those contests.
JT
Sneaks