The Demon Deacons -- almost never spectacular but almost always consistent -- come to Charlottesville for the first time since 2012 in Week 4 for a Friday night game slated to be televised by ESPN2. After a slow start in his first two seasons, coach Dave Clawson has gotten Wake Forest to five straight bowl games. Clawson is an excellent resuscitator and builder of programs -- he's led successful turnarounds at each of his stops in addition to Wake: Fordham, Richmond, and Bowling Green. But is he going to be able to ever challenge for the second spot in the Atlantic Division? Thus far, the Demon Deacons under his watch have finished tied for third twice.
When: Sept. 24 (Friday), 7 p.m. Where: Charlottesville
Series record: UVa leads, 34-16
Last meeting: Oct. 17, 2020; Wake Forest won, 40-23 Streak: Four straight for Wake
Last year's record: 4-5, 3-4 ACC; lost to Wisconsin, 42-28, in Duke's Mayo Bowl (the old Belk Bowl)
Best win: vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech, 23-16; hard to remember the Hokies were ranked that high at one point.
Worst loss: at Louisville, 45-21; the Cardinals finished 4-7
Coach: Dave Clawson (eighth year, 40-45; 130-124 career)
Starters returning: 19 (9 offense, 8 defense, 2 specialists)
Offensive player to watch: WR Jaquarii Roberson. In his first two seasons, Roberson caught a combined 13 passes. In 2020, though, in nine games, the redshirt junior caught 62 passes for 926 yards and eight TDs.
Defensive player to watch: DT Miles Fox. Already playing as a graduate last year, Fox collected 24 tackles, 10.5 for losses, 3.5 sacks, one breakup, one QB hurry, and one forced fumble.
Special teams player to watch: K Nick Sciba. Last season, Sciba made 14 of his 17 field goals with a long of 46 yards and was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist. Sciba holds the NCAA record for consecutive made fields goals at 34, which he did over his first two seasons (2018-19). He's the most accurate kicker in ACC history at 89.1% (minimum of 50 attempts).
Fun fact: Wake Forest special teams/tight ends coach Wayne Lineburg was a QB for Virginia in the mid-1990s. He graduated in 1996 and returned to UVa as a graduate assistant in 1998. Also, he was an assistant from 2007-09 under Al Groh. In addition to Wake, Lineburg worked under Clawson at Richmond from 2004-06.
Season prediction: Wake is predicted to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division.
Early game thoughts: Virginia has dominated this series historically but not recently. This should definitely be UVa's best chance to beat Wake in the Mendenhall era. In 2016, the Cavaliers were just bad, and the Demon Deacons won in Winston-Salem, 27-20. Last year, also on the road, Brennan Armstrong was out, so that hampered Virginia's ability to get a victory. If he's healthy, UVa should have a good shot back in Charlottesville, where it is 18-2 since 2018. Wake was set to bring back all of its offensive starters until season-ending injuries took out WR Donavon Greene and lineman Je'Vionte' Nash. Sam Hartman is a good, solid QB, but Virginia can beat him. Wake's defense was pretty good last season but not awesome. Clawson also revealed at ACC media day that starting LB Chase Monroe is out for the season. Clawson is a solid coach, and Wake will always be a tough opponent with him there. The Deacons have been a model of consistency since 2016, alternating seven and eight wins per season until last year's 4-4 regular-season mark that turned into a 4-5 overall record with the bowl loss. This is another matchup Virginia needs to win to have a special season.
Defensive player to watch: DT Miles Fox. Already playing as a graduate last year, Fox collected 24 tackles, 10.5 for losses, 3.5 sacks, one breakup, one QB hurry, and one forced fumble.
Fun fact: Wake Forest special teams/tight ends coach Wayne Lineburg was a QB for Virginia in the mid-1990s. He graduated in 1996 and returned to UVa as a graduate assistant in 1998. Also, he was an assistant from 2007-09 under Al Groh. In addition to Wake, Lineburg worked under Clawson at Richmond from 2004-06.
Season prediction: Wake is predicted to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division.
Early game thoughts: Virginia has dominated this series historically but not recently. This should definitely be UVa's best chance to beat Wake in the Mendenhall era. In 2016, the Cavaliers were just bad, and the Demon Deacons won in Winston-Salem, 27-20. Last year, also on the road, Brennan Armstrong was out, so that hampered Virginia's ability to get a victory. If he's healthy, UVa should have a good shot back in Charlottesville, where it is 18-2 since 2018. Wake was set to bring back all of its offensive starters until season-ending injuries took out WR Donavon Greene and lineman Je'Vionte' Nash. Sam Hartman is a good, solid QB, but Virginia can beat him. Wake's defense was pretty good last season but not awesome. Clawson also revealed at ACC media day that starting LB Chase Monroe is out for the season. Clawson is a solid coach, and Wake will always be a tough opponent with him there. The Deacons have been a model of consistency since 2016, alternating seven and eight wins per season until last year's 4-4 regular-season mark that turned into a 4-5 overall record with the bowl loss. This is another matchup Virginia needs to win to have a special season.
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